Latest news with #HamptonRoadsTransit
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Virginia Beach trolleys rev up for the season, serving the resort area, along Shore Drive
VIRGINIA BEACH — Summer is right around the corner and so are those iconic sky blue Virginia Beach trolleys. The VB Wave trolley service returns for the summer season Sunday with an extended route and a new app to pay for fares. Trolley ridership was up 59% last year as compared with 2023, according to Hampton Roads Transit, which operates the routes. New this year, Route 31, which services campgrounds and the Virginia Aquarium, will extend from Rudee Inlet to Atlantic Avenue and 18th Street. Also new this season, riders can purchase tickets through the new GoMobile app with a credit card. Mobile ticketing is only available for The VB Wave trolley — not other HRT services. An adult single trip on VB Wave costs $2; a one-day pass is $4.50, and a three-day pass is $8. Discounted fees are available. Children ride for free while accompanied by a fare-paying adult. VB Wave also connects to HRT bus lines, including Routes 20 and 960 express service to downtown Norfolk. The trolleys, augmented by regular HRT buses, serve three routes: Route 30: Extends from one end of Atlantic Avenue to the other. Stops along the way at shops, restaurants, museums and more with service about every 15 minutes from 8 a.m.-2 a.m. daily through the Neptune Festival, Sept. 26-28. Route 31 (aquarium/campground): This route is being extended from Rudee Inlet to Atlantic Avenue and 18th Street from campgrounds and tennis courts, fun parks and the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. Route 31 will operate daily every 20 minutes from 9:30 a.m.-11:10 p.m. through Labor Day and again on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only from Sept. 5 through the Neptune Festival. Route 35 (Bayfront Shuttle): Services between Parks Avenue/19th Street up Pacific Avenue to Shore Drive/Pleasure House Road. Route 35 services the Oceanfront, First Landing State Park, Edgar Cayce's A.R.E., Fort Story at Atlantic Avenue and 88th Street, North End beaches, Chesapeake Bay beaches and bayfront restaurants on Shore Drive. Operates daily, about every 30 minutes, from 8 a.m.-12:30 a.m. through Labor Day and on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only through the Neptune Festival. For more information about the VB Wave Trolley, including fares and maps, visit To use HRT's new interactive system map, visit Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125,
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Virginia Beach trolleys rev up for the season, serving the resort area, along Shore Drive
VIRGINIA BEACH — Summer is right around the corner and so are those iconic sky blue Virginia Beach trolleys. The VB Wave trolley service returns for the summer season Sunday with an extended route and a new app to pay for fares. Trolley ridership was up 59% last year as compared with 2023, according to Hampton Roads Transit, which operates the routes. New this year, Route 31, which services campgrounds and the Virginia Aquarium, will extend from Rudee Inlet to Atlantic Avenue and 18th Street. Also new this season, riders can purchase tickets through the new GoMobile app with a credit card. Mobile ticketing is only available for The VB Wave trolley — not other HRT services. An adult single trip on VB Wave costs $2; a one-day pass is $4.50, and a three-day pass is $8. Discounted fees are available. Children ride for free while accompanied by a fare-paying adult. VB Wave also connects to HRT bus lines, including Routes 20 and 960 express service to downtown Norfolk. The trolleys, augmented by regular HRT buses, serve three routes: Route 30: Extends from one end of Atlantic Avenue to the other. Stops along the way at shops, restaurants, museums and more with service about every 15 minutes from 8 a.m.-2 a.m. daily through the Neptune Festival, Sept. 26-28. Route 31 (aquarium/campground): This route is being extended from Rudee Inlet to Atlantic Avenue and 18th Street from campgrounds and tennis courts, fun parks and the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. Route 31 will operate daily every 20 minutes from 9:30 a.m.-11:10 p.m. through Labor Day and again on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only from Sept. 5 through the Neptune Festival. Route 35 (Bayfront Shuttle): Services between Parks Avenue/19th Street up Pacific Avenue to Shore Drive/Pleasure House Road. Route 35 services the Oceanfront, First Landing State Park, Edgar Cayce's A.R.E., Fort Story at Atlantic Avenue and 88th Street, North End beaches, Chesapeake Bay beaches and bayfront restaurants on Shore Drive. Operates daily, about every 30 minutes, from 8 a.m.-12:30 a.m. through Labor Day and on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only through the Neptune Festival. For more information about the VB Wave Trolley, including fares and maps, visit To use HRT's new interactive system map, visit Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125,
