VIA Metropolitan Transit
VIA Metropolitan Transit 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 addition to the city of San Antonio, VIA serves many other Bexar County municipalities, including Alamo Heights, Balcones Heights, Castle Hills, Converse, Elmendorf, 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.
The majority of the system uses transit buses. VIA also provides a portion of Downtown San Antonio with a tourist trolley.
In mid-2019, VIA introduced their contactless fare payment card, goCard.
History
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.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.
In mid 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. On April 6, 2020 VIA implemented temporary service changes to include temporarily suspending some routes and moving to Saturday Service. On April 27, 2020 VIA implemented further temporary service changes including suspending additional routes and further decreasing frequency. On May 15, 2020 VIA announced that fare collection would resume on June 1st.
Services
VIA operates more than 500 buses on 116 bus routes ranging from routes 2 to 672, serving the entire city of San Antonio and the majority of Bexar County. About 36 million trips are made on VIA every year. The bus routes are separated into Express, Frequent, Metro, Primo, Skip, and VIVA routes VIA provides special event service from its Park & Ride locations to events such as San Antonio Spurs basketball games at the AT&T Center, selected annual Fiesta San Antonio activities, and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. 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. On March 1, 2014, the basic bus fare was $1.20; day passes were $4 and a 31-day pass was $35. the base fare is $1.30; day passes are $2.75; 7-day passes are $12 and 31-day passes are $38. No fare to children below 5 who ride with fare-paying rider. 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. 1 Day, 7 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 attending the Alamo Colleges District, Our Lady of the Lake University, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and The University of the Incarnate Word can ride the bus for free by simply showing their student ID or school-issued goMobile pass as part of VIA's U-Pass program, additionally this program is extended to faculty/staff of the Alamo Colleges District where they can ride free by showing their employee ID.
Prímo Service
VIA added a limited-stop bus service known as Prímo to the Fredericksburg Road corridor on December 17, 2012. Designated as Route 100, it connects the South Texas Medical Center to Downtown San Antonio. The route used to connect 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 until January 2017. 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.While the new 100 route replaced two busy routes on the heavily used Fredericksburg corridor, the 91 and the 92, it did not affect multiple-stop service from other routes that also run along their portions of Fredericksburg. Unlike the 91 or the 92, which continued down lower Fredericksburg to downtown along the Navarro/St. Mary's one-way couplet, the 100 opts for nonstop service on I-10 between Fredericksburg and Downtown and then uses Frio to connect to the Centro Plaza between W Houston and Frio Streets then travels the Market/Commerce couplet.
Special Events
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 and the annual Valero Alamo Bowl. Park & Ride Service is usually offered from the Randolph, Crossroads, and Parkhills Park & Ride as well as the Frank Madla Transit Center. Some San Antonio events like Monster Jam, Fiesta San Antonio, The Texas Folklife Festival and many other festivities. The cost for the service is $2.50 one way, $5 round trip with discounts for students, children 5-11, seniors 62+, and persons with disabilities.VIVA Service
On June 6, 2016 VIA unveiled 3 new routes with specialized buses to attract locals and visitors to San Antonio's iconic locations, parks, and hotels. The routes are 11 VIVA Culture, 40 VIVA Missions and 301 VIVA Centro. Route 11 is broken up into two branches. 11A provides service to The McNay Art Museum, The Witte Museum, Brackenridge Park, The DoSeum, & The Pearl and 11B provides services to the former route of the 7 Sightseer Special that serves Alamo Stadium, Trinity University, The University of the Incarnate Word, The San Antonio Art Museum, and The San Antonio Zoo. Route 11A and 11B continue into downtown via Broadway Street serving Alamo Plaza as well as the King William District and Southtown. Route 40 Provides service to San Antonio's Historic Southside Missions along Roosevelt. Route 301, was modified to serve the northern part of the CBD and replaced the former "E" circulator route. The route services St Paul Square, Alamo Plaza, Market Square and Centro PlazaVIA Link Service
On August 18, 2019 VIA launched a new ride share service in the Northeast Zone to replace three Metro Service routes which ran once every sixty minutes. Routes 640, 641, and 642 were retired in favor of this new service which promises frequent service of every 15 minutes as well as more flexible drop off points instead of a traditional bus route setup.Governance
VIA is governed by an eleven-member Board of Trustees, all of whom have two-year terms.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. The current President and CEO is Jeffrey C. "Jeff" Arndt.
