SAN ANTONIO – Jeffrey Arndt, president and CEO of VIA Metropolitan Transit, envisions a day when public transportation will be a viable option for all commuters throughout San Antonio and its surrounding areas.
"The bus system that we have right now is designed primarily around the market of people that don't have vehicles," he said.
Arndt said the agency is in the middle of a major effort to build a mass transit system that fully serves the region and woo new passengers to it. VIA is spending more than $564 million in a capital plan known as SmartMove.
VIA recently opened its new Centro Plaza transit hub downtown and is building or upgrading others, including the Robert Thomas Transit Center, Brooks City-Base and Stone Oak. It also is in the process of adding about 1,000 bus shelters throughout the area.
Plans also call for offering new routes for Primo bus service for the south and west sides of the city and replacing nearly 400 buses in the fleet with more environmentally-friendly vehicles.
VIA also began recently offering passengers free WiFi service on all buses.
"We're designing services that we feel will become increasingly attractive to not only our current riders, but future riders," Arndt said.
In spite of all the changes, Arndt admits that overall ridership has dropped with the past few years.
"But if you watch gasoline prices and ridership, they tend to move along the same path," he said.
Still, for some people, the idea of regularly riding a bus may be a tough sell.
"I'm not a bus person," Jordan Gania said. "It's just inconvenient for me. It takes longer and I have more freedom with my own car."
Glenda Buckner, whose car recently stopped running, said she has no choice but to ride the bus right now. Buckner said she has had to make some big changes in her daily life.
"I have to wake up two hours early just to get dressed. I have two kids who I have to get ready for school," she said.
While not everyone is onboard with the idea of using public transportation, VIA is gearing up for a day when it will be a necessity.