Tidewater Current bus service to launch in spring 2026 between Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach

Direct east-west passenger service across the Commonwealth of Virginia will not happen for many years, but the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation will move forward next spring with an intercity bus route between Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach.

The DRPT has selected Academy Bus to operate the Tidewater Current along the I-64 corridor including a stop in Charlottesville. Academy Bus bills itself as the largest private transportation company on the east coast.

“The Tidewater Current is one of the most significant expansions of the Virginia Breeze to date”, said DRPT Director Tiffany Robinson in a December 1 press release. “This route will provide meaningful new travel opportunities for Virginians, and we look forward to bringing this service to communities across the Commonwealth.”

This will be the fifth route offered under the Virginia Breeze banner as announced in the spring of 2024. The DRPT launched the service in December 2017 with the Valley Flyer between Blacksburg and Washington D.C. Since then they’ve added three other routes connecting the nation’s capitol with Danville, Bristol, and Martinsville. Those routes are operated by MegaBus.

The news was included in an end-of-year email from the DRPT with an outgoing message from Robinson who served as director for a year.

“From making nearly 150 million trips on our 40 transit agencies annually to removing over 16 million trucks via our freight rail programs, DPRT is taking us one step closer to our vision of connected Commonwealth that serves every person, every business, and every need,” Robinson said.

The DRPT allocates about a billion in funding each year including grants through the Rail Assistance Fund designed to connect large manufacturers with access to tracks. Take a look at the agency’s FY26 budget here.

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