Data Stories: Transit in Southwest Virginia

Welcome to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s Data Stories, and thank you for signing up! This monthly series aims to find the narrative in data DRPT collects and uses, highlighting Virginia’s rail and transit community. To kick off 2026, Data Stories is going to continue the “tour de Virginia” which started back in November with the Tidewater area. This month, we travel from Tidewater across all of Route 58 to visit Southwest Virginia.

Southwest Virginia is known for its beautiful mountains and valleys, small towns and, as of this newsletter, its public transportation! From microtransit in the mountains of Wise County to buses in Bristol, public transportation keeps communities across Southwest Virginia connected. These services often provide essential transit options for individuals, connecting individuals to jobs, healthcare, education, and community. Let’s take a closer look at the transit providers of Southwest Virginia!

Defining Southwest Virginia

Similar to the November 2025 Data Story, VDOT’s Bristol Construction District is used as the proxy for Southwest Virginia. DRPT’s Six-Year Improvement Program breaks down grants and funds by VDOT construction districts for organizational purposes.

Under this definition, Southwest Virginia extends from the Cumberland Gap to just west of the New River Valley. This means that some communities that might be considered to be in Southwest Virginia, such as Pulaski, Galax, and more, are not included in this Data Story since they are in VDOT’s Salem Construction District. For our friends in communities like Pulaski or Galax, you are not being excluded from Southwest Virginia, but rather will be included in a future Data Story about transit in the Salem Construction District!

With that out of the way, let’s get into the transit providers:

Bristol Virginia Transit

Bristol Virginia Transit (BVT), as the name suggests, is the transit provider in Bristol, Virginia! BVT is a wing of the City of Bristol, and operates primarily on the Virginia side of Bristol. Bristol, Tennessee has its own public transit service, called Bristol Tennessee Transit. Go Figure!

BVT provides fixed-route bus service within the City of Bristol, Virginia, offering residents and visitors an affordable and reliable way to travel around town. During FY 2025, Bristol Virginia Transit provided over 40,000 trips.

Mountain Lynx Transit

Operating in a huge service area, Mountain Lynx Transit provides public transportation in Abingdon, Galax, Marion, Wytheville, Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth, Washington,

and Wythe. Whew. Mountain Lynx operates a mix of fixed-route loop buses and demand-response, connecting localities to jobs, schools, commercial centers, and connecting with the Virginia Breeze in Wytheville.

Mountain Lynx is the public transportation division of the District Three Governmental Cooperative, a senior services/area agency on aging in Southwest Virginia. In FY 2025, Mountain Lynx provided over 180,000 trips.

Mountain Empire Transit

Not to be confused with Mountain Lynx, Mountain Empire Transit (MET) is the public transit provider operated by the Mountain Empire Older Citizens Inc non-profit organization. Mountain Empire Transit provides public transit in the “Lenowisco” portion of Southwest Virginia, also known as the counties of Lee, Wise, and Scott, as well as the City of Norton.

MET operates two services:

· Microtransit services in Wise-Norton and Big Stone Gap, operating as METGo!

· Demand-response services throughout all of Lenowisco.

What’s the difference between microtransit and demand-response services? Microtransit is comparable to ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft, which do not operate on a fixed-route and responds to riders on demand, often through an app. Demand-response transit is booked in advance, usually 24 hours in advance, to provide curb-to-curb service.

During FY 2025, Mountain Empire Transit transported over 130,000 passengers.

Graham Transit

Last but not least, operating in the Town of Bluefield in Tazewell County adjacent to the West Virginia line, is Graham Transit. Graham Transit provides deviated fixed route services throughout the tallest town in Virginia. In the City of Bluefield (West Virginia), public transit is provided by Bluefield Area Transit (BAT)! Why is Graham Transit called Graham Transit? Simple: because the Town of Bluefield Virginia used to be called Graham until 1924!

Graham Transit is operated by the Town of Bluefield, and operates three routes every single day. The Town of Bluefield also connects with Four County Transit’s Southwest Virginia Community College and Tazewell to Bluefield routes. In FY 2025, Graham Transit transported just under 32,000 people.

Transit Solutions for Every Community

Southwest Virginia’s transit providers show that innovation and accessibility are not limited to big cities, nor is public transportation only for our urbanized areas. With microtransit, demand-response, and zero-fare services, transit providers in Southwest Virginia are ensuring mobility for everyone.

DRPT’s mission is to connect and improve the quality of life for all Virginians with innovative transportation solutions. Our vision is a connected Commonwealth with an integrated multimodal network that serves every person, every business, and every need. DRPT’s Six-Year Improvement Program provides funding for rail and public transportation initiatives across the Commonwealth, enabling Virginia’s rail and public transportation network to thrive. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up to get Data Stories directly in your inbox! Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

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