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State releases six-year, $7 billion funding plan for capital improvement projects
Passengers board a Hampton Roads Transit bus in Norfolk. (Vlad Gavrilovic / Norfolk Transit Department) Virginia's Department of Rail and Public Transportation has just released their draft six- year improvement program for fiscal year 2026, totaling roughly $7 billion. The funds cover both operational costs and larger sums for capital improvement projects statewide. The City of Alexandria, for example, will get money to help cover the $200,000 operational cost for their GO Alex program, which is the city's outreach program to get residents to ride transit, carpool and commute by bicycle. Hampton Roads' transportation department will receive funds towards replacing two large buses, a project that will total $1.6 million – and that's just one of their more than 30 plus capital improvement projects. Localities depend on the state money to update the equipment used to serve the public in various regions of Virginia. 'We of course got money to buy new buses. We have a fleet of over 300 buses,' said Ray Amoruso, chief planning and development officer for Hampton Roads Transportation. 'The average life of a bus is either 10 or 12 years and at some point they have to be replaced. So every year we ask for bus money.' The Six-year Improvement Program (SYIP) is an annual funding program that both DRPT and the Virginia Department of Transportation administer to help fund rail — including freight – and public transit programs across the state. The different amounts of funding found in the six-year projects is derived by formulas established by Virginia law. Individual projects, which localities apply for, are funded by the SYIP and are evaluated and given scores by DRPT, then approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. 'The state updates their six-year improvement plan every year. So it's like a moving window. Each year we progress,' said Amoruso. 'Sometimes we ask for the same money if they didn't award it to us [the first time]. Next year, we'll do this all over again.' Here's a breakdown of how the funds will be allocated in the upcoming fiscal year:. Public Transportation: $332 million Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA): $442 million Virginia Railway Express (VRE): $17 million Rail (DRPT) $20 million Transforming Rail in Virginia (VPRA) $232 million Amoruso said the district gets federal operating assistance based on the size of their metropolitan area and the number of people who live in that area. The Hampton Roads Transportation District covers six cities: Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach. 'A lot of folks who aren't familiar with HRT or don't use HRT think that the money they drop in the fare box pays for their ride,' he said. One capital project that Amoruso is excited about getting funding to build is an off-street transfer facility off Chesapeake Boulevard known as the Evelyn T. Butts Transfer Station, named after a local Civil Rights activist. Since 1999, riders have had to wait on the street to transfer buses. 'It's not a pleasant environment. Nine routes come together and people run up and down the block along the length of the block to make connections to other routes,' said Amoruso. 'It's the third busiest transfer center we have in terms of moving human beings back in and out every day.' Though next year's state transportation fiscal funding is taking shape, the uncertainty of future federal support weighs heavy on Amoruso, he said. President Donald Trump's administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have committed to cutting over a trillion dollars in government spending they deem wasteful, targeting scores of federal programs with special emphasis on eliminating ones supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI). A January executive order by Trump sparked panic with its directives to federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, to pause millions in federal funds disbursements, including money allotted for capital improvement projects through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and for electric vehicle and clean energy infrastructure development. 'It's not just us, every transit property in the country is nervous because the administration is targeting certain discretionary programs that are connected to DEI initiatives, climate change initiatives,' Amoruso said. 