VCU begins new shuttle service as contract with GRTC ends

Heciel Nieves Bonilla, Assistant News Editor

A new shuttle operated by VCU began service on Aug. 1 as the university’s contract to fund Richmond’s zero-fare public bus service comes to a close. 

The shuttle, called RamsXpress, will be exclusive to students, faculty and staff with a VCU ID card and can be tracked on the Ride Pingo app, according to VCU News. It will provide rides between the Monroe Park and MCV Campuses, from James Branch Cabell Library to the Larrick Student Center.

The Greater Richmond Transit Company initially offered to work with VCU on the new shuttle service within its system, but VCU chose to operate it independently, according to GRTC communications manager Ashley Potter.

“This decision came after VCU ended its funding agreement with the GRTC,” Potter said. 

The shuttle does not duplicate GRTC service routes and the broader network will remain available for VCU students, faculty and staff, according to Potter. GRTC will continue to monitor route 5 and overall ridership to see how use on the VCU-only route may shift travel patterns.

“Midday Pulse service was reduced following the end of VCU’s contract and associated funding, but our new articulated buses should help meet demand as we continue to track ridership trends,” Potter said, referring to new, higher-capacity “accordion” buses for the Pulse, the most-used line in the area. 

GRTC allots around $6.8 million each year for fare-free service, which is slated to continue through the following fiscal year, according to Potter. VCU’s previous yearly contribution to GRTC was $1.2 million.

Along with midday service reduction, the funding gap left by this contract closure and any future state cuts will be remedied in part by GRTC’s fiscal year 2025 surplus and earned interest, according to Potter. The rest will be covered by advertising on buses, the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grant and the new Transit Access Partnership — a way for individuals to donate directly to keep zero-fare running. 

The total cost of running VCU’s new shuttle is expected to be a little over $900,000, which is $300,000 less than the university’s GRTC contribution, according to Josh Stone, executive director of VCU Parking and Transportation. Shuttle operations will be outsourced to RMA Worldwide, the same transportation vendor that operates RamRide between VCU parking lots and RamSafe as a nighttime point-to-point service.

“This route was created as a result of the university scheduling more programs on both campuses, requiring students to be able to move between the campuses quicker than we could previously provide,” Stone said. “As an urban campus, we do not have the space to give everyone the option to park on both campuses, so we needed a way to move between campuses fast and conveniently.”

VCU is no longer contributing to GRTC’s zero-fare program because the funding was only meant to cover fares for VCU-affiliated riders, and was agreed in the context of fares being charged for other riders, according to Stone. This changed when the zero-fare program became a systemwide installment.

“When VCU’s most recent contract with GRTC concluded on July 31, there was no longer a need for VCU to cover a share of ridership costs for its community because no riders are being charged to use GRTC,” Stone said. “VCU does not require additional services beyond those provided to other riders throughout the region.”

Before the GRTC board’s budget meeting on May 20, the ability of the zero fare program to make up its shortfall after VCU’s withdrawal was uncertain. Faith Walker, executive director at advocacy organization RVA Rapid Transit, made the case for all segments of the city’s population to help keep the program alive, according to VPM News. 

Walker also authored a report in March that detailed the dynamics of GRTC’s riders and its effects on public life — among other things, it found that 38% of Pulse riders and 60% of local bus riders make less than 30,000 a year — and 85% of local bus riders do not have a personal vehicle.

Rob Stuckey, an IT worker for VCU, rode the new shuttle for the first time on Friday. He said he had a positive experience riding to and from the MCV campus, and thinks it was quicker than GRTC buses. 

“I’ve ridden the Pulse roughly 25 times in the last year or so,” Stuckey said. “It’s not efficient for staff. If I was a student…I don’t think I could rely on that.”

Stuckey also noted his support for the GRTC with regards to the relationship between the two services.  

“I think VCU has a basic business function of getting students down there and back efficiently and safely,” Stuckey said. “It’s critical on a more academic and business basis more so than public transportation.”