The Tide is a light rail line in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, owned and operated by Hampton Roads Transit (HRT). It connects Eastern Virginia Medical School, downtown Norfolk, Norfolk State University, and Newtown Road. Service began on August 19, 2011, making it the first light rail system in Virginia. Fares match local bus fares and the line accepts HRT's GO Passes. Trains generally run every 15 minutes, increasing to every 10 minutes during peak periods and every 30 minutes during early mornings and late evenings. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . History In the late 1980s, the Tidewater Transportation District Commission (TTDC) began producing studies that would examine the feasibility of expanding transit corridors between Norfolk and its neighboring cities of Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach; these included a study for the cost effectiveness of restoring passenger rail service in 1986 and a rail systems analysis in 1991. Four years later, TTDC pursued a Major Investment Study and in 1997, identified a locally preferred alternative for an east–west light rail line between downtown Norfolk and the Virginia Beach oceanfront. The alignment would have run along an exclusive double-track right-of-way that followed the Norfolk Southern Railway and contained 13 stations. In 1999, the Virginia Beach City Council asked its residents in a referendum whether it should adopt a local ordinance to help develop and finance the light rail project. On November 2, Virginia Beach residents voted against the referendum, 56percent to 44percent. After Virginia Beach pulled out of a proposal that would have seen the construction of a light rail line connecting downtown Norfolk with the Virginia Beach oceanfront in 1999, Norfolk began developing a network that would be constructed entirely within its city limits. Beginning in 2000, HRT and federal transit officials worked to create a plan that would attract federal funding. On September 22, 2006, the Federal Transit Administration announced that the proposal met federal criteria for design, and would receive funding for a final design. On October 1, 2007, the FTA signed the agreement to appropriate $128 million for the construction of the network. The remainder of the project will be divided three ways, with the city of Norfolk contributing $33 million, the Commonwealth of Virginia contributing $31.9 million, and $39.2 million being contributed from other federal sources. Officials announced in June 2007 that the system would