'We in the past have been successful in getting grant awards for low-emission, no-emission buses, meaning electric buses.' Amoruso said HRT had a goal to convert their 300 diesel buses to a 100% hundred emissions-free, all electric bus system by 2045. 'This administration doesn't look like they have an appetite to support those kinds of investments,' he said. 'That's just one example, but there are other programs that are at risk related to DEI and all the transit properties in the country are nervous about that and [are] watching very carefully these discretionary grants.' One grant program Amoruso is watching is a capital investment initiative administered through Congress to help build out bus rapid transit, such as Richmond's Pulse line or other light rail systems. 'That's under the microscope of the federal government right now,' said Amoruso, 'which is making a lot of people nervous for high capacity transit projects.' Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has stated to cut federal funding to Democratic-led states and cities, like New York and California, if they don't release information on transit crime and safety funding, according E&E News by Politico. The public is invited to comment on all the projects that have been recommended for funding in the draft six-year plan. The Commonwealth Transportation Board will host nine meetings across the state from the week of April 22 through May 15. Online comments, email or regular mail are also being accepted. The first meetings take place this week, starting in Richmond, followed by a meeting Wednesday in Lynchburg and one on Thursday in Hampton Roads. On June 17 staff from DRPT will present the draft, including any changes, to the Commonwealth Transportation Board for approval. On July 1, all the approved funding will become available. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Free rides offered on all Hampton Roads Transit services on Earth Day
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Hampton Roads residents will be able to ride for free on all Hampton Roads Transit services on Earth Day. According to a release, on Tuesday, April 22, all HRT services, including bus, light rail, ferry, paratransit and OnDemand ridesharing services, will be free in order to celebrate Earth Day. In addition to the free fares, various members of HRT's governing board will be hosting round-trip rides to meet with the public. The schedule is as follows: Chesapeake — Councilman Les Smith Meet at Robert Hall Transfer Center on Robert Hall Blvd at 10:40 a.m. for 11 a.m. departure — will return by 11:36 a.m. Hampton — Councilwoman Hope Harper Meet at Hampton Transit Center at 2 W Pembroke Ave at 10:20 a.m. for 10:47 a.m. departure — will return by 11:26 a.m. Newport News — Councilman Marcellus Harris III Meet at Newport News Transit Center at 150 35th St at 10:20 a.m. for 10:45 a.m. departure — will return by 11:35 a.m. Norfolk — Councilwoman Mamie Johnson Meet at Downtown Norfolk Transit Center at 434 St Pauls Blvd at 10:15 a.m. — will return by 11:30 a.m. Portsmouth — HRT Commissioner tony Goodwin Meet at County and Crawford at 601 Crawford St at 10:10 a.m. — will return by 11:34 a.m. Virginia Beach — Councilwoman Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond Meet at Tidewater Community College's Virginia Beach campus at corner of Student Ave and Michael Labouve Blvd at 10:20 a.m. — will return by 11:24 a.m. For more information or to plan a trip, click here. Continue to check for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
HRT hosting 3rd annual Community Resource Fair
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Hampton Roads Transit announced the dates for its third annual Community Resource Fair for both Norfolk and Hampton. According to a release, the fair aims to be a one-stop-shop to connect customers of the HRT can gain community knowledge of community resources and employment opportunities. The full schedule can be found below: Hampton — Tuesday, March 25 from 2-4 p.m. at HRT's Hampton Transit Center Participating organizations include Foodbank of the Peninsula, Newport News Department of Human Services, Eggleston Services, Hampton Youth Opportunities, HRT, WNSB-FM Hot 91 and GoCommute Norfolk — Tuesday, April 8 from 2-4 p.m. at Newtown Road Light Rail Participating organizations include YWCA of South Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach Talent Acquisition, Sentara Behavioral Health Services, Norfolk Childcare Subsidy Unit, Norfolk Department of Human Services, NFKthrive of United Way of Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach Housing and Neighborhood Preservation and HRT For more information on the Community Resource Fair, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
