2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 28
Establishing a joint subcommittee to study options for providing long-term, sustainable, and dedicated operations and capital funding with cost-containment controls to ensure that the public transit systems that serve Hampton Roads , including all modes of Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) service, local and express bus, light rail, passenger ferry, paratransit, on-demand microtransit, and seasonal trolley and shuttle services, other ridesharing and commuter programs, and any future modes of public transportation or mobility services that may be developed to serve the Hampton Roads region, meet the growing public transit needs of the region. Report.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 12, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, March 4, 2026
WHEREAS, Hampton Roads is served by Hampton Roads Transit (HRT), Suffolk Transit, and the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority (WATA), which move more than 25,000 customers per day; and
WHEREAS, HRT is the Commonwealth's largest public transportation agency outside of Northern Virginia and metropolitan Washington D.C., serving six of the top 10 largest cities in the Commonwealth and the second largest metropolitan area, including Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach; and
WHEREAS, WATA operates 12 fixed routes that serve citizens and visitors of James City County, the City of Williamsburg, and York County; and
WHEREAS, Suffolk Transit provides safe, cost-efficient fixed route transit services to Suffolk's core downtown service area and northern Suffolk, and a connection to HRT; and
WHEREAS, a successful regional public transit system is critical to the economic prosperity of Hampton Roads; it connects riders to jobs, reduces traffic congestion by removing single-occupancy vehicles from the roadways, and helps residents and visitors attain an education, receive health care, connect with family and friends, and attend places of worship, recreational and community activities, and sporting events; and