Company plans to offer bus service in Reidsville

By Miranda Baines

Published: August 7, 2008

Barbara and Ted DeJournette saw the need for a public transportation system in Reidsville, and they have decided to fill it.
“When God opens a door, you have to go through it,” Barbara DeJournette said. “We want to put transportation in this area. Being in Reidsville gives us access to the whole county.”
The DeJournettes will move in to the old EMS base at 114 W. Morehead St. The bays provide room for the DeJournettes’ vans and 29-passenger bus, and the left portion of the downstairs will be a reception area with the second floor serving as office space.
The city of Reidsville owns the old EMS building and has been working with the DeJournettes to refurbish it. The DeJournettes plan to move in and open their business, Pelham Transportation, this month. The company plans to bring five full- and four part-time jobs to Reidsville.
City Manager Kelly Almond said Pelham Transportation fits the city’s plan for downtown.
“We said we wanted more foot traffic downtown, recreating that sense of community,” said Almond. “That’s been one of our goals since we started our downtown revitalization.”
“Reidsville being an All-America City will help draw people here,” Ted DeJournette said. He said a good public transportation system is an incentive to help draw businesses.
He said nearly every community where he and Barbara have lived has had a public transportation system, except Reidsville. Rockingham County is a rural county, and the DeJournettes have found that people in rural areas have trouble getting around. Ted DeJournette cited the economy as a reason people lack personal transportation.
“A lot of people don’t have access, with the loss of jobs,” he said. “People aren’t able to afford transportation.
“People might qualify for jobs outside the county, but they don’t have the transportation.” He said Pelham Transportation eventually plans to set up bus routes to Greensboro, but it will first establish routes in the city.  The DeJournettes also will offer transportation outside North Carolina for special events such as family reunions and weddings.
The couple entered the transportation business in 2004. Barbara, a native of the Oregon Hill community, and Ted, a Pelham native, lived abroad for 35 years before returning to the Caswell-Rockingham area.
“The DeJournettes started by providing transportation to a man in a wheelchair who was homebound and did not qualify for assistance from other programs. From that first trip, the DeJournettes saw a need for the company’s services.
“We found out there were a lot of people in the community who needed wheelchair-accessible transportation, so we purchased our first van,” said Barbara. They eventually bought four more. The DeJournettes’ someday want to connect Caswell and Rockingham counties via public transportation.
“We wanted to come back and make a difference, and we feel like this makes a difference,” Barbara said.
Pelham Transportation plans to post transportation schedules throughout the city. Call (336) 939-3058 for more information.
Staff Writer Miranda Baines can be reached at or 349-4331, ext. 35.