Types of routes
Routes
The following is a list of VIA's routes as of the COVID-19 related service changes on July 27, 2020. 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. There is no bus service between the hours of 1:30 am to 4:30 am.| # | Route Name | Major Destination Points | Route Pair |
| 2 | Blanco Frequent | Downtown, North Star Transit Center, Parliament Square, US 281/Loop 1604 | 34 |
| 3 | San Pedro Skip | Centro Plaza, Downtown, North Star Mall, North Star Transit Center | 76 |
| 4 | San Pedro Frequent | 28 | |
| 5 | McCullough | Downtown, North Star Mall, North Star Transit Center, Olmos Park, San Antonio International Airport | 30 |
| 6 | US-281/IH-37 Express | Brooks Transit Center, Downtown, Parkhills Park & Ride | |
| 8 | North Saint Mary's | Alamo Heights, Downtown, Randolph Park & Ride, Trinity University, University of the Incarnate Word | 67 |
| 9 | Broadway Frequent | Alamo Heights, Downtown, Nacogdoches Road Business Park | 43 |
| 10 | Naco/Broadway Frequent | Alamo Heights, Downtown, Naco Pass | 51 |
| 14 | Perrin Beitel Skip | Alamo Heights, Downtown, Naco Pass, University of the Incarnate Word | 44 |
| 17 | IH-35 North Express | Centro Plaza, Downtown, Randolph Park & Ride | 93 |
| 20 | New Braunfels Frequent | Brookside, Brooks Transit Center, Centro Plaza, City Base Landing, McCreless Marketplace, San Antonio College, State Hospital | 26 |
| 21 | Kirby/Converse | Converse, Downtown, Kirby, Randolph Park & Ride | 77 |
| 22 | Hays Frequent | Downtown, Sutton Homes | 79 |
| 24 | East Houston Frequent | AT&T Center, Centro Plaza, Downtown, Eastwood Industrial Park, Ellis Alley Park & Ride | |
| 25 | East Commerce Frequent | Centro Plaza, Downtown, Ellis Alley Park & Ride, Honey, Huntleigh Park, Royal View | 75 |
| 26 | Martin Luther King | Alamodome, Centro Plaza, Downtown, Eastwood Village, St. Philip's College | 20 |
| 28 | Porter Frequent | Dellcrest, Downtown | 4 |
| 30 | Rigsby | Comanche Park, Dellcrest, Downtown, Lone Oak | 5 |
| 32 | Steves | Brooks Transit Center, Downtown, Highland Hills, Texas Department of Human Services | 96 |
| 34 | South Saint Mary's Frequent | Brooks Transit Center, Downtown, Juvenile Detention Center, McCreless Marketplace | 2 |
| 36 | South Presa | Brooks Transit Center, Downtown, | 90 |
| 42 | Roosevelt | Downtown, Villa Coronado | 88 |
| 43 | South Flores Frequent | Bellaire, Downtown, Kingsborough | 9 |
| 44 | Pleasanton Frequent | Downtown, Moursund/Loop 410 | 14 |
| 46 | Commercial | Centro Plaza, Commercial, Kingsborough | |
| 51 | Nogalitos Frequent | Downtown, Madla Transit Center, Southwest General Hospital | 10 |
| 97 | |||
| 62 | Kirk | Centro Plaza, Port San Antonio | 89 |
| 64 | US 90 Express | Downtown, Kel-Lac Transit Center, Northwest Vista College, SeaWorld | |
| 66 | Ceralvo Frequent | Centro Plaza, University Southwest Family Health Center | 68 |
| 67 | Laredo | Downtown, Las Palmas Shopping Center | 8 |
| 68 | Guadalupe Frequent | Centro Plaza, Las Palmas Shopping Center, University Southwest Family Health Center | 66 |
| 46 | |||
| 75 | West Commerce Frequent | Centro Plaza, Downtown, Our Lady of the Lake University, University Southwest Family Health Center, | 25 |
| 76 | West Commerce Skip | Centro Plaza, Downtown, Kel-Lac Transit Center, Our Lady of the Lake University | 3 |
| 77 | Martin | Downtown, Loma Terrace | 21 |
| 79 | Ruiz Frequent | Downtown, Rosedale Park, University Downtown Health Center | 22 |
| 82 | Culebra Frequent | Downtown, Ingram Mall, Ingram Transit Center, Northside Athletic Complex, St. Mary's University, SW Research Center | 95 |
| 88 | Bandera Frequent | Downtown, Leon Valley, Mainland | 42 |
| 89 | Poplar | Centro Plaza, Ingram Transit Center, University Downtown Health Center, | 62 |
