Hampton Roads Transit

Governance

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 components governments.

The Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads, HRT’s governing body, 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 six Hampton Roads cities that participate rotate the chairmanship each year. The Honorable Richard W. “Rick” West (Chesapeake) is the current chairman.

There are five established committees that provide input to the governing body. These committees are listed below: Executive Committee, Audit/Budget Review Committee, Operations & Oversight, Planning and New Start Development, Paratransit Committee, and Commission Effectiveness (Ad-hoc).

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.

Phillip A. Shucet was hired in February 2010 as an interim CEO to help complete construction of The Tide light rail while the company searches for a permanent replacement for long-time executive director Michael Townes. Townes was pressured by the Board of Directors and ultimately agreed to step down after the revelation of a $100 million cost overrun and a one-year delay on Norfolk’s light-rail starter line, which has been named "The Tide". Shortly previously, Townes had been criticized for his handling of an employee embezzlement scheme. While he had not been directly involved in the earlier problem, a majority of the board members cited poor management and communication on his part in calling for him to step down.

Funding

Hampton Roads Transit has no dedicated revenue source. Funding for service is provided with federal, state and local funding provided by member jurisdictions and farebox revenues. Local funding is provided based on the Cost Allocation Agreement - 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 all federal, state, and farebox 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 utlilizing rails imbedded in the streets and roads of the area.

Bus fleet

The HRT fleet inventory as of August 1, 2011 consisted of 302 vehicles, including 255 diesel buses, 37 hybrid buses and 10 trolley-style buses. The majority of the fleet, a total of 280 buses, were manufactured by Gillig. The HRT fleet also includes 12 Optima buses and 10 Trolley-style buses manufactured by Chance. HRT acquired 11 Gillig hybrids in June 2011 to replace the Chance trolleys.

Hampton Roads Transit's Bus Fleet were originally decorated with all white buses with a two line blue & green wave from the system's former logo which is similar to math's approximate (≈) symbol. New buses since 2006 have a wave going from the back, then becomes smooth through the front and have frameless windows. All Hybrids and the two 2006 Optima Opus' are in the blue background. All MAX buses have a silver background with sky blue & solid blue wave colors. Select buses which had the two-line wave logo have been repainted with the newer back wave design and the exterior window rows are painted black around the windows to resemble the newer buses. Since 2012, several buses were repainted into the silver/blue wave style like the MAX brand with the agency's new stripe logo. This is the current fleet design

On July 18, 2011, it was announced that the Commonwealth of Virginia has signed an umbrella contract with New Flyer Industries for the provision of buses to any Virginia transit authority. It remains to be seen whether or not the contract will include buses for HRT, but highly unlikely due to their contract for Gillig buses.

Light rail fleet

The Tide Light Rail began service on August 19, 2011 with nine of the trainsets entering to revenue service.

Other fleet

HRT has three ferries, with two operating in the peak periods. HRT owns a total of 33 paratransit vans. HER is also leasing an additional 54 paratransit vans from its contractor to meet service requirements.

Primary services

HRT operates 64 local fixed routes and eight express bus routes in the region.

Route list

Southside Routes

Peninsula Routes

Peninsula Commuter Routes

MAX Express Routes

Paratransit

Hampton Roads Transit provides ADA Paratransit service, and is available within 3/4 of a mile of regularly scheduled bus routes. Fare is $3.00. 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.

TRAFFIX

TRAFFIX is a grant-funded program provided by Hampton Roads Transit. It encourages citizens throughout Hampton Roads to use alternative forms of transportation that reduces use of single occupancy vehicles. TRAFFIX oversees and promotes regional commuter initiatives, including carpooling and telecommuting, by reaching out to area employers. Some of its key clients include the U.S. Navy, Northrop Grumman, Wal-mart, and Canon. To date, TRAFFIX has removed nearly 800 vehicles off the road and has saved consumers over 600,000 gallons of gas and over $1.8 million in vehicle related expenses.

Ferry service

HRT's paddle wheel ferry is a system of three 150-passenger paddle wheel ferry boats: The James C. Echols, Elizabeth River Ferry II, and Elizabeth Ferry III. The Ferry travels between North Landing and High Street in Portsmouth and downtown Norfolk at The Waterside and Harbor Park. Harbor Park is only serviced during Norfolk "Tides" baseball home games.

The ferry operates every 30 minutes, with 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 $1.75 for adults, and 75 cents with eligibility ID for youth (age 17 and under), seniors (age 65 and older), and disabled patrons. Up to 2 children (under 38 inches tall) per paying adult may ride for free. 1-day passes may be purchased as well for $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for youth, seniors, and disabled patrons with eligible ID. Exact fare is required, the crew and fare boxes can not make change.

The ferry's High Street dock is three blocks from Downtown Portsmouth's bus transfer area at County St & Court St.

Plans to introduce up to 4 new ferries have been announced by HRT.

Virginia Beach Wave

The VB Wave runs through the main areas of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Service runs from May through September.

Route 30 Atlantic Ave (May 1-October 2 8am-2am, About every 15 minutes) which serves all the stops along the Atlantic Avenue boardwalk, This includes the Old Coast Guard Station Museum, the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier, plus the north beaches HRT transfer.

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 32 Shoppers Express (Daily, Memorial Day-Labor Day 10am-9pm, About every hour) Serves the Shops at Hilltop, and ends at Lynnhaven Mall.

MAX (Metro Area Express)

The MAX is the first regional express service connecting all of Hampton Roads. The bus service uses dedicated Gillig buses equipped with coach-style seating to make a more comfortable ride. All MAX buses are equipped with Wi-Fi. The routes connect area Park and Ride lots to Downtown Norfolk and other major employment locations in the area. There are two other express routes (Routes 64 and 121) that are not branded as MAX routes, although Route 121 often uses MAX buses.

The Tide Light Rail

The Tide, Norfolk's Light Rail System, runs from Eastern Virginia Medical School through downtown Norfolk to Newtown Road (near Sentara Leigh Memorial Hospital). The Groundbreaking Ceremony 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 became fully operational on August 19, 2011.

Virginia Beach Extension Study

The Virginia Beach Extension Study was started in 2009 in an effort to bring a right-of-way rapid transit line to Virginia Beach using a former freight rail track, most likely to connect the current The Tide light rail from Newtown Road Station. The studied modes are Bus Rapid Transit and Light Rail.

Alternatives

The study originally considered three alternatives with a fourth added from the City Council of Virginia Beach. Distances are the amount of miles from the Newtown Road Station.

As of 2015, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement was published. However, since the City of Virginia Beach and the State of Virginia is paying for the Town Center alternative, there will be no Final Environmental Impact Statement, as that document is made when there is federal money involved. There has been opposition from the citizens of Virginia Beach about costs and using taxpayer money to construct and maintain the line, if built. Citizens of Virginia Beach voted on building the line on November 8, 2016, however, the vote was a no-majority of 57% and as a result, work on light rail has been ceased as of December 2016. Had it passed, the extension will open between late 2019 and early 2020.

Naval Station Norfolk Extension Study

In 2012, the City of Norfolk began to study for possibilities for extending their current Tide light rail system to Naval Station Norfolk. Currently the Draft Environmental Study is in development. There are currently six routes in study with two major corridors considered. Mode possibilities are light rail and streetcar. Potential build out of the expansion will commence in the 2020s.