VIA_Metropolitan_Transit

VIA Metropolitan Transit

VIA Metropolitan Transit

Transit Agency

29°26′34″N 98°29′58″W

Quick Facts Formerly, Parent ...

VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority (referred to as VIA or VIA Metro) is the mass transit agency serving San Antonio, Texas, United States, and its surrounding municipalities. It began operation in 1978 as a successor to the San Antonio Transit System. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 25,132,300, or about 85,600 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.

In addition to the city of San Antonio, VIA serves many other Bexar County municipalities, including Alamo Heights, Balcones Heights, Castle Hills, Converse, Kirby, Leon Valley, Olmos Park, Shavano Park, and Terrell Hills. While VIA does not directly serve some Bexar County municipalities such as Hill Country Village, Hollywood Park, Live Oak, Selma, Schertz, Universal City and Windcrest, many of them are within driving proximity of outlying park-and-ride facilities.

History

VIA's original logo, used until 2014

VIA was created in 1977 when the citizens of Bexar County voted in favor of a one-half cent sales tax to fund the service. Subsequently, VIA purchased transit assets from the City of San Antonio and began operations in March 1978, taking its name from the Latin word for "road". In 2004, city voters in San Antonio approved the formation of the Advanced Transportation District. This quarter-cent sales tax expanded and improved VIA operations.[3]

VIA has received several accolades from the American Public Transportation Association, most notably the award for Best Transit System in North America in 1990, as well as several of APTA's safety awards in multiple years.[3]

VIA added a limited-stop bus service known as Prímo to the Fredericksburg Road corridor on December 17, 2012.[4] Designated as Route 100, it connects the South Texas Medical Center to Downtown San Antonio. The route had connected the main campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio to its downtown campus using an extension from the Medical Center to the UTSA Main Campus, as well as a second extension that ran from the Medical Center to the nearby independent city of Leon Valley[5] until January 2017 (when the extensions were split into Route 101 which later became Route 501 in January 2019). An expansion of Prímo to Zarzamora Street opened in January 2019 and an expansion to Military Drive opened in late August 2019, additionally VIA is looking into other corridors to which to add improved bus transit in the coming decades.[6]

In March 2020, fares on all VIA services were temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fare suspension was set to last until April 1, 2020, but was later extended until the end of May 2020.[7][8] On April 6, 2020, VIA implemented temporary service changes, including temporarily suspending some routes, implementing capacity limits on buses, and changing their fleet to Saturday service hours.[9] On April 27, 2020, VIA implemented further temporary service changes, including suspending additional routes and further decreasing frequency.[10] Fare collection continued on June 1, 2020,[11] and capacity limits were later removed on June 1, 2021.[7]

Services

VIA operates more than 500 buses (all are wheelchair accessible) on 75 bus routes ranging from routes 2 to 651, serving the entire city of San Antonio and most of Bexar County. About 36 million trips are made on VIA every year.[3] The bus routes are separated into Express, Frequent, Lineup, Metro, Primo, and Skip (limited stop routes) Service.[12] VIA additionally provides special event service from its Park & Ride locations to events such as San Antonio Spurs basketball games at the Frost Bank Center, selected annual Fiesta San Antonio activities, and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.[13] VIA also offers "VIATrans" paratransit services for disabled travelers.

Fares for VIA have remained relatively modest during its existence. At its inception in 1978, fares were 25¢ for most routes. Fares for most fixed routes during 2006 were 80¢, and a monthly bus pass was $20, much lower than most other transit systems in the country. On January 1, 2007, basic fares were raised to $1, and monthly pass prices were raised to $25. Basic fares increased to $1.10 and monthly pass prices were raised to $30 on January 1, 2009.[14] On March 1, 2014, the basic bus fare was $1.20; day passes were $4 and a 31-day pass was $35.[15] As of January 1, 2016 the base fare is $1.30; day passes are $2.75; 7-day passes are $12 and 31-day passes are $38.[16] No fare to children below 5 who ride with fare-paying rider (limit 3). On November 9, 2019, transfers became free and are included when paying to board the bus. To transfer from local to express, the difference of the service must be paid. One-day, seven-day and 31-day passes are accepted on all routes except for VIATrans and Special Event Service.

High school, college, and trade students are able to purchase a semester pass for $38 with proof of enrollment. Upon boarding, students must display valid VIA-issued IDs, or school IDs with stickers for the semester. Students, faculty, and staff attending or working for the Alamo Colleges District, Our Lady of the Lake University, Texas A&M San Antonio, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the University of the Incarnate Word can ride the bus for free by showing their school-issued goMobile pass as part of VIA's U-Pass program.[17]

Regular Service

More information Service Type, Service Color ...

