Students Get A Free Ride At RBC

A paramount partnership that connects RBC and the Greater Petersburg region.

By Sterling Giles

Last fall, Richard Bland College of William & Mary (RBC) and the City of Petersburg initiated a partnership to facilitate the commute for RBC students into the city. The initiative designated a bus, the SCR (South Crater Road)/RBC Express, to RBC’s campus. From there, the bus travels to various locations along South Crater Road and eventually returns to campus. RBC students ride free of charge and there are connecting buses in the city that can take commuters as far as Colonial Heights and Richmond.

“Students have the freedom to get to where they need to be and also have a way to connect to their surrounding community,” said RBC Associate Director of Government Relations & Student Life Terelle Robinson.

Robinson, who is also an RBC alum, was thrilled about the initiative and empathizes with students who don’t have access to transportation.

“I was a student here from 2013 to 2015 and I struggled finding rides—I didn’t have reliable transportation,” Robinson said. “So I felt like this partnership was everything because I wanted to be on the side where the staff was making a difference in the lives of our students.

“So I felt so deeply about moving on this partnership because I wanted current RBC students to have reliable transportation and be connected to the city and beyond.”

Along the route, are a host of restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies and department stores for students to access. The bus route is user-friendly, so the language barrier amongst RBC’s international students is a non-issue.

Shortly after the initiative launched, the RBC Foundation donated gift cards to a handful of iRBC (iRBC International Student Success Program) students to do a trial run of the bus route. The students stopped at the Walmart on South Crater Road to get groceries and afterward dined at a local restaurant for dinner.

The students raved about the convenience of the bus, which allowed them to have access to things they needed and, in some cases, hadn’t experienced before.

“It’s pretty convenient and necessary for us since most international students don’t have a car,” said Ruokun Wu (‘23). “I’ve been exposed to more diverse food up here that I’ve never experienced in my hometown in Beijing.”

The bus partnership isn’t just a mode of transportation. It’s a vehicle to foster community between RBC and the Greater Petersburg region.

“It creates that connectivity,” Petersburg Mayor Samuel Parham said. “So much of Petersburg is connected with Richard Bland College—this only builds on our relationship and our partnership.”