Getting Around Richmond
Richmond is a city where your choice of transport shapes the kind of trip you have. The historic core is compact and pleasant on foot, while the wider metro area spreads out enough that a car or a bus becomes genuinely useful. The good news for visitors is that the public bus network is currently free to ride, which makes exploring by transit unusually easy on the wallet.
Arriving by Air
Richmond International Airport (RIC) sits in nearby Sandston, east of downtown, and is served by most major domestic carriers plus the discount airlines JetBlue and Southwest. A taxi from the airport into downtown runs roughly $20. Two smaller airports — Chesterfield County Airport to the south and Hanover County Airport to the north — handle general aviation rather than commercial flights.
Arriving by Train
Amtrak serves Richmond through two stations, and which one you use matters for your onward plans. Staples Mill Road Station is the city's primary station, located in an older section of suburban Henrico County; it handles Northeast Corridor trains as well as several lines continuing south toward the Carolinas and Florida. If you're heading downtown from there, plan on a taxi fare in the $20–$25 range, or use Amtrak's Thruway Bus connection into the city center.
Richmond Main Street Station is the historic downtown station. It is served by the few Northeast Corridor trains that terminate at Newport News. Be aware that the segment between Staples Mill and Main Street can be affected by delays, since the train traverses a major freight rail yard along the way.
Arriving by Bus
Several intercity bus operators connect Richmond to other cities. Greyhound has a large terminal on Boulevard, west of downtown and just north of the Museum District. Eastern Travel, a Chinatown bus line, picks up and drops off near the intersection of Boulevard and Broad Street; it runs one departure and one arrival per day and serves Washington, D.C. and New York City. Megabus serves a long list of cities including Philadelphia, Newark, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Hampton, Durham, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Columbia, Athens, and Atlanta, arriving and departing at the Richmond Travel Plaza on East Main Street across from Main Street Station. FlixBus also offers service from cities such as New York City and Washington, D.C.
Getting Around by Car
For many visitors, driving is the easiest way to get around Richmond. The city is laid out on a grid and is generally easy to navigate, though the oldest parts of town have many narrow, one-way streets. Roadside parking is relatively easy to find, but watch for no-parking zones — particularly in the Fan District. If you'd rather not hunt for parking repeatedly, an all-day garage combined with a bus along Broad Street is a practical alternative.
Public Buses
The Greater Richmond Transit Company, or GRTC, operates bus service across the city and partially into neighboring Henrico and Chesterfield Counties. You can reach them at +1 804 358-4782. The system has been free to all users since March 19, 2020, and current grant funding will allow free rides through July 2026 — so for now there is no ticket or pass to buy.
The bus network is best utilized if you are already downtown and need to move around the city itself. A useful trick is to park at an all-day garage and take one of the multiple lines along Broad Street, which spares you additional parking costs. This includes the Pulse, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line.
Walking
Downtown Richmond is walkable, and the bus system pairs well with walking for trips within the city core. Outside the center, distances grow and the grid gives way to more spread-out, car-oriented areas, so plan to combine walking with a bus or a car rather than relying on foot alone.
Practical Summary
- From the airport: taxi to downtown costs about $20; RIC is served by most major domestic carriers plus JetBlue and Southwest.
- By train: Staples Mill Road is the primary station but sits in suburban Henrico County; Main Street Station is downtown but served by fewer trains and subject to freight-yard delays.
- By intercity bus: Greyhound, Eastern Travel, Megabus, and FlixBus all serve the city, with Megabus at the Richmond Travel Plaza across from Main Street Station.
- Local buses: GRTC covers the city and parts of Henrico and Chesterfield Counties, and is free to ride through July 2026 under current funding.
- Best strategy: park once at an all-day garage and use the Broad Street lines, including the Pulse BRT, to get around downtown.