The Tide Light Rail is a 7.4-mile-long train line, starting here at the Newtown Rd. station…read more(Eastern terminus). The western end is at the EVMC/Fort Norfolk Station. My most recent ride along the rail line was on May 15, 2026. Although the station is called the Newtown Rd. station, it is actually located on Curlew Rd, which is not too far off from Newtown Rd. This is a pretty big area, as there are several bus stop connections here, as well as a large parking area just across the street. Parking is free. There isn't much else around the immediate vicinity of this station and have never felt safety was an issue here. As of May 2026, they have changed how you pay for riding The Tide Light Rail System. Discounted tickets are no longer available at the new ticket vending machines. You will need to get a GoMobile Fare Card, or now, as of May 18, 2026, you can just tap to pay by using a credit or debit card at the Fare Validator (photos included). To use the Fare Validator, you would open the GoMobile App, use a physical GoMobile Card, or Credit/Debit Card. In the app, you need to choose the card you are using and place it towards the top part of the validator. If you have a QR code, you can go down just a bit to that other reader on the fare validator. It costs $2 to get the fare card itself, and then you can load funds to it at the ticket vending machine or through the GoMobile app. The total cost for a day will be no more than $4.50. The first two rides will be $2, followed by the third being $0.50. Any further rides on the light rail that day will incur no additional charges. The reason for my travel is generally to go to a monthly in-person work meeting at the TowneBank Tower. The MacArthur Station is just 0.1 miles from that building. Plus, I don't have to deal with the traffic along Interstate Two-Sucks-ty-Four (I-264) and parking in the city. Doing it this way takes the stress off when it comes to driving in Norfolk. Almost every time I have ridden so far, I have ridden past an accident on the interstate while riding the light rail. Overall, the Newtown Road Light Rail Station has been good to me. I have not encountered any issues or feeling unsafe. This is a great way to get into the heart of Norfolk without dealing with the traffic and parking in the city. If you plan to visit downtown Norfolk, this is a great way to get around the city during your visit.

I took my first ride on the Tide this year. I remember how much I wanted to jump on way back when…read morethey had the inaugural launch and were offering free and/or reduced fares. Somehow it never worked out, even though it would make downtown trips less painstaking. My opportunity to ride the tide came as part of a work project. The team and I arrived early in the morning on a brisk day. The parking lot has an abundance of spaces, more than adequate for the average number of passengers riding the Tide daily. Parking is free. HRT has a connection here for those needing to take the bus to the TIDE or once they depart from the TIDE. And there are a few shelters for the HRT riders to wait under. There are also a few ticket vending machines where you purchase your fare. The team and I climbed the platform where there were two shelters with seating that thankfully partially shielded us from the cold wind. The conductors were nice and greeted us. We felt safe with the security guard on duty walking through and keeping an eye on things. At a certain point of the ride all tickets are checked and confirmed as legit. We had all day passes which cost $4. The TIDE was packed during the morning commute but was practically empty by 2 pm. Get dropped of directly in front of the Mall, Library, and the baseball stadium. Because it was my first ride I wanted to know what to expect. I looked up and memorized a few facts which came in handy as I told the team how fast the average speed was of the car and the max speed as well as the occupancy, and the max occupancy with commuters standing. Maximum Operational Speed is 55 mph. Maximum Number of Seated Passengers is 68 and the Total Passenger Capacity is 160-180.

