was
Richmond, Virginia's first notable mass transit system. Before the bus rapid transit system, the city was served by conventional buses operated by the
Greater Richmond Transit Company. Bus service in the city began on February 1, 1923, and replaced the city's streetcar system when it ceased operations in 1949. From 1888 until 1949, the city was also served by streetcars via the
Richmond Union Passenger Railway. Original plans for rapid transit in Richmond originated as early as the 1990s, with case studies for
light rail and
bus rapid transit being studied by the City of Richmond. In 2003, Richmond's Department of Transportation conducted a two-year feasibility study on
commuter and light rail in the Greater Richmond Region. The studies found that the lines would be moderately successful, but population in Richmond was not dense enough to demand either said service. Since the studies, other independent groups have begun their own series of studies given Richmond's higher than expected population growth and the region's expected population growth. In 2010, formal studies began to test the feasibility of a bus rapid transit line, rather than light rail line. The decision to pursue
BRT rather than LRT prompted mostly negative reactions from the community, who primarily preferred light rail over bus rapid transit. The
Greater Richmond Transit Company has remained open about upgrade the Pulse's initial line to a light rail line in the foreseeable future, should ridership dictate capacity beyond that a BRT system. Feasibility studies, stakeholder analysis, alternative assessments, and environmental impact studies, research was complete in mid-2014. In late 2014, GRTC unveiled the first set of bus rapid transit plans, which involved several stations stretching from
Willow Lawn down to
Rocketts Landing. The
Main Street Station would serve as the central transportation hub for the Pulse, linking the line with
Amtrak,
Transdominion Express,
Megabus and Central Virginia Express. On March 17, 2015, GRTC announced that the line would be called the Pulse. The project had an estimated construction cost of $53 million to provide service from Willow Lawn in the west to Rocketts Landing in the east, including fourteen stations and over three miles of dedicated travel lanes. Half of the final design and construction costs came from the federal TIGER grant ($24.9 million). The other half came in the form of a 50% match funded by both state and local sources. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) provided 34% ($16.9 million) with the remaining 16% provided by the City of Richmond ($7.6 million) and Henrico County ($400,000). Operation of the service was estimated to cost $2.7 million per year. Some of the operating cost would be covered by fares and the remainder to be provided by local funding sources. In August 2016, construction began on the BRT line with a goal to complete the service by October 2017. The opening was delayed by several months due to difficulty in relocating utility lines at the stations. Stoney stated that the $65 million project will generate $1 billion in economic activity over the next 20 years, resulting in a $15 return on investment for every dollar invested. Within a year of its opening, the line was averaging around 7,000 daily riders – over double its initially projected ridership. In 2023, it was announced that GRTC would purchase four
New Flyer XN60 articulated buses to relieve congestion on the route. GRTC plans to eventually replace all of the buses used on the Pulse with XN60 buses. The new buses were scheduled to go into service in 2025. The buses entered service on July 8th, 2025. == Service ==