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HRT tells Hampton council ridership down; officials say routes and fleet need rethinking
Summary
HRT presenters told council the region has seen double-digit ridership declines and older buses that raise maintenance costs; staff proposed a transit development plan, possible pruning of low-performing routes, and partnerships for first-mile/last-mile service.
Hampton Roads Transit officials told the council that sustained ridership declines and an aging fleet are prompting a structured rethink of routes and service frequency.
Harrell said bus ridership was down roughly 13 percent and light rail down about 12 percent on some services, and that overall the system has seen about a 12 percent decline in passenger trips across the last three fiscal years. “Some of our routes have 60 minute headways,” he said, noting that long waits discourage choice riders.
HRT staff recommended a transit development plan to guide route restructuring over the next decade, with an emphasis on increasing frequency on core corridors (targeting 10- to 15-minute headways) while considering reduced neighborhood service and partnerships with on-demand providers for first-mile/last-mile connections. Amoruso, the HRT staff member who walked council through route-level data, said Hampton funds 14 routes (12 local, two targeted shipyard trips) and pointed to Route 114 as a top performer.
Officials warned that right-sizing service faces tradeoffs: labor is the largest cost per hour of service, and while smaller vehicles can be more efficient on low-demand segments, the per-hour labor cost remains similar. Harrell said fleet replacement and a shift to smaller vehicles will be multi-year efforts and will require council and inter-city coordination.
