HRT origin-and-destination study: Newport News riders chiefly use buses; most walk to stops

Hampton Roads Transit officials presented the results of a 2023 origin-and-destination study to the Newport News City Council on Jan. 14, showing that local buses account for the majority of system ridership and that walking is the dominant means riders use to reach stops.

Ray Amoruso, chief planning and development officer for Hampton Roads Transit (HRT), told council the study—conducted every four years and delayed to 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic—fulfills Federal Transit Administration reporting requirements and supports Title VI civil-rights analyses. Amoruso said 77% of weekday ridership systemwide is on local bus service and that light rail accounts for about 10% of riders.

The study found that about 64% of transit trips are work-related home-to-work or work-to-home commutes, while 36% are for other purposes such as shopping, medical appointments or recreation. Amoruso said that nearly all Newport News riders—reported as 93%—walk to their nearest transit stop; systemwide the figure was 91%. He noted the system has more than 2,100 bus stops across six member cities and 561 stops with passenger amenities.

Amoruso highlighted several demographic and service trends. He said a larger share of riders in 2023 were older than the 18–34 cohort that was larger in 2016, and that many riders have low household incomes: 40% of systemwide respondents reported household income under $25,000; Amoruso reported 43% of Newport News riders in that income band. He said roughly two-thirds of riders use transit four to seven times per week, indicating a high share of repeat, captive users.

On service changes, Amoruso pointed to recent frequency improvements on “backbone” routes and the resulting ridership increases: route 112 on Jefferson Avenue—introduced with 15-minute service in November 2022—showed a 67% increase in ridership; route 114 on Mercury Boulevard (May 2023) increased 34%; and route 20 on Virginia Beach Boulevard (November 2023) increased 38%. He said those results support the planning principle that higher frequency unlocks ridership growth.

Councilman Long asked how frequency increases translated to ridership; Amoruso answered with the performance figures above and said the city’s limiting factor is the number of bus operators. Amoruso also described HRT’s ability to map trip origin-destination patterns by ZIP code and by route, noting concentrated travel corridors in Newport News (for example, Jefferson Avenue, Patrick Henry Mall, the Newport News Transit Center, Huntington Ingalls and Newport News Shipbuilding) and strong peninsula-to-downtown Norfolk movements.

Amoruso urged council to consider sidewalk and stop-accessibility improvements, noting that a rider’s experience begins at the stop: seating, weather protection, accessibility for wheelchairs and trash receptacles matter because most riders walk to stops. He closed by offering to provide route-level visualizations and additional data to council or staff on request.

Amoruso’s presentation makes available route- and ZIP-code-level analytics the council can use to target stop amenities, frequency, and operator recruitment efforts. Councilmembers did not take formal action on the study during the session.