HRT proposes trimming low‑ridership routes in Newport News and expanding microtransit to preserve service

Hampton Roads Transit officials told the Newport News City Council on Oct. 14 that a draft system optimization plan would reduce low‑ridership local bus service and shift resources into higher‑demand routes and demand‑responsive “microtransit” zones.

The plan, presented by Ray Amoruso, HRT chief planning and development officer, addresses a sustained shortage of bus operators and seeks to improve reliability and cost‑effectiveness by right‑sizing the network. “In the month of June, as example, for the entire month, we missed about 1,200 trips because of lack of bus operators,” Amoruso said. He said the agency is short roughly 50 operators to get back to pre‑pandemic service levels and needs another 45 to implement its planned regional backbone of high‑frequency routes.

HRT’s goal is to concentrate frequent 15‑minute peak service on a smaller set of regional backbone routes while using microtransit — small passenger vans that operate on demand inside defined zones — to fill gaps where fixed‑route service performs poorly. Amoruso said microtransit can be a mitigation option when a low‑productivity route is recommended for elimination.

Amoruso described the agency’s performance measures: operating cost per passenger, passengers per hour (local average cited at about 6.84 passengers per hour), and passengers per mile. He said the regional backbone routes typically perform much better — often exceeding 14 passengers per hour — while some Newport News local routes, notably Route 11, sit well below benchmarks. HRT staff highlighted that low‑performing local service costs roughly $6.43 more per passenger trip to operate than the regional backbone.

Microtransit details presented to council included a current zone of about 23 square miles operating in Newport News under a state trip grant (state pays 80%; city provides 20% local match), a proposed North Newport News zone of roughly 17 square miles, and a Newsom Park zone of about 9 square miles. Amoruso said microtransit riders reserve a trip via smartphone, are directed to a virtual stop, and are typically picked up within about 15 minutes. Microtransit fares would align with bus fares; Amoruso said the target fare is $2 with a free transfer when riders must leave a microtransit zone to connect to fixed‑route service.

HRT compared operating costs observed in pilots: roughly $126 per hour for an hour of fixed‑route bus service versus about $72 per hour in the microtransit pilots, a difference Amoruso said can improve the system’s competitiveness for state operating funds. He also said recent 15‑minute services have produced large ridership gains on those routes, increasing farebox recovery from the current 6–7% toward a hoped‑for double‑digit level.

Council members asked how microtransit would interact with remaining fixed routes. Amoruso said microtransit is designed as an overlay: it would not replace regional backbone service (for example, Route 112 on Jefferson would remain) but could replace duplicative local alignments and feed riders to backbone routes. He noted microtransit typically operates within a defined zone and will bring riders to a nearby bus stop if their destination lies outside the zone.

Amoruso outlined next steps and timing: HRT is briefing peninsula city councils through November, refining recommendations with city staff and an independent consultant, plans to brief the HRT commission in February, and hopes the commission will adopt the plan in April. He said the first opportunity to implement recommendations would likely be October 2026 with additional implementation windows in mid‑2027 and late‑2027.

Amoruso and city staff said final recommendations will include route‑level data, cost and revenue estimates, and a proposed reallocation of local subsidy for eliminated routes into microtransit zones. He emphasized HRT intends the plan to be revenue‑neutral for municipal partners after state and federal assistance and farebox revenues are considered. Councilmembers requested a later briefing with detailed budget impacts before any final decisions are made.

The plan remains a draft; Amoruso said HRT will publish refined recommendations and hold public open houses after the council briefings.