Special Event Service

VIA runs special service for major events in San Antonio, ranging from sporting events such as UTSA home football games, San Antonio Spurs home games, the annual Valero Alamo Bowl, and events such as the Monster Jam, Fiesta San Antonio, and The Texas Folklife Festival. Park & Ride Service is usually offered from the Randolph, and Crossroads Park/Rides as well as the Frank Madla Transit Center. The cost for the service is $1.30 one way, $2.60 round trip with discounts for students, children 5-11, seniors 62+, and persons with disabilities.

On May 4, 2019, VIA launched a new ride-share service in the Northeast San Antonio area (now known as the Naco Pass Zone) which promised more frequent service reliability as well as more flexible drop off points compared to traditional fixed route service.[18] Routes 640, 641, and 642 were retired in favor of this new service two days later.[19]

This service was later expanded to replace Routes 605 & 660 in the Northwest (Mainland) Zone on October 2, 2021,[20] Route 524's extension to Palo Alto College & 672 in the South (Madla) Zone on August 8, 2022,[21] and Routes 629 & 630 in the Randolph Zone on October 23, 2023.[22]

Governance

VIA is governed by an eleven-member Board of Trustees, all of whom have two-year terms.[23]

Ten of the trustees are appointed by the various governmental entities in Bexar County—the City of San Antonio appoints five members, the Bexar County Commissioners Court appoints three, and the mayors of the suburban cities acting in concert appoint two. The appointed trustees then elect a chairperson as the Board's eleventh member.[23] The current President and CEO is Jeffrey C. "Jeff" Arndt.[24]

Current Routes

Old VIA bus stop signage with the agency's original logo
Prímo Bus Departing the Northbound Mary Louise Station to The Medical Center T/C
Mary Louise Southbound Prímo Station to Downtown & Madla T/C

The following is a list of VIA's routes as of the service changes on January 8, 2024.[25] Many routes that travel through Downtown San Antonio or change directions at a major transfer point continue with a different number; this route pair is also indicated.[26]

More information Route Number, Route Name ...

Bus Fleet

Active Fleet

More information Year, Manufacturer ...

Historical Fleet

More information Year, Manufacturer ...


References

  1. [1]
    "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  2. [2]
    "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  3. [3]
    "About VIA". VIA Metropolitan Transit. n.d. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  4. [4]
    "VIA Primo". VIA Metropolitan Transit. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  5. [5]
    Davila, Vianna (November 4, 2013). "VIA bus service changes start Monday". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  6. [6]
    "Fredericksburg BRT Route". VIA Metropolitan Transit Destination 2012. VIA Metropolitan Transit. n.d. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  7. [7]
    "COVID-19". VIA Metropolitan Transit. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  8. [8]
    Ibañez, David (March 20, 2020). "VIA suspends fares through April 1; riders rejoice". KSAT.com. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  9. [9]
    "VIA Service Changes Start Monday, April 6 – Here's What Riders Can Expect". VIA Metropolitan Transit. 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  10. [10]
    "VIA Rolls Out "Essential Service" Schedule Monday, April 27". VIA Metropolitan Transit. 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  11. [11]
    "VIA Will Resume Fare Collection June 1". VIA Metropolitan Transit. 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  12. [12]
    "Bus Services". VIA Metropolitan Transit. n.d. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  13. [13]
    "Park and Ride | Events". VIA Metropolitan Transit. n.d. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  14. [14]
    "New fares in effect January 1". VIA Metropolitan Transit. December 15, 2008. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  15. [15]
    "Fares & Passes". VIA Metropolitan Transit. Archived from the original on March 7, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  16. [16]
    "Fares".
  17. [17]
    "Ride VIA with your new U-PASS". VIA Metropolitan Transit. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  18. [18]
    "VIA Link". viainfo.net. Retrieved April 4, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. [19]
    "VIA Link Arrives May 4, and Service Changes Take Effect May 6". viainfo.net. April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. [20]
    "Keep SA Moving: VIA Link Now Open in Northwest San Antonio". viainfo.net. October 1, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. [21]
    "Bus Service Replaced with VIA Link South Beginning Oct. 24, 2022". viainfo.net. October 18, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. [22]
    "Service Changes in Effect January 8, 2024". viainfo.net. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  23. [23]
    "Board of Trustees". VIA Metropolitan Transit. n.d. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  24. [24]
    "Executive Leadership Team". VIA Metropolitan Transit. n.d. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  25. [25]
    "Service Changes Effective January 8, 2024". www.viainfo.net. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  26. [26]
    "VIA System Map" (PDF). VIA Metropolitan Transit. January 8, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article VIA_Metropolitan_Transit, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.