Pilot Bus Service to Provide Rides for Dumfries Youth

DUMFRIES, Va. — Children in Dumfries will soon have a free ride to after-school activities. But how long that service lasts will depend upon how much the town and the community buy into the new transportation program.

The Prince William County / Manassas Boys and Girls Club has agreed to provide a trial bus service that will pick up children each afternoon and take them to the General Heiser Club on Old Stage Coach Road. The bus service will begin April 2, run the Tuesday through Friday afternoons, and will be able to take as many as 14 children per bus, twice a day — once at 4:30 p.m. and again at 5 o’clock — from Ginn Memorial Park on Graham Park Road to the General Heiser Club.

The bus program will begin as a 60-day pilot program paid for by the Boys and Girls Club to gauge interest among parents and children. It’s also an attempt to get more youth involved in community activities in Dumfries, said town Manager Daniel Taber.

Parents will be responsible to picking up their children from the Heiser Club by closing time at 8 p.m. weeknights. Children whose parents do not pick up their child by closing for at least two times will no longer be able to participate in the transportation program, added Taber.

After the trial period is over, Club officials say they will meet with town leaders to review the service and to determine the level of funding it will take to the buses rolling. Then it will be up to the community to determine who will pay to keep buses rolling and children off the streets. 

“If we can get 30 kids involved in this new effort, we believe that is a good number, and it shows the community that this is just a snapshot of what can happen when citizens, businesses, and the town all come together to provide options for children,” said Prince William / Manassas Boys and Girls Club Director Glenn Vickers.

On the Town Council, Vice-Mayor Willie Toney said he supports providing children with more after school activities, but worries some parents are unable to pickup children from the Club and meet the demands the two strikes or you’re out clause.

“I live in Williamstown…a lot of people don’t have a car. I see parents waiting on the sidewalk waiting for their kids… it’s getting lighter outside as we get closer to springtime and we need to consider that for older children 15, 16, 17-years-old…when it gets 8 o’clock, it’s not dark outside…where we don’t want to the young kids walking along Route 1…but older ones can walk home…it is definitely something that needs to be looked at,” said Toney.

Vickers said he supports the two strikes rule, noting that parents will be given a warning the first time they are unable to pick up their child, and then will dismiss the child from the transportation program only if it happens again.

“When you have an organization like ours who is stepping up and willing to provide a service like this, we have to set some ground rules,” said Vickers. 

The buses will serve neighborhoods in Dumfries. Specific route information, as well as overview of the new bus service, will be presented at the town’s annual Easter Egg Hunt at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 23, at Ginn Memorial Park.

The bus service comes as town officials wrangle with the challenge of finding activities for the town’s youth and keep them off town streets. It also comes as the Boys and Girls Club continues to look to restore what was a popular youth program Heiser following its reopening after a three-year hiatus.

In addition to the Club, Dumfries Department of Community Services recently launched a grant-funded program called Dumfries Cares, which aims to pair youth with mentors for the community who will provide assistance on everything from homework to character building. The program is open to 10 children in elementary, middle, and high schools from age seven through 18.

Opting to play a larger role in the Boys and Girls Club, town officials also aim to obtain a seat on the organization’s governing Board of Directors. The Prince William / Manassas Boys and Girls Club has two locations in Prince William County – one in Dumfries and another in Dale City – and another location in Manassas.