Driving growth in San Antonio

How VIA is modernizing operations to ensure a state of good repair and empower its community

By Jon Gary Herrera and Tremell Brown | VIA Metropolitan Transit

San Antonio is one of the fastest-growing large cities in the United States, with population and job centers expanding across the metro area. To keep pace, VIA Metropolitan Transit aims to grow annual ridership from about 30 million to 50 million trips by 2032. Central to this goal is a strong commitment to state of good repair —ensuring the transit network remains strong as it expands.

As we approach a half‑century of service in San Antonio and Bexar County, we want to build off our high customer satisfaction rating through the launch of a historic program of modernization and enhanced state of good repair that will help advance our vision of being the driving force behind our growing community.

Our efforts include:

• Developing advanced rapid transit corridors
• Upgrading existing transit centers
• Introducing new service offerings
• Advancing organizational change management initiatives

Together, these investments will increase capacity, speed trips and improve access to jobs and education, strengthening mobility, deepening community connections and creating lasting value for San Antonio.

Funding expansion

As part of our network modernization and state of good repair efforts, VIA is undertaking the largest expansion in our history, a $1 billion, five-year capital program. At the heart of that effort are two Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) corridors: the north–south Green Line and a future west-east Silver Line and a second fixed route operations and maintenance facility.

The Green Line is a 10.35‑mile ART corridor that will connect San Antonio International Airport to downtown and the historical missions area. Construction began in mid‑2025 with service expected in 2027–2028.

The Silver Line, now in planning, will run west-east from near Our Lady of the Lake University through downtown to the Frost Bank Center and will intersect the Green Line to create fast, frequent cross‑city connections. These new ART corridors, with dedicated lanes, upgraded stations, traffic‑signal priority and level boarding, will change how San Antonians move across the region.

To fund our advanced rapid transit projects, we have modernized our capital strategy. VIA applied for and was awarded its first New Starts Full Funding Grant Agreement in December 2004. At $268 million, it is also the largest single federal award the agency has received in our almost 50-year history.

The advanced rapid transit Silver Line is also underway thanks to a partnership with Bexar County which committed the $102 million local match necessary to provide the funding for this Small Starts project. Together these two capital investment grants projects represent a transformation for our system and region.

Each project strengthens the system as a whole, aligning expansion with our ongoing commitment to preserve, modernize and optimize operating conditions.

Transforming a transit center

In addition to implementing ART, we recently completed a full rebuild of the Randolph Transit Center. The new multimodal facility moves beyond a simple “where you catch a bus” model, with a purposeful modern design that maximizes shade, improves passenger flow to the service counter and boarding areas, and features larger waiting areas, restrooms, next‑bus arrival kiosks, free Wi‑Fi and upgraded shelters.

Large panes of glass and low‑profile frames create unobscured sightlines so customers can see platforms, boarding areas and real‑time arrival signs from seating and waiting areas, improving visibility, natural surveillance and wayfinding while keeping waiting areas comfortable and shaded.

The Randolph Transit Center is also our first facility to incorporate the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design program. By strategically using lighting, sightlines, seating placement and durable materials, we make the center safer and more welcoming while reducing maintenance needs.

By combining thoughtful design with durable materials and modern amenities, the transit center reinforces VIA’s mission and ensures facilities remain resilient and efficient for years to come.

Updating our service portfolio

People’s preferences for how they move are evolving, so VIA is evolving, too. We have diversified and modernized our service portfolio by adding VIA Link, a flexible, on-demand option that replaces low-frequency bus service in areas where fixed routes were in lower demand.

VIA Link operates like a transit‑focused rideshare to connect customers in defined neighborhoods to major routes, downtown and transit centers. Bookings through the Link app, online or by phone typically result in pickups within 10 to 20 minutes. The service has grown to six zones and has surpassed 1 million rides, since 2019, improving first-mile, last-mile connections and expanding access to jobs, education and essential services.

With each service update, we’re strengthening both convenience and continuity, advancing a state of good repair that keeps the system responsive to today’s needs and sustainable for tomorrow’s growth.

Motivating, educating and recruiting employees

While we can make significant capital investments to expand and modernize our system, those investments must be supported by exceptional customer service. That’s why we’re transforming how we educate, motivate and recruit the people who deliver VIA every day.

New bus operators, for example, learn vehicle systems, safety protocols and the story behind VIA’s capital program, how projects are funded and their benefits, so they can share our vision with riders. On routes with new hires, we highlight future Green Line stops to build familiarity. Operators also visit VIA headquarters to deepen their understanding of our customer service values.

Supervisors and frontline staff are engaged early in vehicle design, route selection and station planning. We sent teams to visit peer systems with established ART systems, so our staff can collect best practices and bring them back to San Antonio. This first-hand approach not only strengthens technical expertise, it also reinforces our shared commitment to VIA’s mission.

To communicate that mission, we embed VIA’s key messages into daily work. Our net promoter score is discussed at employee recognition events and leadership meetings, where we also reinforce the importance of the Green and Silver lines in keeping San Antonio moving.

These efforts align employees with customer expectations and give VIA a competitive edge in recruiting, retaining and developing the next generation of talent. As a result, our employees are not only good stewards of resources but trusted sources of information and proud agency representatives.

Empowering a stronger, connected metro

Customer‑driven design, new ART corridors, on-demand services and workforce modernization are advancing VIA’s modernization agenda and protecting asset integrity. By aligning funding, delivery and daily operations around reliability, safety and customer experience, we are the driving force of our community growth, ensuring every investment delivers dependable mobility, stronger connections and long‑term value for San Antonio.