Microtransit is coming to Bayside in Virginia Beach, reviving a Hampton Roads Transit program offering on-demand rides for customers in the city.
City council voted Tuesday to match an HRT grant to provide microtransit in Virginia Beach.
“Microtransit” means responsive transit options riders can book — something between bus routes and taxicabs, a bit like Uber ride pools.
This isn’t the first time HRT has offered on-demand rides. A pilot program offered the service in Virginia Beach and Newport News from July 2022 to February 2023. Customers could download an app and book rides by entering pickup and drop-off locations. There were about 13,000 ride requests in Virginia Beach during the pilot period.
The Bayside area was one zone of two selected for the new project.
The other zone was the Oceanfront — but residents and businesses there didn’t want to be included in the project, said Councilmember Worth Remick, who represents the district.
Ray Amaruso, HRT’s chief planning and development officer, told council HRT identified the Oceanfront as a zone for microtransit to replace the Freebee rideshare program, which will end after funding expires in October.
He said HRT would work with the council to identify an alternative second zone for the project. There are a lot of areas in Virginia Beach that don’t have a fixed route bus service where microtransit would be beneficial, he said.
Council ultimately voted to set aside $350,000 in matching funds for Bayside and will use $116,000 to match HRT’s money for the yet-to-be identified second zone.
The project in Bayside doesn’t have a start date yet, but it could be soon, Amoruso said.
