Starting Monday, Route 20 buses will stop every 15 minutes.
The route runs from downtown Norfolk all the way to the Oceanfront. Pre-pandemic, it had the highest ridership rates in the state – around 3,000 people a day.
HRT suspended 15-minute service on Route 20 during COVID-19, due to both the sharp drop in riders and loss of employees.
Alexis Majied with HRT told WHRO it’s time to get back to 15-minute wait times. With increased service, she hopes commuters will boost ridership to its former level.
“If the bus only comes every 30 minutes or an hour, that can really mess up your schedule,” she said.
“But if you know that you've missed the bus and another one will be here in the next 15 minutes, that kind of keeps you on schedule, gives you a little more freedom, a little more flexibility.”
Majied says it took 19 new hires to fill the employment need for increasing the service.
HRT will have to hire even more to bring wait times on other routes down to 15-minutes. Majied said it’s implemented a program to boost hiring by training new hires and providing them with commercial driver’s permits.
“Once you get your permit, then we can train you in the classroom and on the road so that you can feel comfortable getting your CDL,” Majied said.
HRT is looking to increase frequency on two more routes – 1 and 15 — in the coming year.
