Norfolk and the rest of Hampton Roads share a single transit operator, Hampton Roads Transit (HRT), which runs the light rail, the buses, a downtown ferry, and — in season — a beach trolley in Virginia Beach. One payment system covers all of it, and you never pay more than a few dollars no matter how much you ride in a day.
The basics
The Tide is Norfolk’s light rail line, running about 7.4 miles from the EVMC/Fort Norfolk station near downtown’s medical campus east to Newtown Road, with stops at Harbor Park (home of the Norfolk Tides) and Norfolk State University along the way. It’s the backbone for getting across the city without a car.
Around it, HRT runs a network of local and express buses across Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, and Newport News — including an express Route 20 that runs straight from Downtown Norfolk Transit Center to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The Elizabeth River Ferry crosses the harbor between Norfolk’s High Street Landing, Portsmouth’s North Landing, and the Waterside District downtown. In Virginia Beach, the seasonal VB Wave trolleys and Bayfront bus cover the Oceanfront, Rudee Inlet, and First Landing State Park from May through early September.
How to pay
HRT’s payment system is called GoMobile, and it gives you several ways to pay the same fare:
- Scan the GoMobile app. Download it, create an account, add a virtual card, and load it with money. Hold your phone under the scanner to board a bus or ferry; for light rail, scan at the platform validator before boarding.
- Tap a reloadable GoMobile card. Buy one at a Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) or customer service location — the card itself costs $2, plus whatever value you load onto it (up to $200).
- Tap a contactless bank card or phone wallet (Apple Pay, Google Pay). No account or card purchase needed — HRT accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.
- Pay cash on board a bus or ferry, or at a TVM at light rail stations, bus transit centers, and ferry docks. TVMs don’t give change — you’ll get a receipt for the difference, good toward a future ride. Light rail TVMs also sell single-ride paper tickets, good for 30 minutes, which must be validated before boarding.
Whichever you choose, use the same card, phone, or account every time — that’s what lets HRT’s “Tap & Save” system track your fare capping across the day and month.
Fares
| Standard | Discounted | |
|---|---|---|
| Single trip | $2.00 | $1.00 |
| Day cap | $4.50 | $2.25 |
| Month cap | $70.00 | $40.00 |
With Tap & Save, you pay $2 for your first ride and $2 for your second, then just 50 cents for a third ride that day — after that, every ride for the rest of the day is free, as long as you keep using the same card or account. The same logic applies monthly: once you hit $70 in a calendar month, the rest of that month’s rides are free.
Children 17 and under ride free with a fare-paying adult, as do teens with a Student Freedom Pass. The discounted fare is available to seniors 65+, Medicare cardholders, and riders with a disability certified by a physician — pick up a free Discounted Fare ID at an HRT processing location (bring a state/government/military ID; seniors and Medicare cardholders don’t need an application). Certified paratransit riders ride HRT’s buses, light rail, and ferry for free.
One more nice one: on Norfolk Tides game days, the Tide and the ferry are free to and from Harbor Park.
Getting from the airport
Norfolk International Airport (ORF) doesn’t have a direct public transit connection. The airport’s own ground transportation page lists only rental cars, taxis, rideshare (pickup is on the arrivals level, between Crosswalks 1 and 2), limousine and courtesy vehicles, and peer-to-peer car sharing — no HRT bus route serves the terminal, and none of HRT’s own route listings for Norfolk name an airport line.
If you’re headed into the city, a taxi or rideshare from the terminal is your option.
Apps to download
- HRT GoMobile — the official app for buying and managing fares, creating virtual cards for each person in your group, and scanning or tapping to board.
- Google Maps — HRT publishes its schedule data as GTFS, which flows into general trip-planning apps for routes and timing.
When it runs
The Tide runs daily. On weekdays, trains start around 5:25–5:30am and run until about 11:30pm, roughly every 15 minutes through most of the day, stretching to about every 30 minutes in the early morning and late evening. Sunday service starts later, around 11am.
The Elizabeth River Ferry also runs daily, year-round, about every 30 minutes (every 15 minutes during summer afternoon and evening peaks, Memorial Day through Labor Day). It generally starts around 5:30am on weekdays and 10am on weekends, with last departures ranging from around 9:30pm on winter weeknights up to 11:45pm on summer and weekend nights.
The VB Wave trolleys and Bayfront bus only run seasonally, from May 10 through Labor Day (with extended Friday–Sunday service through Virginia Beach’s Neptune Festival in September) — there’s no beach trolley service the rest of the year.
Accessibility
Service animals are welcome on all HRT vehicles and in all HRT facilities, and you aren’t required to show certification for them. HRT will make reasonable modifications to its policies on request — ask a bus or light rail operator directly, or the “Designated Vessel Deckhand for ADA” on the ferry, for field accommodations.
Paratransit is HRT’s door-to-door service for riders who are ADA-eligible. Schedule a ride through the GoMobile app, the web portal, or by calling the Paratransit Call Center at (757) 455-8010 — phone scheduling is available 8am–5pm for trips in the next seven days, and live support to check on or cancel a confirmed ride runs from 4am to midnight daily.
Etiquette & local quirks
- Use the same card every time. Tap & Save only tracks your daily and monthly cap if you keep tapping the same GoMobile card, phone, or bank card — switch cards mid-day and you’ll start a new cap.
- Traveling as a group? Create a separate virtual card in the GoMobile app for each person, load each one, and scan them individually when boarding.
- Restrooms at HRT transit centers are for paying customers — be ready to show proof of fare.
- Heading to a Norfolk Tides game? Don’t bother tapping — the Tide and the ferry are free to and from Harbor Park on game days.
Good to know
- Fare zones — the waiting areas at stops, platforms, and transit centers — require a valid fare just to wait there, not only to ride.
- Light rail boarding is proof-of-payment style: tap or scan at the platform validator before the train arrives, and be ready to show your fare to an onboard attendee if asked.
- TVMs don’t make change in cash — they issue a receipt for the difference, redeemable on a future ride.