An articulated 60-foot bus operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. GRTC is planning to introduce four similar buses to its fleet to serve the Pulse line. (Images courtesy GRTC)
More than five years after launching the Pulse, GRTC has a project in the works to introduce new, larger buses to the rapid-transit line.
The transit agency is planning to add four 60-foot-long articulated buses to the fleet dedicated to the Pulse, which runs from Rocketts Landing in Richmond to Willow Lawn in Henrico County.
These new vehicles are larger than GRTC’s current buses, and will bring increased per-vehicle capacity to the Pulse. GRTC anticipates the new buses, which are built on-demand by Canada-based New Flyer, will be on local roads in 2025, according to GRTC spokesman Henry Bendon.
The articulated buses, so named for the accordion-like joint in the middle of the bus that helps the long vehicles make turns, are expected to cost $1.1 million each.
The project is fueled by demand for the rapid-transit line, which opened in June 2018.
“We have seen overwhelming demand for the service,” Bendon said. “We want to provide additional capacity.”
The new buses will join the Pulse-dedicated, 40-foot buses that currently service the line. The idea is that, over time, GRTC will replace the current fleet with articulated buses and reassign those smaller buses to other routes, Bendon said.
The 60-foot buses will be able to transport 120 people, compared to the 76-passenger capacity of GRTC’s current 40-foot buses. GRTC’s fleet overall consists of 29-, 35- and 40-foot buses.
This year, there have been 1.3 million rides on the Pulse through September, and Bendon said GRTC is on track to finish the year with 1.8 million rides in the books on the Pulse.
In the 2022 calendar year, there were 1.6 million rides on the Pulse. In 2019, the first full year of the line’s operation, there were 2.2 million rides on the Pulse, according to figures provided by GRTC.
Bendon said that the 2022 figure reflected periods of time where there was “significantly less” service offered compared to 2019 due to shortages of bus drivers. Come January, GRTC expects to return the Pulse line to full service.
Alteration of the structure of the Pulse’s 26 stations will be needed in order to accommodate the larger buses, and the line is expected to continue to operate during that construction. That project is anticipated to be put out to bid to contractors before the end of the year, with construction on stations estimated to start in February, Bendon said.
The new buses and alterations would arrive ahead of a planned extension of the Pulse farther west to the Parham and Broad intersection in Henrico. Construction on that new station is expected to start in 2026 and operations to begin in 2028.
GRTC officials also are considering an expansion of the service with a new north-south line.
The GRTC Board of Directors voted in October to approve a so-called “recommended alignment” for a future expansion of the Pulse that would bring it into Chesterfield County and north through Richmond.
The route, which was selected out of several alternatives and after a year of outreach and study efforts, would run from around Chesterfield Towne Center along Midlothian Turnpike and Hull Street, over the Manchester Bridge and into downtown Richmond where it would intersect with the existing Pulse line and go north up Chamberlayne Avenue to its intersection with Azalea Avenue on the Richmond-Henrico border.
Though the recommendation step has been taken, GRTC still has work to do in regard to the fine details of the route’s design, traffic planning and an environmental impact study. More public engagement is planned, according to a GRTC news release.
A map showing the proposed north-south Pulse line (in red). The current Pulse line is shown in purple.
A cost estimate on construction of a north-south line is still being hashed out. Bendon said the existing east-west line cost about $60 million to build, and noted that the north-south line is expected to be about twice as long. The current Pulse line is about 8 miles long.
GRTC currently estimates that construction of the north-south Pulse line will start in 2029 and be completed in 2031.
The regional transit provider is jointly owned by Richmond and Chesterfield. GRTC’s board features representatives from both jurisdictions as well as officials from Henrico, which joined the board last year. GRTC recently opened a new temporary transfer station in downtown Richmond.
An articulated 60-foot bus operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. GRTC is planning to introduce four similar buses to its fleet to serve the Pulse line. (Images courtesy GRTC)
More than five years after launching the Pulse, GRTC has a project in the works to introduce new, larger buses to the rapid-transit line.
The transit agency is planning to add four 60-foot-long articulated buses to the fleet dedicated to the Pulse, which runs from Rocketts Landing in Richmond to Willow Lawn in Henrico County.
