SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County and VIA are making it easier than ever to take part in their "Ride & Read" initiative.
There are plenty of advantage to taking public transportation so why not use the time to get into a good book? That’s the message VIA is sending out to its riders in their latest attempt to connect the community.
They’re partnering with Bexar County and their Bibliotech program.
"You don’t have to be the driver and pay attention to the traffic, so a great use of your time is to sit back and read and catch up on things," said Jeffrey Arndt, president and CEO of VIA Metropolitan Transit.
VIA is installing six Bibliotech kiosks locations around town.
They are located at:
1. VIA's Downtown Information Center
2. Centro Plaza
3. Ellis Alley Transit Center
4. Medical Center Transit Center
5. Crossroads Park & Ride
6. North Star Transit Center
Anyone can sign up, and it's free.
Signing up take just minutes. People will have to type in their name and address but no documentation required.
Once you're registered, you'll have access to thousands of books, magazines and publications.
"We have an e-book collection of e-books and e-audio books of over 37,000 through our cloud library. However, on our website through our other providers, we have over 100,000 books available to the reader," said Bibliotech administrator Laura Cole.
Last year, VIA introduced free Wi-Fi meaning riders will have access to the Bibliotech website.
"We have free access to Wi-Fi, Bibliotech access is free so it's just a great way to connect the community in another way," said Arndt.
Once the reading material is downloaded, readers will have access to it for two weeks before the titles are electronically returned.