What Matters Most
Momentum On The Street. Progress For The Region.
Stronger service is showing up where people feel it first: on the trip, at the stop, in the neighborhood, and in the time they get back in their day.
What matters most is not abstract. It is a trip that works better, a system that reaches further, and progress that shows up in daily life across our region.
Results customers can feel.
Better service should be easy to feel and easy to verify.
Across the region, customers are experiencing a system that is becoming more dependable, more usable, and more consistent in daily life. That progress shows up in stronger customer satisfaction, more trips delivered, more frequent service, and stronger performance across the services people rely on most.
The people behind every ride
The VIA team behind better service on the street.
Stronger service starts with the people delivering it.
In 2025, VIA added 108 net new full-time bus operators, bringing the system to 907 operators total and marking the strongest operator hiring growth on record.
Net new operators added in 2025.
Operators total.
Strongest operator hiring growth on record.
On the trip
Less wait. More day.
More of the network is now running every 30 minutes or better, and 21% more Better Bus Plan improvements are coming this May.
Fewer missed connections.
More frequent service means fewer missed connections and less time spent building the day around the bus.
More of the day stays on time.
A shorter wait can mean arriving on time for work, class, child care, appointments, and dinner back home.
Neighborhoods stay connected.
When service is easier to count on, more neighborhoods stay connected to jobs, schools, care, and opportunity.
A better trip gives time back.
Service every 30 minutes or better
72%More of the day now runs on a schedule people can actually plan around.
Better Bus Plan implementation
65%The redesign is no longer abstract. It is already showing up in everyday service.
What is moving next
More Better Bus Plan improvements arrive this May, reaching more daily riders.
Access
More within reach. More built for real life.
The region runs on many kinds of trips.
Work trips. School trips. Care trips. Family trips. Early shifts. First appointments. The ride home.
VIA Link, VIAtrans, and Park & Ride help more of the region fit into daily life, with on-demand service where flexibility matters, dependable support for customers who rely on VIAtrans, and stronger regional connections through Park & Ride.
VIA Link
On-demand access
On-demand service that helps close the trip where zone-based access works best.
- 35% growth
- 4.85 average customer rating
VIAtrans
Dependable support
Registered paratransit service built around dependable access and a strong customer experience.
- 98% satisfaction
- 26% growth
Park & Ride
Regional connection
Regional commuter access that helps connect workers and major destinations with a simpler first step.
- 50%+ growth
VIA Rapid
Built for now. Ready for next.
The next generation of transit in San Antonio is already taking shape.
Green Line begins service in 2028. Silver Line continues moving forward for a 2030 launch, supporting faster trips, more direct connections, and the corridor capacity a growing region needs.
Green Line begins service.
All-day weekday service.
Capital investments for the region, with a projected 5:1 community return.
Planned Silver Line launch with $100M invested through the Bexar County partnership.
Partnerships that move more than people.
When institutions move with VIA, opportunity reaches further.
This is where transit becomes more than a ride. It becomes a tool for attendance, workforce connection, student mobility, and community support. VIA Works, U-Pass, and the Fare Assistance Program help employers, schools, nonprofits, and public institutions turn transportation into something more practical, more dependable, and more widely shared across the region.
Value
Community investment. Community return.
Local support should show up in daily service and long-term capacity.
For FY 2026, the budget pairs $339.1M in operating budget and a $235.2M capital budget, funding today’s service while building the next chapter of regional capacity. That story is rooted in long-term local support: the original 1/2-cent sales tax approved in 1977, the 68% voter approval in 2020, and the additional VIA investment that began collection in 2026.
FY 2026 budget overview
A budget built for impact across operations, capital, and long-term service delivery.
Day-to-day operations and services.
Infrastructure investments.
A budget built for impact
Customers
Accelerates frequency improvements for customers, adds two new VIA Link zones, and invests in sheltered stops, reliability, and safety.
Community
Strengthens connections to jobs, education, and opportunity while advancing the VIA Rapid system and visible neighborhood investment.
VIA workforce
Aggressive hiring in FY26 is reinforced by training, mentorship, retention, and a safety-first operating culture.
Financial discipline
Expands reserves, tightens contingency controls, and protects against revenue shifts through conservative forecasting and long-term savings discipline.
How VIA funding has grown
Funding milestones
The funding story starts with authorization and expands with voter support into more service capacity.
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1973
State authorization
Texas authorized the structure that made a local transit authority possible.
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1977
VIA half-cent approved
San Antonio voters created Texas’s first MTA with VIA’s original 1/2-cent sales tax.
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2004
ATD layers begin
Advanced Transportation District allocations added new VIA, city, and leverage shares inside the local-option penny.
Why the 2004 ATD vote mattered
On November 2, 2004, voters in San Antonio approved the formation of the Advanced Transportation District, or ATD. This district uses a quarter-cent sales tax to fund transportation improvement projects carried out by VIA, the City of San Antonio, and the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT. VIA receives half of the ATD revenues to enhance local public transportation services, and the other half is split between the city and TxDOT for improving streets, highways, and related transportation infrastructure.
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2020
68% voter approval
San Antonio voters approved additional support for future service and capital improvements.
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2026
New 1/8-cent begins
The added revenue starts in January 2026, strengthening VIA’s ability to improve frequency and access.
Revenue sources
- 1/2-cent sales taxPrimary
Primary revenue source across the service area
- 1/8-cent sales taxATD
From Advanced Transportation District (ATD)
- 1/8-cent sales taxNew 2026
Beginning January 2026 after the November 2020 ATD election
- GrantsFederal
Capital project funding including VIA Rapid
- Farebox revenueFares
Customer fares across the system
- Other sourcesMix
Including access to 1/16-cent ATD leverage
How local sales tax flows
Of San Antonio’s 8.25% sales tax, 1% is local option. VIA’s original 1/2-cent remains the largest single share inside that penny.
Texas authorized the structure in 1973. San Antonio voters approved creation of Texas’s first mass transit authority in 1977 with VIA’s half-cent sales tax.
Allocation of 1 cent local option sales tax
Each city receives 1% of sales tax to invest in community priorities.
Hover or tap a marker to reveal that share of the penny.
Service area map
Across VIA member cities, funding supports the neighborhoods, jobs, schools, and destinations people rely on every day.
Closer to home. Part of everyday life.
Progress means more when people can point to it in places they already know.
Centro Plaza / Westside
Centro Plaza anchors daily movement on the Westside, where stronger service connects customers to downtown, neighborhood destinations, and transfer points they use every day.
Brooks / Southside
At Brooks, service supports one of the Southside’s growing centers for work, healthcare, education, and everyday trips.
Stone Oak / North Side
On the North Side, Park & Ride and connecting service help customers move between neighborhoods, job centers, and the wider region more easily.
Eastside / Frost Bank Center
On the Eastside, stronger transit service supports major events, local destinations, and everyday access beyond event days.
Medical Center
In the Medical Center, service helps customers reach one of the region’s busiest destinations for care, work, and daily appointments.
Randolph / Northeast
In the Northeast, service and Park & Ride connections help customers reach jobs, regional destinations, and growing activity centers with less friction.
What is moving next
What’s next is already in motion.
The next round of improvements is close enough to name.
The work keeps moving because the next steps are already concrete: 21% more Better Bus Plan improvements this May, new VIA Link zones in the pipeline, continued progress on Green and Silver Lines, and ongoing amenity and safety investments.
Stay connected
Be a part of what’s next.
The next chapter of service improvement belongs to the whole region.
Vision
Be the driving force of our community’s growth and success.
Mission
To take you to what matters most.
Promise
Count on VIA, every ride.