These new vehicles are larger than GRTC’s current buses, and will bring increased per-vehicle capacity to the Pulse. GRTC anticipates the new buses, which are built on-demand by Canada-based New Flyer, will be on local roads in 2025, according to GRTC spokesman Henry Bendon.
The articulated buses, so named for the accordion-like joint in the middle of the bus that helps the long vehicles make turns, are expected to cost $1.1 million each.
The project is fueled by demand for the rapid-transit line, which opened in June 2018.
“We have seen overwhelming demand for the service,” Bendon said. “We want to provide additional capacity.”
The new buses will join the Pulse-dedicated, 40-foot buses that currently service the line. The idea is that, over time, GRTC will replace the current fleet with articulated buses and reassign those smaller buses to other routes, Bendon said.
The 60-foot buses will be able to transport 120 people, compared to the 76-passenger capacity of GRTC’s current 40-foot buses. GRTC’s fleet overall consists of 29-, 35- and 40-foot buses.
This year, there have been 1.3 million rides on the Pulse through September, and Bendon said GRTC is on track to finish the year with 1.8 million rides in the books on the Pulse.
In the 2022 calendar year, there were 1.6 million rides on the Pulse. In 2019, the first full year of the line’s operation, there were 2.2 million rides on the Pulse, according to figures provided by GRTC.
Bendon said that the 2022 figure reflected periods of time where there was “significantly less” service offered compared to 2019 due to shortages of bus drivers. Come January, GRTC expects to return the Pulse line to full service.
Alteration of the structure of the Pulse’s 26 stations will be needed in order to accommodate the larger buses, and the line is expected to continue to operate during that construction. That project is anticipated to be put out to bid to contractors before the end of the year, with construction on stations estimated to start in February, Bendon said.
The new buses and alterations would arrive ahead of a planned extension of the Pulse farther west to the Parham and Broad intersection in Henrico. Construction on that new station is expected to start in 2026 and operations to begin in 2028.
GRTC officials also are considering an expansion of the service with a new north-south line.
The GRTC Board of Directors voted in October to approve a so-called “recommended alignment” for a future expansion of the Pulse that would bring it into Chesterfield County and north through Richmond.
The route, which was selected out of several alternatives and after a year of outreach and study efforts, would run from around Chesterfield Towne Center along Midlothian Turnpike and Hull Street, over the Manchester Bridge and into downtown Richmond where it would intersect with the existing Pulse line and go north up Chamberlayne Avenue to its intersection with Azalea Avenue on the Richmond-Henrico border.
Though the recommendation step has been taken, GRTC still has work to do in regard to the fine details of the route’s design, traffic planning and an environmental impact study. More public engagement is planned, according to a GRTC news release.
A map showing the proposed north-south Pulse line (in red). The current Pulse line is shown in purple.
A cost estimate on construction of a north-south line is still being hashed out. Bendon said the existing east-west line cost about $60 million to build, and noted that the north-south line is expected to be about twice as long. The current Pulse line is about 8 miles long.
GRTC currently estimates that construction of the north-south Pulse line will start in 2029 and be completed in 2031.
The regional transit provider is jointly owned by Richmond and Chesterfield. GRTC’s board features representatives from both jurisdictions as well as officials from Henrico, which joined the board last year. GRTC recently opened a new temporary transfer station in downtown Richmond.
this is great, though I’m a bit horrified the stations need to be rebuilt. Richmond government’s ability to plan for the future is just as competent as the rest of basic government services.
It would be nice if Richmond focused on competence
The Pulse has exceeded expectations and I doubt any envisioned the need for these larger busses. If they had planned the stations that large, there would.lilwly have been criticism for over building and wasting public funds. I see nothing negative about this expansion, it’s building on the success of the system.
Spot on, Keith. It’s the next logical step in the natural progression for PULSE. Glad to see this is moving forward.
Agreed, Keith. Many people forget how much controversy the pulse had at the beginning with removal of street parking and how long Broad St was under construction. I’m still surprised to this day GRTC pulled it off. If GRTC had more money from the start it’s likely they would have found a way to make the route extend to Parham or Short Pump. As you say, having bigger stations and wanting larger buses are a new needs due to its success. At the time the pulse was being planned, we knew the pulse would do well. However, it has seen… Read more »
Good timing also with the plans for redevelopment at Willow Lawn.
