Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) is the regional public transit provider for Virginia's Hampton Roads metropolitan area, including the cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, and the town of Smithfield.
It currently serves over 22 million annual passengers within its service area. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . HRT operates The Tide light rail system, buses, ferries, paratransit, and oversees a Transportation demand management program.
Services Bus service Buses provide the bulk of HRT service. HRT operates nearly 60http://www.gohrt.com/abouthrt/abouthrt.html . Retrieved November 17, 2009. standard local bus routes, plus multiple special bus services.
Base Express is a free service serving Naval Station Norfolk with two circulator routes. It was introduced in November 2022. The Gold route serves the Naval Exchange bus stop and the inner portion of the base and runs seven days a week with 30 minute frequencies. The Blue route circles the outer portion of the base, including the piers. It runs Monday-Friday with 15 minute frequencies but no weekend service.
757 Express, formerly MAX, is an intercity bus service connecting Park and Ride lots to the Downtown Norfolk Transit Center and other major employment locations or activity centers in the region. The Service includes commuter routes, limited-stop routes and regular routes that includes 15-minute frequency during peak hours. There are currently three regular routes that are a part of the program, with more planned as of 2023.
Virginia Beach Wave provides service to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront and related destinations during the tourist season from May through September. Route 30 Atlantic Ave (May 1-October 2 8am-2am, About every 15 minutes) serves the Atlantic Avenue boardwalk. Route 31 Museum Express – (Daily, Memorial Day-Labor Day 9:30 AM until 11:10 PM, About every 15 minutes) Serves the Virginia Aquarium, Ocean Breeze Waterpark, Owl Creek Municipal Tennis Center, Holiday Trav-L-Park Campground, and KOA Campground. Route 35 provides service from Arctic & 19th to Shore Drive & Vista Circle. It serves the Oceanfront, First Landing State Park, North End beaches, Chesapeake Bay beaches and Bayfront restaurants. The route runs from May 21 to October 1 all season long. This route runs daily from 8am to midnight for every 30 minutes from Memorial Day to Labor Day and every weekend from 8am to midnight for every 30 minutes from September 8 to October 1. Former Route 32 Shoppers Express – (Daily, Memorial Day-Labor Day 10am-9pm, About every hour) Served the Shops at Hilltop, and ended at Lynnhaven Mall.
Peninsula Commuter Service offers longer distance commuter buses on four routes.
List of bus routes Southside routes 1 Downtown Norfolk Transit Center/Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek 2 Navy Exchange Mall/Downtown Norfolk Transit Center 3 Downtown Norfolk Transit Center/Ocean View 4 Downtown Norfolk/Old Dominion University 5 Willoughby/Evelyn Butts 6 Downtown Norfolk/South Norfolk/Robert Hall Boulevard 8 Downtown Norfolk/Evelyn T. Butts Avenue 9 Downtown Norfolk Transit Center/Evelyn T. Butts Avenue 11 Downtown Norfolk/Colonial Place 12 South Norfolk/TCC Virginia Beach 13 Downtown Norfolk/Robert Hall Boulevard/Summit Pointe 14 Robert Hall Boulevard/Chesapeake Municipal Center 15 Robert Hall Boulevard/Evelyn T. Butts Avenue 18 Downtown Norfolk/Hanbury Street and Ballentine Boulevard 21 Navy Exchange Mall/Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek 22 Newtown Road Station/Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek 23 Norfolk General/IKEA/JANAF/Military Circle 24 Pembroke East/Robert Hall Boulevard 25 Military Circle/TCC/Sentara Princess Anne 26 TCC Virginia Beach/Lynnhaven Mall 27 Newtown Road Station/Pleasure House Road 29 Pleasure House Road/Lynnhaven Parkway 33 TCC/Atlantic Avenue/68th Street 36 Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek/TCC Virginia Beach 41 Downtown Portsmouth/Cradock/Victory Crossing 44 Downtown Norfolk Transit Center/Norfolk General Hospital/Airline Boulevard 45 Downtown Norfolk Transit Center/Portsmouth/Starmount Parkway 47 Downtown Portsmouth/Churchland 50 Downtown Portsmouth/Victory Crossing 57 Robert Hall Boulevard/Victory Crossing 58 Liberty Street and Seaboard Avenue/TCC Chesapeake Campus
VB WAVE routes 30 Atlantic Avenue Trolley 31 Aquarium and Campgrounds Trolley 34 Oceanfront Connector 35 Bayfront Trolley
Peninsula routes 101 (Kecoughtan) Downtown Newport News/Downtown Hampton 102 (Coliseum) Peninsula Town Center/Downtown Hampton 103 Downtown Hampton/Downtown Newport News 104 (Marshall) Downtown Newport News/Newmarket 105 Maple Avenue and 27th Street/Peninsula Town Center 106 Newport News/Warwick Boulevard/Denbigh/Fort Eustis 107 Newport News/Warwick Boulevard/Patrick Henry Mall 108 Riverside Medical Center/Patrick Henry Mall/Lee Hall 109 (Pembroke) Downtown Hampton/Buckroe 110 Downtown Hampton/Virginia Peninsula Community College 111 Virginia Peninsula Community College/Patrick Henry Mall/Woodside Lane 115 Buckroe/Willow Oaks/Downtown Hampton 118 Downtown Hampton/Virginia Peninsula Community College/Semple Farm Road
Peninsula commuter routes 403 Buckroe Shopping Center / Newport News Shipyard 405 Newport News Transit Center / Buckroe 414 Newport News Transit Center / Jefferson / Oakland 415 Newport News Transit Center / Denbigh 430 Denbigh Fringe
757 Express routes 20 Downtown Norfolk Transit Center/Virginia Beach Oceanfront 112 Downtown Newport News / Patrick Henry Mall / Lee Hall 114 73rd St. & Warwick Blvd. / Downtown Hampton 921 Newport News Transit Center / Patrick Henry Mall / Williamsburg 960 Norfolk / Virginia Beach 961 Newport News Shipbuilding / Hampton / Norfolk 964 Newport News / Smithfield 966 Silverleaf Park and Ride / Newport News Transit Center 967 Military Highway Station / Newport News Transit Center 972 Virginia Beach / Newport News 980 Downtown Norfolk Transit Center / Portsmouth / Chesapeake / Suffolk 981 Downtown Norfolk Transit Center / Ballentine Station / TCC Virginia Beach / Amazon Virginia Beach
The Tide
HRT owns and operates Virginia's only light rail system. "The Tide" runs 7.4 mi (12 km) in Norfolk from Eastern Virginia Medical School through downtown Norfolk to Newtown Road near the city's eastern boundary.
