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VIA’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted not to support a request from San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and several council members on experimenting with a pilot program that would provide free bus service on certain routes in San Antonio.
Last week, Jones sent a letter to VIA President and CEO Jon Gary Herrera asking what VIA needed to be able to start a six-month fare-free pilot program. However, VIA administration during a board meeting Tuesday night advised that it would be detrimental to the financial health and safety of the organization which provides bus service across Bexar County.
Members of the the VIA workers union, which includes drivers, mechanics, and other staff, had expressed their opposition to the proposal.
In the letter to Herrera, Jones asked for a reply with a plan for a fare-free pilot “no later than March 11, 2026 that outlines the following:”
“A proposed approach that would enable a 6-month pilot program that offers fare-free rides on the top five most-used routes. As you described during your presentation, these top five routes account for 25% of VIA's ridership. That approach should plan for a pilot start date of July 1, 2026,” Jones’ letter said, adding that the plan should not impact the progress or timelines of the upcoming Green and Silver lines.
VIA is its own independent agency and not a division or department of the City of San Antonio. The transit agency, however, provides regular updates to the city and council members on its operations.
VIA is primarily funded through a half-cent sales tax (although other cities in Texas do a full cent). Fares make up about 5% of VIA's annual revenue.
For 2026, VIA’s overall budget is $574.3 million for operations and capital projects. VIA also receives a portion of the Advanced Transportation District tax, normally slated at 1/4th of a cent it’s now at a little more than a 1/3rd after voters in 2020 approved a plan to use a sunsetted aquifer related tax that first went to San Antonio's job training program for five years and now goes to VIA as of Jan 1.
ATD funds not only benefit VIA but transportation projects across Bexar County.
VIA’s Chief Financial Officer J’Maine Chubb told board members removing fares from the system would be a 3-5% revenue loss for VIA.
“A fare-free program is not free. There are costs and associated consequences that must be considered,” he said. “Financial impacts are very real, and we must have a financially stable system to deliver on the transformation that our community has told us that they desire by their vote and their ongoing request to this agency.”
If VIA were to remove fares, it would impact revenues between $10 million and $18 million — or have an operation impact between $20 million and $33 million.
VIA riders pay $1.30 per ride; however, VIA officials said that 40% of riders pay the reduced rate of 65 cents. A monthlong pass is about $39 with a reduced rate of $19.
There are also numerous programs where monthly or semester passes are paid for by nonprofits, employers, and local universities. Late last year, District 7 City Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito committed $150,000 of funds from her office to provide semester passes for all students in Bexar County ages 13-18.
On the opposition, Robert Garza, the president of VIA’s worker’s union, said while a fare-free system would have increased ridership, it would also open the doors to conflicts, verbal abuse, and physical assaults.
“When the bus becomes free, the respect for the service and the persons providing it drops,” he said. “By opening the doors to everyone, without exception, we lose the ability to protect our passengers from those who aren't there to travel, but only there to cause trouble. You can't put a price on safety, but you certainly shouldn't trade it away for a political talking point.”
Several outside agencies, including the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, also opposed the initiative saying it would put some federal grants at risk if funding situations change.
“If federal dollars are jeopardized, the impact would extend beyond the five routes and could impact capital projects. Our members rely on reliable transit systems to move employees to manufacturing plants, healthcare facilities and Hospitality and Tourism corridors, and most importantly, small job sites, small and micro business job sites,” said Jessica Palacios, Director of Government Affairs at the chamber.
Trustees ultimately called for abandoning the exploration of a fare-free model. Trustee Louis Cooper introduced a motion saying it was not in the best interest of the system.
“The board has a fiduciary responsibility to govern this agency in a way that protects the long-term health of the transit system, not just for today, but for the next generation of riders. After careful consideration, I believe it's clear that pursuing a fair, free model under VIA’s current legal, financial, regulatory and safety framework would introduce risk that we should not assume,” he said.
VIA Board vice chair Leo Gomez said rider affordability is not an issue.
“I can't help but think of a phrase that we all probably are somewhat familiar with or have heard before, and that is the phrase 'a solution, looking for a problem.' And that is what has been proposed by our mayor and a couple of our council members. And I say with all due respect to them that that's what their proposal is," Gomez said.
Originally, a proposal co-authored by San Antonio council members Ric Galvan, and Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, failed to get the five signatures needed for city council consideration.
That meant a weaker proposal before VIA—despite Mayor Jones’ backing the plan. District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan told TPR’s "The Source" with the VIA vote, he doesn't see a path forward for the program.
“I do wish, however, that we had gone through the city council consideration route that we had originally proposed my council colleagues and I back in December, just because it specifically requested to have that conversation with VIA,”
Despite the setback, VIA's new Silver Line will offer free rides for its first year, funded by Bexar County Commissioners Court.
TPR’s Tim Gutierrez contributed to this report.