It is free to ride now, numbers will fall when folks have to pay high fares again…….
While I do believe that free fairs have made a significant impact on GRTC ridership, the pulse had over 2.2 million riders before fairs were free, so with or without them i do see it being considerably busy!
Is that why they got rid of the fares, or was that the Secret Plan all along?
It’s somewhat akin to repaving all of the roads and then digging them up to replace utility lines, innit?
Alterations, not to be “Rebuilt”.
That is CLEARLY not the political goal of the Richmond govt. It’s more to subsidize incompetence. For instance, one need no know how to drive or pay for one’s own transportation with this.
Exciting plans!!! But 2029 feels so far away :/
Agreed on both points, Miles.
Wonderful to see Richmonders embracing mass transit. When can we get the light rail lines from Short Pump and Midlothian started? #commutertrains
We’re not getting those, because we got a $60mil bus that goes 8 miles instead.
That was just the start up. The entire cost of operation since inception to transport the varying 1.8 – 2.2 million per year, excluding the 1st year plus that they charged to ride, is all on the taxpayers including those that provide their own transportation at quite a cost, are also paying for everyone that rides.
Much as I’d love to see it, it’s not happening anytime soon – and I doubt I’ll see it in my lifetime. The only way this happens is if RVA (both metro and city) somehow started growing at the rate of the likes of Nashville, Austin, Raleigh (and we all know that ain’t gonna happen) – and sustained that level of growth for a decade and got the metro up over 2 million. Then we might see some kind of rail system here. Otherwise, it’s a lovely dream – but it’s just that – a dream.
Based. But not the whole story we are starting at a smaller base than those places and hence hitting their growth rates wouldn’t be enough. We don’t even have light rail in NoVa in the places that it might make some sense to some people. We’ve got the Metro, but that is because of DC and because there is a real Intl airport in NoVa. If it doesn’t yet make sense to put light rail on, say Columbia Turnpike, it doesn’t make sense to have it anywhere in Richmond. As I have said here before, I understand why KC is… Read more »
Shawn – regarding starting at a smaller base: that is quite true. Note, however, that I said we’d have to maintain stratospheric rates of growth akin to our competitors for at least a decade – (and I failed to include – probably for far longer) – and grow the metro to more than 2 million before we’d ever see anything like light rail materialize.
Bottom line is: I wont see it in my lifetime – and I doubt my kids will either.
Uhm….
Do numbers mean anything to you?
Knock knock (Who’s There?) Math. (Math Who?) The Math You Didn’t Do.
Let’s be honest. The Pulse has exceeded expectations because the ride is “free,” at this point in time. Furthermore, GRTC is having trouble finding additional drivers. The three articulated buses save GRTC from hiring three additional drivers.
It was exceeding expectations before COVID. That was also prior to VCU’s agreement that gave students, faculty and staff free passes.
All transit agencies across the country are having trouble finding workers, so it’s not limited to GRTC. Hopefully all of GRTC can remain free to encourage more people to give up their cars and help reduce congestion. The Pulse has been a success since it started.
Let’s be honest. According to the article the ridership numbers were higher in 2019 when they were not free.
Successful?? How so? There are businesses that didn’t survive the construction phase. There are businesses still struggling in spite of money given to them specifically for the negative effect of the construction. Broad Street is a maze, literally, for drivers to have a clue as to which lanes they can and cannot travel in and where they can turn or not turn. There was traffic congestion on Broad BEFORE the loss of an entire lane. Early on, when fares were collected, they had no clue as to profitability unable to determine the numbers of riders or the riders that didn’t… Read more »
Ken, your numbers and logic are flawed. The point of mass transit is not to operate in the black. Mass transit exists to move more people while using less resources and space, which The Pulse is doing well.
Also, to allow more dense development without creating more traffic demands, which does help local taxes revenues and also brings in more customers for local businesses.
I have been on the Pulse when every seat and every square inch of standing room was taken and people were left at the station for the next bus. Broad is not more congested even though one lane was lost.
So Ken – what is your solution? Can you offer something concrete which you can back with verifiable facts such as examples of other mass transit systems in other cities to include ridership, per capita expenditures vs revenues, etc., that would actually work, since in your opinion, the current system in Richmond is so irretrievably broken? I’m curious to know the means and methods by which you would fix this.