For the more than 70,000 service members and civilians who make the sprawling Naval Station Norfolk tick, the free Base Express bus service has become an essential part of navigating life since it launched in December 2022, far exceeding ridership expectations, according to the Navy and Hampton Roads Transit.

Its initial goal was to serve 26,000 passengers in its first three years. It blew past that in less than a year.

As of May, Base Express had served more than 188,000 passengers, more than 4,500 riders per month, according to HRT data. It has averaged between 6,000 and 7,000 per month since March.

Officials say the service has had a significant impact on morale and mission readiness. The primary goal was to support the thousands of junior sailors and those on short-term deployments without personal vehicles — which leadership identified as a major need for years. But it’s also used regularly by students, civilian employees, contractors, reservists, visitors and others who frequent the base, according to Kelly Wirfel, a spokesperson for Naval Station Norfolk.

“Base Express supports quality of life by providing a free, dependable transportation option that connects personnel with workplaces, training facilities, services and amenities across the installation,” Wirfel said in an email. “Reliable transportation helps reduce stress associated with commuting and allows sailors and civilian employees to focus on accomplishing the mission.”

Base Express is funded through a $2.3 million Transit Ridership Incentive Program multi-year grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, according to HRT spokesperson Thomas Becher.

The Navy heavily promotes Base Express through command outreach, newcomer information, installation communications, and digital messaging, as well as through promotional events and rider engagement efforts, according to Wirfel.

Caleb Smith, HRT’s military and government outreach liaison, said attracting new riders is “pretty easy” once they know how to use it.

“They can see (the buses) pass right by all their duty stations, so it’s not that hard of a sell.”

The stops and routes were planned in collaboration with the Navy to pinpoint highest traffic areas, Smith said.

The service’s rapid growth came following pandemic restrictions, when public transit ridership was at an all-time low nationally, and about 15 years after the base discontinued its previous shuttle service and HRT bus routes. Offering HRT service on the base presented a challenge partly due to the impact on the already dense traffic but also because each bus operator needed base access, which became increasingly difficult to obtain, according to Becher.

Robert Dwyer, a machinist mate taking a three-month course on base, said he arrived in February and found out about the Base Express by looking for a way to avoid walking in the cold. Though he had never used public transit, he uses it every day to commute to his classes and to do grocery shopping and to access other amenities on-base.

Living off-base and having left his personal vehicle in Florida, he said it would take him about an hour to walk to his classes without the Express.

The Express consists of two routes, Blue and Gold, using repurposed Paratransit buses from HRT. Its drivers are contractors with Easton Coach, which specializes in staffing operators for handicap accessible buses. Easton Coach works with the Navy to get all their operators access to the base, which requires them to pass the Navy’s background check, according to Smith.

The routes are limited to the west side of the base, with its western-most stop being at Gilbert Street and 1st Avenue.

The Blue Route’s two buses are confined to the base itself, with stops every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, while the Gold Route’s one bus stops every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. The Gold Route connects to the HRT stop outside the base by the Navy Exchange and serves key internal points such as the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, while the Blue Route takes a more circuitous route around the outer points of the base including the piers where the majority of people work.

Other key stops for the Blue Route include Devary Court, which houses a laundromat, food court, movie room, mini mart, post office, barber shop and pool hall.

After being discussed for many years, Base Express came together during the pandemic through a collaboration between Naval Station Norfolk, HRT, the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and other regional stakeholders, a partnership unique among military installations which largely rely on their own shuttles rather than their respective region’s public transit system, according to Wirfel.

“Exceeding the original ridership goal by such a significant margin demonstrates there was a greater demand than initially anticipated,” Wirfel said.

She added that while there are no current plans to expand the service, the Navy is “committed to identifying opportunities to improve mobility across the installation.”

©2026 The Virginian-Pilot.
Visit pilotonline.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.