HAMPTON, Va. — People who use Hampton Roads Transit will soon see some new upgrades at bus stops.
"We need to ensure that transit customers are treated with dignity," said William Harrell, the president and CEO of HRT. "This is the reason why HRT has prioritized the installation and lighting of more shelters."
Leaders are adding passenger shelters at many stops, so people don’t have to stand in the cold or rain.
“It’s awesome to keep people out of the rain and the weather,” explained Matt Rollins.
Rollins calls the new shelters a safe haven for HRT riders.
The organization's leaders plan to install more than 600 new passenger shelters across Hampton Roads. Each one has a bench and solar lights, and is ADA accessible. The cost of installing the passenger shelters across Hampton Roads will be roughly $20 million.
"It gives you a place to sit and wait on the bus and you are out of the elements," he said.
HRT has around 2,700 bus stops, and only 300 have shelters. Leaders said the installation of more shelters is part of a campaign to provide more amenities for their customers. They hope the new space increases ridership and helps people feel safe and comfortable waiting for their ride.
“The real effort from HRT is to make transit as convenient as possible for people in Hampton Roads to be able to choose transit to get to work,” explained HRT’s Chief Engineering and Facilities Officer, Sibyl Pappas.
She said crews already installed 40 shelters in Hampton, Newport News, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach. She said it’s going to take time to install of the new shelters.
“The program will span five years. Five years of installing shelters, working in all six cities, working through six different city processes for the installation of shelters,” she explained.
But Pappas said the payoff will be worth it.
“We know this is one shelter at a time, and as we are installing them our customers are really reacting positively," Pappas said.
HRT leaders said they also issued a new contract to a company that will make sure each transit shelter is clean.
New shelters are just one part of HRT's campaign. They also plan to invest in new buses, digital information displays and technology upgrades that will help with trip planning and mobile ticketing.
The funding for the plan is managed by the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission and was approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 2020.
Hampton Roads residents can also expect to see route expansions and increased frequencies over the next three years.
Expanded service will be implemented onto 13 bus routes, which will feature 15-minute service frequencies and longer spans of service.
"HRT is laser-focused on hiring new operators, mechanics and other staff in order to assemble the needed workforce to implement new services," Harrell added. "Future staffing levels will drive the timing of program implementation."