Company wants to add Birmingham buses

TUSCUMBIA - Anchor Trailways has been operating a bus service from the Shoals to Nashville for three months and company officials say there's a need to expand.

"We're constantly getting calls from Atlanta and Birmingham wanting to know if there are connections with Greyhound that will get them into the Shoals," said Mark Szyperski, a business development official with Anchor Trailways & Tours of Nashville.

In an effort to make those connections possible, Szyperski said Anchor Trailways has applied for an Alabama Department of Transportation grant to expand service to Birmingham.

He said the grant program offers financial assistance to provide public transportation to rural areas of the state.

"We expect to know before the end of the year if we have been approved," Szyperski said. "Our company is excited about what this could mean for us, for our riders and the residents of the Shoals area."

Ray Basden, manager of the Anchor Trailways office in Tuscumbia, said providing service to Birmingham would allow area residents to connect with Greyhound bus lines for trips to Chattanooga and Memphis.

"I know the Shoals has been sort of boxed in since Greyhound left in 2005," Basden said. "Before we started the rider service to Nashville, local residents had to drive to Athens to catch a bus. A lot of people who need bus service don't have the transportation to get to Athens. If we can get this grant, this would open up a lot of options to residents."

Szyperski said the service to Birmingham would also provide a connection with Amtrak and the Birmingham Airport.

"We would have a bus getting into Birmingham early enough to make those morning connections with train and air travel," he said.

The plan has gained approval from some area government officials, too.

"Having a bus going to Birmingham would be a great advantage for a lot of our citizens," Lauderdale County Commissioner D.C. Thornton said. "I know a lot of people who go to Birmingham to the doctor, and this could really be a blessing to them."

If approved, Szyperski said the company wants to make daily runs from the Shoals to Athens, Decatur, Russellville, Hamilton, Jasper and into Birmingham.

"We see an opportunity to provide a needed service," Szyperski said.

He and Basden said adding a Birmingham route would enhance the Shoals-to-Nashville service.

"We've gotten a number of people using our service to get to the Nashville airport and then making the connections from the airport to get to the Shoals," Szyperski said. "We've had online ticket sales from Oregon and Washington. This would complement our existing routes."

He said the daily travel to Nashville is being used more than anyone expected three months into the project.

"We've had multiple trips of 40 or more and it's nothing for us to have 20 or 30 people on the buses at times," he said. "It's really going well, and that's why we believe expanding into Birmingham is the next step for us."

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com.