| 90 | Woodlawn | Downtown, Ingram Mall, Ingram Transit Center, San Antonio College, St. Mary's University | 36 |
| 93 | IH-10 Crossroads/UTSA Express | Centro Plaza, Crossroads Park & Ride, Downtown, Fiesta Texas, The Rim, The Shops at La Cantera, UTSA, UTSA Downtown Campus, University Park & Ride, Valero | 17 |
| 95 | Fredericksburg | Crossroads Park & Ride, Deco District, Downtown, Medical Center Transit Center | 82 |
| 96 | Vance Jackson | Deco District, Downtown, University Heights Business Park | 32 |
| 97 | West Avenue | Castle Hills, Deco District, Downtown, The Rim, University Heights Business Park, | |
| 100 | Fredericksburg Prímo | Centro Plaza, Downtown, Ellis Alley Park & Ride, Medical Center, Medical Center Transit Center, UTSA Downtown Campus | |
| 102 | Military Dr. Prímo | Brooks Transit Center, Kel-Lac Transit Center, Lackland AFB, South Park Mall, Southwest General Hospital | |
| 103 | Zarzamora Prímo | Basillica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower, Cooper Middle School, Crossroads Park & Ride, Deco District, Madla Transit Center | |
| 202 | Blanco Lineup | Route 2 Lineup | |
| 204 | San Pedro/McCullough Lineup | Routes 4 & 5 Lineup | |
| 209 | Broadway/Nacogdoches Lineup | Routes 9 & 10 Lineup | |
| 214 | Austin Hwy/Randolph Lineup | Routes 14 &17 Lineup | |
| 222 | Hays/East Houston Lineup | Routes 22 & 24 Lineup | |
| 225 | East Commerce/Martin Luther King Lineup | Routes 25 & 26 Lineup | |
| 230 | Rigsby/Porter Lineup | Routes 28 & 30 Lineup | |
| 232 | Steves/South Saint Mary's Lineup | Routes 32 & 34 Lineup | |
| 242 | Roosevelt/South Presa Lineup | Routes 36 & 42 Lineup | |
| 243 | South Flores/Pleasanton | Routes 43 & 44 Lineup | |
| 246 | Commercial/Madla Lineup | Routes 46 & 48 Lineup | |
| 251 | Nogalitos/Kirk Lineup | Routes 51 & 62 Lineup | |
| 268 | Guadalupe/Ceralvo Lineup | Routes 66 & 68 Lineup | |
| 275 | Commerce/Laredo Lineup | Routes 67 & 75 Lineup | |
| 276 | Commerce/Kel-Lac Lineup | Routes 64 & 76 Lineup | |
| 277 | Martin/Ruiz Lineup | Routes 77 & 79 Lineup | |
| 282 | Culebra Lineup | Route 82 Lineup | |
| 288 | Bandera Lineup | Route 88 Lineup | |
| 289 | Poplar/Woodlawn Lineup | Routes 89 & 90 Lineup | |
| 296 | Vance Jackson/West Avenue Lineup | Routes 96 & 97 Lineup | |
| 501 | UTSA/Leon Valley | Leon Valley, Medical Center Transit Center, South Texas Medical Center, University Park & Ride, UTSA | |
| 502 | Thousand Oaks | Morgan's Wonderland, Naco Pass, North Star Transit Center, Randolph Park & Ride | 602 |
| 503 | Huebner Crosstown | Medical Center Transit Center, Stone Oak, Stone Oak Park & Ride | |
| 505 | Basse | Crossroads Park & Ride, Randolph Park & Ride | 509 |
| 509 | Hildebrand | Alamo Heights, Crossroads Park & Ride, Deco District, Randolph Park & Ride | 505 |
| 515 | Southcross | ||
| 522 | Babcock | Las Palmas Shopping Center, Medical Center Transit Center, Woodway Park | |
| 524 | General McMullen Frequent | Balcones Heights, Crossroads Park & Ride, Las Palmas Shopping Center, Palo Alto College, Port San Antonio, Southwest General Hospital | |
| 534 | Wurzbach Frequent | Ingram Park Mall, Ingram Transit Center, Medical Transit Center, North Star Mall, North Star Transit Center | |
| 552 | Loop 410/W.W. White Skip | Brooks Transit Center, Crossroads Park & Ride, Ingram Transit Center, Kel-Lac Transit Center, North Star Transit Center, Randolph Park & Ride | |
| 602 | North Star/Medical Center | Castle Hills, Medical Center Transit Center, North Star Transit Center | 502 |
| 603 | Medical Center/UTSA | Medical Center Transit Center, University Business Park, University Park & Ride, UTSA | 605 |
| 604 | Medical Center/University Park | Medical Center Transit Center, University Business Park | 606 |
| 605 | UTSA/Mainland | Braun Station, Mainland, UTSA | 603 |
| 606 | Medical Center/Alamo Ranch | Alamo Ranch, Braun Station, Mainland, Medical Center Transit Center | 604 |
