Greater Richmond Transit Company
The Greater Richmond Transit Company, known locally as GRTC Transit System, is a local government-owned public service company which operates an urban-suburban bus line based in Richmond, Virginia.
GRTC primarily serves the independent city of Richmond and a very small portion of the adjacent counties of Henrico, Hanover, and Chesterfield with a fleet of over 157 diesel-powered and CNG-powered transit buses operating approximately 45 routes.
GRTC uses government-funded equipment and resources principally provided by the Federal Transit Administration, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and local funds. It also maintains equipment and has other affiliations with Petersburg Area Transit, a similar agency which also serves a portion of Chesterfield County.
Ownership and management
As a public service company, GRTC is owned equally by the City of Richmond and neighboring Chesterfield County. Henrico and Hanover counties currently purchase services from it, but hold no ownership interest.It is managed by a private transit management company that provides the CEO, COO, and Transportation Manager, as was its predecessor, Virginia Transit Company. GRTC itself has 400 employees.
Immediately after GRTC was formed, American Transportation Enterprises, Inc., through a subsidiary, continued to provide management.
Fleet
142 transit vehicles, 96 CARE vehicles, and 27 support vehicles95 fixed route transit vehicles use CNG fuel
88 CARE vehicles use CNG fuel
In June 2020, the GRTC Board of Directors approved to purchase a replacement bus for #2004 that was destroyed during the riots. The bus should be placed into service on the GRTC Pulse route sometime in January 2021. This bus will be a 40ft Gillig Low Floor CNG BRTPlus model.
Routes
| Route No. | Name | Start | End | Map/Schedule |
| BRT | GRTC Pulse | Willow Lawn | Rocketts Landing | |
| 1A | Chamberlayne/Hull/Midlothian | Chamberlayne | Spring Rock Green | |
| 1B | Chamberlayne/Hull/Warwick | Chamberlayne | Giant Dr. | |
| 1C | Chamberlayne/Hull/Elkhardt | Chamberlayne | Chippenham Mall | |
| 2A | Forest Hill/North Ave | Moss Side | Stony Point Medical Center | |
| 2B | North Ave/Jahnke/Midlothian | Moss Side | Chippenham Square | |
| 2C | North Ave/Midlothian/Belt Blvd | Moss Side | Circle Shopping Center | |
| 3A | Highland/Jeff Davis/Harwood | Highland & Missouri | Lone & Harwood | |
| 3B | Highland/Jeff Davis | Highland & Missouri | Food Lion - Ampthill | |
| 3C | Highland/Harwood/Jeff Davis | Highland & Missouri | Food Lion - Ampthill | |
| 4A | Montrose | 23rd & Franklin | Rawlings & Government | |
| 4B | Darbytown | 23rd & Franklin | Henrico Arms Place | |
| 5 | Cary/Main/Whitcomb | Carytown | Whitcomb Court | |
| 7A - 7B | Nine Mile Henrico | Downtown Transfer Plaza | Richmond International Airport | |
| 12 | Church Hill | Marshall & 3rd Street | Downtown Transfer Plaza | |
| 13 | Oakwood | Oakwood | 23rd & Franklin | |
| 14 | Hermitage/East Main | Chamberlayne | 23rd & Franklin | |
| 18 | Henrico Government Center | Willow Lawn | Henrico County Government Center | |
| 19 | West Broad Street | Willow Lawn | Short Pump | |
| 20 | Orbital | Prince Hall | 3rd Ave. & Dill | |
| 23x & 26x | Glenside/Parham Express | Parham Park-N-Ride & Glenside Park-N-Ride | Downtown | |
| 27x | Glenside Express | Glenside Park-N-Ride | Downtown | |
| 28x | White Oak Express | White Oak Village | Downtown | |
| 29x | Gaskins Express | Gaskins Park-N-Ride | Downtown | |
| 39 | Fairmount/Oakwood | Downtown Transfer Plaza | 35th Street | |
| 50 | Broad Street | Willow Lawn | DMV Drive | |
| 56 | South Laburnum | White Oak Village | Downtown | |
| 64x | Stony Point Express | Stony Point Shopping Center | Downtown | |
| 75 | Three Chopt | Willow Lawn | University of Richmond | |
| 76 | Patterson | Willow Lawn | DMV Drive | |
| 77 | Grove | Willow Lawn | DMV Drive | |
| 78 | Cary/Maymont | Carytown | Downtown Transfer Plaza | |
| 79 | Patterson/Parham | Willow Lawn | Gayton Crossing Shopping Center | |
| 82x | Commonwealth 20 Express | Commonwealth 20 | Downtown | |
| 86 | Broad Rock/Walmsley | Southside Plaza | Banton/Dupont | |
| 87 | Bellemeade/Hopkins | Southside Plaza | Downtown Transfer Plaza | |
| 88 | Belt/Bells/Ruffin | Southside Plaza | Maxxim Medical | |
| 91 | Laburnum Connector | Willow Lawn | Millers Lane | |
| 93 | Azalea Connector | Brook & Azalea | Treehouse Apartments | |
| 95x | Petersburg Express | Downtown | Petersburg, Virginia | |
| 102x | Kings Dominion Express | Downtown | Doswell, VA | |
| 111 | Falling Creek/Tyler | Food Lion - Ampthill | John Tyler Community College |
- Currently Routes 28X, 39, 75 and 102X are not in service.
- Stony Point Fashion Park - 64x
- Commonwealth 20 - 82x
- Petersburg - 95x
- Kings Dominion - 102x
- Parham Road - 23, 26
- Glenside Drive - 23, 27
- White Oaks Village - 28
- Gaskins Road - 29
Paratransit service
Facilities
The GRTC Headquarters and bus garage is located near the intersection of Belt Boulevard and Midlothian Turnpike in South Richmond.Incidents
- On September 21, 2007, a women was struck by a GRTC bus along 8th and Marshall. The women was seriously injured and would later file charges against GRTC.
- On December 5, 2012, a car rear-ended a GRTC bus and caught fire along Broad Street. One person was sent to the hospital.
- On September 24, 2015, A GRTC bus struck a utility pole in the Randolph neighborhood leaving hundreds without power.
- On June 27, 2018, multiple people were injured when an GRTC bus and a car collided head in eastern Henrico County.
- On July 10, 2018, a GRTC bus collided with a pickup truck when it was making a left-hand turn through the dedicated bus lane on West Broad Street, at the intersection of Broad and N Allen Ave.
- On January 5, 2019, a GRTC bus and an SUV collided along Broad Street. Multiple people were injured.
- On March 5, 2019, a GRTC bus was involved in a minor collision with a car along the intersection of Crutchfield and Roanoke.
- On October 8, 2019, a GRTC bus struck and killed a woman along Broad Street. The driver was also taken to the hospital.
- On November 11, 2019, a GRTC bus was involved in a head-on collision along West 33rd Street and Midlothian Turnpike. Four people were injured.
- On February 24, 2020, a man attempted to hijack a GRTC bus along Brook Road and Azalea Ave. The man was later arrested.
- On May 20, 2020, a driver spun out of control and crashed into a GRTC bus along East Broad Street. The driver of the car was killed and three passengers on the bus were injured.
- During the overnight hours of May 29 into May 30, 2020, rioters vandalized and set fire to a GRTC Pulse bus in Downtown Richmond following protests and riots over the killing of George Floyd. There were no passengers or a driver on board at the time. The bus was destroyed in the ensuing protests.