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The San Antonio City Council has approved a program to provide free VIA Metropolitan Transit bus passes to students ages 12 to 18 attending schools across Bexar County.
The funding, $150,000 from the District 7 City Council office, will cover the cost of semester passes for up to 5,500 students. The passes normally cost $38 per semester, but will now be fully underwritten for eligible students.
Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito, who represents District 7, said the program is aimed squarely at reducing chronic absenteeism by removing transportation as a barrier to getting to school.
“We were hearing that transportation is a barrier to get them to school,” Alderete Gavito said. “One in four students misses over 10% of school every year, and that impacts their literacy rate, their graduation rate, and their overall success as a student. So we were trying to tackle that problem head on.”
VIA Metropolitan Transit CEO John Gary Herrera said the agency expects the number of students using the semester pass to rise significantly now that it is free.
“Last year about 3,500 kids took advantage of the semester pass,” Herrera said. “Now that this is underwritten, I could imagine that number is going to grow, because word is going to get around. We anticipate more adoption of this program.”
VIA will work with school districts to share information on how students can sign up. The passes are valid during the school semester and expire over the summer, though students enrolled in summer school can continue to use them. Students will need to reapply each semester.
The measure passed unanimously on Thursday. The free passes are available immediately and can be requested through VIA Metropolitan Transit’s website.
