Local leaders and VIA Metropolitan Transit officials celebrated the grand reopening of Randolph Transit Center, marking a major milestone in VIA’s ongoing efforts to deliver improved mobility and customer experience across the region.
“We are in the middle of the most ambitious chapter in VIA’s history — advancing an advanced rapid transit corridor, growing VIA Link across the region and preparing for the largest capital program this agency has ever undertaken,” VIA Board Chair Laura Cabanilla said. “Randolph is a catalytic project — a signal to this community and to our riders that transformation isn’t just coming. It’s already here.”
The Randolph Transit Center, one of the busiest in the VIA system, connects 16,000 people weekly to critical destinations on fixed-route service, serves as the transfer point for more than 5,600 monthly VIA Link rides, and is a hub for VIAtrans customers. The facility’s comprehensive renovation focused on the customer experience and includes upgraded amenities, improved accessibility with new paths and ramps and enhanced safety features like pedestrian crossings with guardrails and brighter lighting.
“Investing in our infrastructure goes hand in hand with investing in the customer experience, and our customers deserve both,” VIA President & CEO Jon Gary Herrera said. “Thoughtful investments strengthen our community connections and expand opportunity. Access to reliable, high-quality public transportation is essential to a thriving region, and we remain focused on continuous improvement to serve our customers.”
Attendees toured the updated facility, now including two air-conditioned waiting areas, a full-service customer information center, indoor NextBus information screens, free Wi-Fi and phone-charging stations integrated directly into the seating. Herrera underscored that “these features may seem simple, but for the people who rely on us to get them to what matters most every day, they make a meaningful difference.”
“Riding the bus allowed me to continue my education and get to work daily, so that I could build a better life for me and my family,” said Melissa Jones, a longtime VIA rider who spoke at the event. “Now my family and I use Park & Ride from this very spot, Randolph [Transit Center]. We ride all over, including to NIOSA, jury duty and to the zoo.”
The upgraded Randolph Transit Center is part of VIA’s ongoing commitment to creating a transit system that is modern, accessible and responsive to the needs of riders across the region.