Here’s How the Bus Network in Hampton Roads is Getting a Makeover
Hampton Roads Transit’s bus network is getting a makeover.
Despite new employment centers, residential developments and altered commuting patterns, bus routes haven’t changed much over the past quarter-century. So, HRT is embarking on a multi-year System Optimization Plan.
That’s a fancy way to say bus routes are changing to create a more dependable and reliable system while making travel more convenient for customers.
“HRT is proactively building a more efficient bus network for the future—one that preserves customer access and mobility while better aligning service schedules with operator and vehicle availability,” explains Karen Kitsis, HRT’s Chief Planning and Development Officer.
Introduced in stages starting in May 2027 through May 2029, the System Optimization Plan, or SOP, will lead to dozens of route changes, including schedule and route adjustments, dropped and added routes, and additional OnDemand Ridesharing services.
But no worries – customers won’t be left at the bus stop.
Why change?
HRT’s existing bus network – 60 routes serving six cities – is largely the same since the voluntary 1999 merger of Tidewater Transit and PENTRAN to create Hampton Roads Transit.
But several recent factors have led HRT to explore how to put limited resources to their best use by reducing low-ridership local bus service and redeploying those savings in routes with high ridership demand:
- Number of bus operators. This has been an industry-wide issue since the COVID-19 pandemic. Bus operator shortages make it challenging to provide a consistent and reliable travel option for customers. By optimizing its network, HRT can align bus service with available resources to deliver more reliable regional transit for everyone. The SOP will not result in a loss of operator positions.
- 757 Express service. The three current 757 Express routes (20, 112, and 114) – offering 15-minute service during peak hours – have shown double-digit growth since they launched in 2022. By optimizing its network, HRT will be able to more quickly implement high-frequency service on 10 remaining Regional Backbone routes, funded through the Regional Transit Fund.
- Advent of OnDemand Ridesharing. This relatively new service, dubbed microtransit in the industry, already operates in Newport News, Hampton and Chesapeake. Designed to complement fixed routes with service for the first and last mile of a trip, OnDemand Ridesharing can fill gaps currently served by large buses, particularly on neighborhood streets.
How it will work
HRT is evaluating every route with the goal to provide more frequent, dependable and efficient service to improve connections throughout Hampton Roads in three phases starting in May 2027.
HRT looked at things like travel demand, route performance, impact on network efficiency, and geography when considering individual route changes.
“We’ve reviewed existing services and data, including ridership and on-time performance over the past five years,” Kitsis says. “We’ve reviewed missed and delayed trips, and where people live, work, shop, and conduct other daily activities.”
Let’s say a local bus route carries just a handful of passengers per hour. A route serving hundreds of customers a day has the same costs as one that carries just a few, so there’s an opportunity to make local bus network adjustments or add OnDemand Ridesharing zones to better align resources with demand.
Most routes will be maintained, some with higher frequency. For example, in the first phase of the SOP, some routes like the stalwart Routes 1 and 15, will see improved peak frequency from 30 minutes to 15 minutes Monday through Friday.
Other routes will be eliminated, replaced by extending or realigning existing routes, or covered by newly created zones for OnDemand Ridesharing.
Changes will affect local bus routes in HRT’s member cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.
You can review maps and proposed changes to every bus route here.
Community outreach
These changes weren’t devised in a vacuum. HRT gathered feedback and comments at more than 20 pop-ups and open houses in six cities, leading to 150 interactions and more than 150 survey responses, 1,000-plus webpage impressions and more than 3,000 social media clicks.
Surveys conducted on site and online found that 90 percent of respondents support a more reliable and efficient network.
Meanwhile, the impact of the proposed changes were reviewed under the scrutiny of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin.
What it means for customers
In the end, the SOP means fewer than 1 percent of current customers will be more than a quarter mile from a bus stop or an OnDemand Ridesharing zone in the six cities served by HRT.
Bus stops proposed for optimization have an average daily activity of fewer than five passengers, compared to 16 passengers for stops being maintained.
Along with its limited impact on current service, the SOP will provide a host of benefits:
- 330,000 more people will have access (within a half mile) to 15-minute or better peak-period service as part of the 757 Express network for better connections between cities.
- Additional zones for OnDemand Ridesharing will provide an affordable transportation option for those in areas with limited fixed-route bus service, with wait times of 15 minutes or less.
- Lower wait times for almost all customers.
- Overall, a more dependable and reliable bus network.
“By increasing service on the most popular routes, ensuring our availability of operators matches our network, and growing OnDemand Ridesharing, we are building the blueprint for the future of efficient transit for all in Hampton Roads,” Kitsis says.
