At 5:20 a.m., the buses were waiting.

But those who usually catch the bus to work or back home weren’t about to board the same Suffolk transit buses like they always have; they were stepping inside the latest addition to the Hampton Roads Transit line.

Beginning Monday morning, Suffolk has officially taken HRT for its bus service.

“I think the concept makes using buses more user-friendly,” said Vice Mayor Curtis Milteer. “This puts Suffolk, along with the other six cities (in Hampton Roads) in the same arrangement, under the same umbrella. I think it’s a step in the right direction.”

City officials said there were multiple reasons for switching the transit lines, but the most important factor was saving taxpayers’ money due to the reduction of city funds in staffing and the cost of service.

“It’s a classic economic subscale. We can expand services to citizens in Suffolk and reduce the costs to our taxpayers,” said Ron Williams, city treasurer. “I am really excited we are here today to offer this to our citizens.”

Tyrone Brown, assistant director of public works, added that using HRT will help better provide for the city’s future transportation needs because it has better capabilities.

“Our city is growing in leaps and bounds,” Williams said. “HRT is more equipped for that role, they have the ability to transfer more services than we are.”

Currently, the city has four routes – Route 71 at Obici Hospital, Route 72 at Paul D. Camp Community College, Route 73 at Kingsboro/Wilroy Road and Route 74 at Lake Kennedy/South Suffolk. Those routes will continue to remain, but Brown did say that HRT is also currently performing a Comprehensive Operations Analysis (COA), which is an in-depth study of when people use buses, where they go in them and what routes could be adjusted or added to best serve the people of Suffolk.

Brown also thanked HRT and Director of Bus Transportation Ernest Bellinger for all of their hard work in making the transition from the Suffolk line an easy one.

Bellinger, in turn, credited the hard work and dedication of the Suffolk bus drivers who went to additional training and classes to prepare for the transition.

“They put in a lot of their own time,” Bellinger said. “They really deserve a lot of credit for the amount of time and dedication they put into their training.”

Bus tickets are available at the City Treasurer’s Office both in the downtown office and the North Suffolk location – in the North Suffolk Library. Ticket bundles are available based on the need of the passenger. Additionally, people who have purchased tickets for the city line can continue to use those tickets for the HRT lines through the month of February.

For more information on the routes and times, visit the city’s Web site at www.suffolk.va.us.