| 607 | Medical Center/Ingram | Ingram Transit Center, Medical Center Transit Center | 618 |
| 609 | Ingram/Mainland | Ingram Transit Center, Mainland | |
| 610 | Ingram/Northwest Crossing | Ingram Transit Center, Northwest Crossing | |
| 611 | Valley-Hi/Kel-Lac | Kel-Lac Transit Center, Valley Hi | 615 |
| 612 | Kel-Lac/Westlakes | Kel-Lac Transit Center, Westlakes, | 614 |
| 613 | Heritage Northwest/Kel-Lac | Heritage Northwest, Kel-Lac Transit Center | 619 |
| 614 | Hidden Cove/Kel-Lac | Hidden Cove, Kel-Lac Transit Center, Pearsall Park | 612 |
| 615 | Kel-Lac/Heritage Park | Heritage Park, Kel-Lac Transit Center | 611 |
| 616 | Sky Harbour/Kel-Lac | Kel-Lac Transit Center, Sky Harbour, Trader's Village | 617 |
| 617 | Kel-Lac/Rainbow Hills | Kel-Lac Transit Center, Rainbow Hills, Westlakes | 616 |
| 618 | Ingram/Westlakes | Ingram Transit Center, Westlakes Mall | 607 |
| 619 | Kel-Lac/Indian Creek | Indian Creek, Kel-Lac Transit Center | 613 |
| 620 | Northwest Vista College/Ingram | Ingram Transit Center, Northwest Vista College | 660 |
| 629 | Industry Park | Artisan Apartments, Industry Park, Randolph Park/Ride, San Antonio Military Medical Center | |
| 630 | Randolph/Kirby/Sunrise | Kirby, Randolph Park & Ride, Sunrise | |
| 632 | Randolph/Ventura | Randolph Park & Ride, Ventura | |
| 647 | North Star/Harry Wurzbach | Alamo Heights, North Star Transit Center, Terrell Hills, The Towers | 648 |
| 648 | North Star/Stone Oak | Arion Business Park, Blossom Park & Ride, North Central Baptist Hospital, North Star Transit Center, | 647 |
| 651 | Deco District/Castle Hills | Castle Hills, Deco District | |
| 660 | Northwest Vista College/University Park & Ride | Alamo Ranch, Bandera Pointe, Christus Santa Rosa Hospital, Northwest Vista College, U.T.S.A, University Park & Ride, Westover Hills | 620 |
| 672 | TAMUSA/Madla Transit Center | Madla Transit Center, Palo Alto College, South San High School, Southwest General Hospital, Texas A&M University San Antonio |
Current fleet
VIA's fleet consists primarily of diesel, compressed natural gas, and diesel-electric hybrid vehicles. VIA had also previously acquired its first fully electric vehicles, manufactured by Proterra, in February 2013 and used them exclusively on the VIVA Centro route, however they are currently out of service and are sitting in VIA's back lot.| Year | Manufacturer | Model | Length | Fuel Propulsion | Fleet Series | Notes |
| 1999-01 | NABI | LFW | 40 | Diesel | 730-946 | Retired from service in 2017-2018 |
| 2000 | Champion | Solo | 30 | Propane | 663-729 | Retired from service in 2008 |
| 2003, 2004–05, 2006, 2008 | NFI | D40LF | 40 | Diesel | 200-375 | Earlier model years retired from service in 2017, however most 2004+ models are still in service and feature VIA'S old Color Scheme |
| 2010 | NABI | LFW | 40 | CNG | 947-950 | First CNG buses in fleet; All 4 are used on Prímo Routes |
| 2010 | NFI | DE40LFR | 40 | Diesel-Hybrid | 376-405 | First hybrid buses in fleet. Used for Express Routes |
| 2012-13 | NABI | 60-BRT | 60 | CNG | 951-969 | Prímo 100 & 102 |
| 2016 | NFI | XN40 | 40 | CNG | 406-420 | Used on the VIVA Culture and VIVA Missions routes; 419 & 420 are used on Prímo Routes |
| 2012 | Proterra | BE35 EcoRide | 35 | Electric | 115-117 | First all electric buses in fleet. Formerly used on the VIVA Centro route exclusively. 116 and 117 have been repainted to match VIA's Color Scheme that is used on all routes |
| 2016, 2017, 2018 | Nova Bus | LFS Natural Gas | 40 | CNG | 421-735, 970-987 | Used on all routes. Bus 734 features sister city Darmstadt, Germany name, coat of arms, and official colors. 900 series are used on Prímo Routes |
| 2005 | Optima | Trolley Replica | 30 | Propane | 96-114 | Used on the VIVA Centro route |