San Antonio doesn’t offer free bus rides yet, but three City Council members want to study the idea. Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, Teri Castillo, and Ric Galvan have proposed looking into a zero-fare pilot program for VIA Transit, with a long-term goal of making all rides free by 2035. Their memo suggests several pilot options, like free rides for youth, low-income riders, or certain ZIP codes. The big question is how to pay for it. Supporters say it would make transportation cheaper, while VIA officials and business groups warn that funding rules and financial limits make it hard to switch to free fares quickly, as reported by San Antonio Express-News.
CCR Outlines Pilot Options
The memo, described by the San Antonio Express-News, lays out several possible pilot models. Those include programs aimed at riders under 18, specific bus lines, certain ZIP codes, income-qualified groups and defined categories of workers.
The sponsors say the short pilot would be designed to test how free fares affect ridership, operations and equity, then build toward a “long-term implementation plan” that could get VIA to a zero-fare system by 2035. To move the request into a City Council committee, the trio needs two additional council members to sign on. That would formally launch hearings, staff work and a more public fight over priorities.
VIA Says Sales Tax Is Spoken For
VIA, for its part, is not exactly rolling out the welcome mat for the idea.
The agency points to the additional one-eighth-cent sales tax that voters reallocated in 2020, which will begin flowing to VIA in 2026, and says that money is already spoken for. According to Keep SA Moving, the revenue is intended to fund Advanced Rapid Transit corridors, service frequency improvements under the Better Bus Plan and technology upgrades. VIA argues those modernization efforts need to be in place before any operating dollars are shifted toward fare relief…