Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Someone Does Listen at HRT, Second Edition

A change in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regulations forced Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) to discontinue the Oceana and Norfolk Navy base tours. The tours used special buses with high-backed cushioned seats, overhead bins, etc. Bus riders compared riding them to Greyhound when they were occasionally pressed into mainline service. The buses all have numbers in the 1800s, the tell-tale sign when you see one at a distance.

With the tours gone, what becomes of the buses? On September 24 I was mortified to see one of them put on Route 310 (Downtown Shuttle) at rush hour. I e-mailed HRT pointing out that it was overkill. With their comforts, they would be much more appropriate on HRT's longest routes, such as Routes 1 and 20.

Therefore, I am very happy to report that Buses 1805, 1806, and 1808 were all on Route 20 on Wednesday. Someone at 15th Street (HRT's Southside administrative offices) is obviously paying attention to my e-mail.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I was on one while riding the 15 yesterday. A good ending to a hard afternoon.