Hampton Roads Transit was the first transit agency in Virginia to develop and adopt a Transit Strategic Plan (TSP) which set the stage for a new transit network that provides higher frequencies and longer spans of service across the region. Foursquare ITP developed HRT’s first major TSP in 2020 and has developed detailed annual updates each year since.
The TSP comprehensively evaluates the transit market and services and provided and offers detailed plans to support a 13-route Regional High-Frequency Network in the six-city region. HRT had previously, through the regional Transformational Transit project (also conducted by Foursquare ITP) identified a need to significantly improve mobility in the region to create opportunities and bolster economic sustainability. Foursquare ITP used the findings from the alternative scenarios and extensive stakeholder and public engagement from this earlier study to develop detailed operating plans and financial plans for the 13-route regional network and all of the supporting local services. The TSP provided HRT an opportunity to update its service guidelines, leading to the creation of four new service category types – Regional Backbone, Local Priority, Coverage, and Demand Responsive – each with type specific levels of service and performance measures that will help to standardize bus service across the region.
Foursquare ITP’s efforts assisted HRT with successfully securing over $31 million in dedicated annual capital and operating funding from the Commonwealth to fund the regional services. Our ongoing work with HRT has enabled us to develop a phased implementation plan for this service, which is being integrated with post-COVID service increases in concert with addressing the agency’s operator shortage.