Non-Drivers in Hampton Roads

Last Wednesday, the HRMPO released a report on non-drivers in Hampton Roads. I think that it would be a great resource for promoting better transportation spending in places like Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and even Norfolk. Most regard Norfolk as having the best service from HRT. The buses are plentiful, run usually every half hour, and run late into the night. Even HRT's President & CEO, Michael Townes, suggests that Norfolk gets a great deal, paying less for service than similar cities with similar service. For Norfolk's over 26,000 non-drivers, this service is barely adaquate, and could use improvement. Now we look at Virginia Beach. For a city that has only one bus line that runs past 6:30 PM, they, too, have over 26,000 non-drivers. As you can see from below, in this figure from the HRMPO report, not all of the Virginia Beach non-drivers live close to the #20 (VB Blvd bus route).

Click for larger image. Each pink dot equals one non-driver, each black dot represents a bus stop

This is an OBVIOUS case for increased funding from Virginia Beach to go towards mass transportation. Same thing with Chesapeake. They have nearly 13,000 non-drivers. While that is not as many as Norfolk and Virginia Beach, it is greater than that of Portsmouth and Hampton, and nearly as much as Newport News, all of which have better bus systems.

Each purple dot represents 10 non-drivers, each black dot represents on bus stop

As you can see, a majority of non-drivers live near bus stops, with some exceptions. Virginia Beach has a very large quantity of non-drivers that live over a mile from a stop. Also, keep in mind that only the Virginia Beach Blvd route (#20) runs after 6:30 in Virginia Beach. I have a challenge for everyone out there but especially city leader. I challenge you to be home by 6:30 every day, no exceptions. That is how the non-drivers in Virginia Beach live.

Each image was borrowed from the HRMPO report presentation which can be found here. The actual report can be found here.