How is the public transportation (Bus & Train) system in Hampton Roads? (Virginia Beach: employment, transfer to)

[chico santana]

I will be moving back to the Hampton Roads area within the next few weeks. Once I'm there I will be using public transportation to get around to look for employment. What I would like to know is how is the public transportation system in Hampton Roads? I'm assuming I will mainly be looking for employment in Norfolk.

[Octa]

There's the tide in norfolk which is light rail, but in general the public transit in the HR area is subpar.

[JeffConn]

Norfolk has the best bus routes of all the HR cities. Most Norfolk routes run 7 days a week and until 11 pm or midnight. And the Tide is a nice starter line, with quite a few buses stopping at Tide stations.

[TN Lily]

Here's the website for Hampton Roads Transit:

Hampton Roads Transit

You can find information about the Tide on this website.

I don't use this system, but my observation in Newport News is that people at the bus stops must wait a long time. I see them standing there and not a bus anywhere in sight on my route past them where I would met the oncoming bus.

I pulled up the schedule for rt. 107. There's basically an hour and a half wait time between buses at any stop. So if you miss your bus, you'll have a long wait on that route. That confirms my suspicion about long wait times in between runs on that route.

Good luck.

[xGrendelx]

It's definitely the best/most usable in Norfolk, in my experience. Still not as good as it could be, but the Tide is a big step and should help things continue to grow.

[Coconut1]

Oh goodness. Try and get ANY car you can. Public transportation around here cannot be relied on.

[Boxter01]

Public transportation here? ROFLcopter!!

[LilyLady]

I wish I could make a glowing positive post about bus service but I can't. I don't know what it's like in Norfolk, but I sure wouldn't depend on it to get around Virginia Beach. It might as well be non-existent throughout most of the city. I would love to be able to ride the bus around town, but sadly, the poor service makes me have to rely on using my car.

Transit service aside though - good luck on your move.

[tvpirate05]

As much as I hate to admit it, the bus service here is a joke. The light rail is nice, but right now it only goes 7 miles throughout Norfolk. Since I live close to downtown, it has come in handy on a few occasions.

But yeah, as spread out as this area is, we could definitely use a more consistent system. In the meantime, you'll definitely need your own vehicle.

[wikileaker]

I live in East Ocean View and don't own a car. So when I took a job downtown I figured the commute would be a cinch since HRT has Route 1 which goes direct, and starts from Little Creek Amphib Base early as 5:00. I need to catch the 6:30 bus which arrives at Monticello and Princess Anne at 7:23, which gives me just enough time to walk to Brambleton to be on time at 7:30.

Well, first off, starting in September the buses started running late. Arrived downtown near 7:29 or 7:30, making me late. Points on my attendance record. Then came October, and the bus from the amphib base wouldn't even show up!! Had to wait for the next one a half hour later. Had to quit that job downtown and transfer to the production plant in Va, Beach, where at least I could ride my bike.

Complaining to HRT does no good. After my third email to them, the customer (dis)service rep even denied that the bus failed to show! At least they did send excuse letters to my boss so I was able to get out of that horrible job with some dignity.

Bottom line, do not NOT depend on HRT to get you to work on time. Better off with a bicycle as I am doing now.