Richmond (RIC): free buses every 15 minutes, plus an Uber voucher before six
Routes 7A and 7B leave the upper departure deck every 15 minutes for downtown, free under GRTC Zero Fare. LINK microtransit and a 4 to 6 AM Uber voucher fill the gaps.
- All GRTC service to the airport is free under the operator's Zero Fare policy.
- Routes 7A and 7B run to the Downtown Transfer Station every 15 minutes.
- They leave from the upper departure deck, not the arrivals kerb, which is the thing most people get wrong.
- The two routes serve different local stops but end at the same downtown destination, where you connect to the rest of the network.
- LINK microtransit covers the Sandston Zone, which includes the airport, as a curb-to-curb on-demand service.
- Between 4 AM and 6 AM there is an Uber voucher, seven days a week, for one ride a day between a GRTC bus stop and the airport in either direction.
- That voucher closes the early morning gap that leaves most American airports unreachable without paying.
- Downtown Richmond is about 11 km west of the airport.
Three kinds of service, all free
- GRTC provides three types of service to Richmond International Airport, all free under its Zero Fare policy. That is unusual and worth knowing before you plan anything else.
The buses
- Routes 7A and 7B run between the airport and the Downtown Transfer Station.
- Buses depart from the upper departure deck every 15 minutes. Go up to departures, not out from arrivals.
- The two routes serve different local stops along the way but both end downtown, where you can connect to routes across the Richmond region.
LINK microtransit
- Travellers within GRTC's Sandston Zone, which includes the airport, can request a ride on LINK, the curb-to-curb on-demand service.
- Sandston is the community the airport sits in, east of the city.
The early morning voucher
- For trips between 4 AM and 6 AM, riders can use an Uber voucher for a ride from a GRTC bus stop to the airport.
- It runs seven days a week, one ride per person per day, in either direction.
- You request it through the Uber app using the link or QR code the operator publishes.
- This is the detail that makes an early flight from Richmond workable without a car or a full-price ride.
Orientation
- Downtown Richmond is about 11 km west.
- The Downtown Transfer Station is the hub where GRTC's routes and the Pulse bus rapid transit line meet.
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