NORFOLK, Va. — Some public transportation changes are coming to the Hampton Roads area.
This weekend, Hampton Roads Transit will implement annual fall schedule changes. This will impact 24 bus routes throughout the region, and the organization says they are doing this in an attempt to improve connections and boost on-time performance.
Starting on Sunday, October 27, HRT's Route 108 will start to serve the new Newport News Transportation Center, so folks can go from the bus to the Amtrak train with ease.
With this change on the Peninsula, Route 961 will extend service to midnight on weekdays and Saturdays, allowing residents to be able to travel to downtown Norfolk for a night out.
“Every year, HRT evaluates the efficiency of our network to provide the most optimal schedule that aligns our operator and bus resources with the needs of our customers in the six cities we serve,” said Ray Amoruso, HRT’s chief planning and development officer.
Watch related coverage: New Newport News Transportation Center opens Thursday
But there are multiple changes on the south side as well.
For Portsmouth:
- Route 43 will be eliminated because of low ridership, and portions of the old Route 43 will now be served by Routes 47 and 50. These routes will now provide stops in Park View and Walmart at Bart Street and Frederick Blvd.
- Service on Route 57 will also be discontinued, but just between Victory Blvd. and Qualishire Lane. Stops in this area will be replaced by Route 44. Route 57 will still run the rest of that route, including stopping at Victory Crossing and Robert Hall Blvd. in Chesapeake.
- Route 41 will be realigned as well, Routes 45 and 50 will cover some of the service. Weekday hours will be expanded for 41, running from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and on Saturday until 9 p.m.
Watch related coverage: Amtrak Virginia brings new transportation center to Newport News
For Norfolk:
- Route 1 will be redirected, and will now end at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. Route 36 will now extend along Independence Blvd, providing coverage between Shore Drive and Pembroke East.
- To cover the space left by Route 1, Route 22 will provide service between JEB and Shore Drive.
Watch related coverage: Hampton Roads Transit wants to transform Chesapeake transportation
For Chesapeake:
- Route 45, which runs from Portsmouth, will now extend to Starmount Parkway and Joliff Road. It will provide a bus every 30 minutes, running Monday through Saturday.