This is a long review. Scroll down to last paragraph for the TLDR version…read more I live on the edge of Virginia Beach and traveled from Norfolk to NYC, round trip. The fare now is $45 one way, $90 round trip. Upon entering the bus, it smelled mildly of urine, despite me sitting up front and of weed from another passenger who had gotten on. The bus was older and the shocks had cleared given up the ghost years ago. Because this is a Chinese line, this company caters to Chinese speakers or people looking for a cheap and reliable way to get back and forth. Customer service and cleanliness are not high on the company's priority list. There is a bathroom on the bus and it may or may not be clean or have toilet paper. I recommend you either bring you own supplies or use the bathroom in the depot before leaving. Get here 30 minutes early as you'll want to make sure you're on the bus first to get a seat or if you're traveling with someone and want to sit in the seats your assigned. Otherwise, the company does not enforce the rules. And riders are either ignorant or just don't care. It's a free for all with seats and this type of clientale is neither understanding, considerate or stable. Don't expect the company or other passangers to be accommodating; but the good news is no one will bother you if you leave them alone. Friendly reminder: print out the tickets before hand. There is a $1 charge if the depot has to print for you. There are chargers and usually free WiFi but don't rely to on the latter every time. Every bus is different. The seats are small and the arm handles arent adjustable. Be prepared to be uncomfortable if you are larger (either tall or heavy set). Bring the neck pillow, you'll want it for a decent night's sleep if traveling at night. This is a barebones ride but thankfully the driver will outpace the GPS, usually. My trip from Norfork to NYC arrived an hour early. I took the midnight trip leaving at 12:35am; we stopped once in Maryland to pick up a passenger and we still arrived an hour early, at 6:25am. No traffic and the driver sped. (The New York stop is 59 Canal Street, nearest metro is F Line). The trip back to Norfolk from NYC was similar. I took a mid afternoon bus and even stopping once for a 15 minute bathroom/food break, we made it in under 7 hours. (I also traveled on early Saturday morning, returning Sunday afternoon. Keep in mind, if you take a midnight trip, the bus will not stop for food, only pick ups. Day trips there is 1 stop for food/restroom usually at a gas station. There may be passenger stops). Should you use this service, set expectations extremely low. I would also try not eating or drinking in excess to avoid having to use the restrooms on the bus. Bring light snacks if necessary. There are also some snacks available for a nominal purchase in both depos. If you're sensitive to smells, motion sickness or need structure and reliability, do not book this company. This service is best for those who are flexible, value economy and can fend for themselves, ie be an asshole if necessary. As for traveling with children, it can be done and many people do. I have no recommendations either way. Only you know what your child can handle AND what you as their parent can deal with yourself. I sat by kids both times and they were well behaved. But I like kids and have children myself. I do think you should consider hygiene and prepare in advance in terms of hand washing, food, entertainment and bathroom breaks. Very young children may be ok. The bathroom is incredibly small, I would not count on changing a diaper there (but I've seen moms and dads do the miraculously when pushed to the brink of despair. However you would have enough space to do it if you had both seats to yourself on one side of the aisle). 2 stars solid. One for being cheap, the other for being expedient. Lost one star for not enforcing order on the bus, one star for being unreliably clean and the last one for unreliable customer service/services offered on the bus. There are other lines that are $10-20 cheaper and I would recommend those lines to unseasoned travelers or travelers needed and expecting higher accommodations.

This was an adventure for sure. First of all, on the basis of price, it is hard to beat $35 from…read moreNYC to Norfolk for a daytime run. Secondly, make sure your expectations are reasonable; then you should be ok. I would do it all over again because it was so fast and cheap. The skinny...the 9:30 bus to Norfolk left at 9:20. Yes, it left ten minutes early, and fortunately, I had arrived twenty minutes early. This meant that the first fifteen minutes of our trip consisted of the driver crawling around the side streets of Chinatown while some unlucky passengers caught up to the bus and were allowed to board. It was only fair. We made one stop for ten minutes the entire seven hours, and that was somewhere in New Jersey. Nearly everyone seemed to know the routine and disembarked to use a clean bathroom. I was seated near the front of the bus, and was unsure whether the bus bathroom was closed or it was just that passengers were highly discouraged from using it during the journey. (I heard both versions during the trip.) I chose to "hold it." Yes, it was an older bus and not the cleanest one I have ever been on, but it rapidly took me from A to B, and that is all that really mattered to me. We arrived in Norfolk ahead of schedule at 4:20 PM, and it was all good. I would not hesitate to go with New Everyday in the future.

You really just can't beat riding the Tide to/from the baseball games!…read more This station is so well lit & is only a short walk to the stadium. It runs very periodically so even if you miss the, another will be on the way soon!

I had a great experience with Amtrak. It was easy to board and the attendants were all very…read morefriendly and helpful. The trains could be updated for the passengers....kind of look like it's from the early 90's. (Not that it's a bad thing) I just feel like you could smell all the years it's been since they opened. At the station, there's a lot of construction currently for the casino and a very little drop off/pick up area. Don't bother leaving your car because the only parking is across the street under the interstate without supervision. I suggest a ride or the Tide to drop you off. I'll definitely use the train again!

Driver talked on personal cell and had to run bus off the road to avoid rear ending a car and…read moreprobably flipping the bus. When asked if his call may have been distracting him from the road he rudely responded "I got this" and kept talking on his cell phone. I immediately called the company and made a complaint. That was on a Saturday and when I didn't hear back from them, I CALLED THEM on the following Wednesday and was told that "HE IS ONE OF OUR BEST DRIVERS."

We used Hound Dog Bus Service for our spring break trip to Disney. It was a 14 hour drive each…read moreway. The drivers were extremely friendly and professional. The buses were clean and comfortable. They got us where we needed to go safely and without any incidents. Navigating around Orlando in the peak of one of it's busiest weeks was no problem for them. I will be recommending them to my friends without hesitation.