The Tide currently runs 15 minute frequencies serving its eleven stations between Fort Norfolk/EVMC Station & Newtown Road Station. Most stations are served with at least one HRT bus route. The Monticello station is a few blocks away from the Downtown Norfolk Transit Center and the Harbor Park stop is adjacent to the Amtrak Norfolk Station (NFK).
Groundbreaking was held on December 8, 2007. Primary construction began in early 2008. The first of nine train sets arrived on October 6, 2009, and the Tide opened for passenger service on August 19, 2011.
Paratransit HRT provides ADA Paratransit service, and is available within 3/4 of a mile of regularly scheduled bus routes. Fare is $3.50. Certification and reservations are required. Reservation hours are from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. Reservations must be made no later than 5:00 PM the day before you need transportation and you can reserve a ride up to 3 days in advance, at this time.
Ferry service
HRT operates three paddle wheel ferry boats over the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth.
The Ferry travels between North Landing and High Street in Portsmouth and downtown Norfolk at Waterside District and Harbor Park. Harbor Park is only serviced during Norfolk Tides baseball home games. The ferry's High Street dock is three blocks from Downtown Portsmouth's bus transfer area at County St & Court St.
The ferry operates every 30 minutes, with additional 15-minute service at peak times on weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The Ferry is wheelchair accessible and allows boarding passengers to board with their bicycles. The general cost to board the ferry is $2.00 for adults, and $1.00 with eligibility ID for youth (age 17 and under), seniors (age 65 and older), and disabled patrons with eligible ID. Round-trip passes may be purchased for $4.00 for adults, with no round-trip option currently available for youth, senior, or disabled patrons. 1-day passes may be purchased as well for $4.50 for adults and $2.25 for youth, seniors, and disabled patrons with eligible ID. Exact fare is required, the crew and fare boxes can not make change.
Governance and history
HRT was created on October 1, 1999, began through the voluntary merger of PENTRAN (Peninsula Transportation District Commission) on the Virginia Peninsula and TRT (Tidewater Regional Transit a.k.a. Tidewater Transit District Commission) in South Hampton Roads.
District Commission Hampton Roads Transit is governed by the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads (TDCHR). The TDCHR was established in accordance with Chapter 45 of Title 15.2 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, referred to as the Transportation District Act of 1964 and by ordinances adopted by the governing bodies of its component governments.
The commission consists of 13 members, one elected official and one citizen representative from each city served by Hampton Roads Transit, and the chairman of the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), or a designee. The Honorable Richard W. "Rick" West (Chesapeake) is the current chair.
There are five established committees that provide input to the governing body. These committees are: Executive Committee, Audit/Budget Review Committee, Operations & Oversight, Planning and New Start Development, Paratransit Committee, and Commission Effectiveness (Ad hoc).
Staff leadership William E. Harrell is the current president and CEO of Hampton Roads Transit. Harrell went to Hampton Roads Transit from Chesapeake, Virginia, where he was the city manager since June 2007. Harrell replaced interim CEO Phillip A. Shucet on April 2, 2012. Prior to Shucet, Michael Townes served as CEO.
Funding Hampton Roads Transit has approximately $30,000,000 dedicated revenue source from the Commonwealth of Virginia. Additional funding for service is provided with federal, state, and local funding provided by member jurisdictions and farebox revenues. Local funding is provided based on a "Cost Allocation Agreement" in which each city establishes how much service will be provided within its borders based on how much it is willing to pay for those services after other revenues are applied. This means that the numbers of routes, service frequency, and service coverage areas as operated by Hampton Roads Transit are determined in each city during the annual budgetary cycle.
Corporate timeline NOTE: This section begins with the introduction of rubber-tired buses to the transit operations in Hampton and Newport News, following many years of public transit service performed earlier and during the transition by horse-drawn and electrically powered streetcars utilizing rails embedded in the streets and roads of the area.