VIA Metropolitan Transit is delivering the strongest bus ridership growth among major transit systems in Texas and ranks second among the nation’s 50 largest transit systems, according to Federal Transit Administration data.
VIA’s fixed-route bus ridership grew 10.1% from January through August 2026, compared with the same period last year, according to the latest data. The agency’s ridership growth is more than twice the rate of Houston METRO, where ridership increased 3.8% during the same period. Ridership declined 4.5% at CapMetro in Austin and 5.3% at Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Nationally, bus ridership increased by 0.1%.
“This growth puts our region alongside the largest and fastest-growing transit markets in the country. Our region is growing, and our job is to turn that growth into access,” VIA Board Chair Laura Cabanilla said. “By implementing the Better Bus Plan with focus and urgency, we’re connecting more people to jobs, education and healthcare, and we’ll keep building the frequent, reliable network that helps businesses and communities thrive.”
VIA’s growth extends beyond 2026. From January 2025 through August 2026, fixed-route bus ridership increased 5.3% compared with the previous 20-month period, outpacing national bus ridership growth of 3.4%. VIA and Houston METRO were the only two of Texas’ four largest transit systems to grow during that time.
“There’s nothing more satisfying than watching a plan come together on the street,”
VIA President & CEO Jon Gary Herrera said. “Our planners sequenced it, our operators delivered it, and San Antonio responded — more than two million additional rides since January, with growth every day of the week and big gains on weekends. That’s not luck. That’s execution. And every indicator we have says there’s more room to run.”
Most of VIA’s growth occurred in 2026 through implementation of the Better Bus Plan, which focuses on faster, more frequent and more reliable service through targeted improvements informed by customer needs and ridership data. The growth also is happening across VIA’s modes, with the agency nearing 2.5 million VIA Link rides since its launch in 2019, and seeing the newest zone, VIA Link Southeast, perform 88% above projections in just one year.
VIA has also increased service where customers have identified the greatest need. Routes operating every 30 minutes or better increased from 46% of VIA’s network in January 2025 to 80% in August 2026.
San Antonio’s economy runs seven days a week, and many workers in hospitality, healthcare and retail rely on transit outside traditional business hours. VIA’s weekend ridership growth is strong, doubling and tripling weekday ridership growth.
Some of the plan’s largest service investments are still ahead, including the region’s first Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) lines, VIA Rapid Green and Silver lines.
ART is high-quality, modern public transit that’s faster and more accessible. Infrastructure improvements will transform VIA Rapid corridors, making them safer and easier to travel for everyone while supporting access to opportunity and economic development. The Green Line is expected to begin service in April 2028, followed by the Silver Line in 2031.
VIA has also grown its full-time operator workforce from 799 in December 2024 to 1,021 in September 2026, setting a record in VIA’s nearly 50-year history and supporting additional service and other improvements across the system.
For information about how to ride and VIA services, visit VIAinfo.net.
Ridership comparisons are based on Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database monthly data for fixed-route bus service, accessed Oct. 8.
