BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) _ The federal government is subsidizing a new bus route that will connect Virginia Tech and Washington. News outlets report that the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is partnering with Megabus on the new “Virginia Breeze” route. Starting on Dec. 1, the bus will depart daily from Virginia Tech’s Squires Student Center at 8 a.m. and will arrive at Washington’s Union Station at 2:30 p.m. The southbound trip will leave Washington at 9:30 a.m. and will arrive in Blacksburg by 3:40 p.m. One-way tickets between Blacksburg and Washington are expected to cost around $50. The project is funded by the Federal Transit Administration. The Roanoke Times says the project has been in the works since 2013, when a study found that transportation options for Virginia’s rural communities were shrinking.