San Antonio’s VIA Metropolitan Transit adopts $767M budget for fiscal 2027

The VIA Metropolitan Transit board of trustees has officially adopted the authority’s $767.2 million budget for Fiscal Year 2027. The document outlined a $383.8 million operating budget and allocated the remaining $383.4 million to the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The new fiscal year took effect Oct. 1. 

The plan’s strategic vision is built on four key pillars guiding the authority’s decision-making processes, policy implementation and capital project execution. These include: 

• Better Bus Plan (BBP) and service delivery improvements. 
• Customer and rider experience.
• VIA Rapid project delivery. 
• Operations excellence and financial stewardship. 

VIA is shifting priorities to align resources with implementing the BBP and Keep San Antonio Moving (KSAM) initiatives. To date, the authority has deployed approximately 70 percent of the BBP through Fiscal Year 2026, with plans to further accelerate and expand the plan to provide faster, direct service on bus routes. VIA aims to improve overall bus frequency with 61 fixed routes offering service every half hour or better by the end of Fiscal Year 2027. 

BBP execution is critical to ensure the authority keeps pace with demand as projections estimate there will be around 35.3 million customer trips in the coming year. With high demand, VIA plans to increase accessibility and mobility to ensure all riders have equal access and opportunity aboard the bus system. The existing VIA Link system – a shared-ride microtransit service – will be expanded by one new zone by the end of the year, creating additional connections along the fixed route system. 

Outside of expanding services, VIA is also prioritizing upgrading the overall experience for customers and riders. A major project planned for the coming year will be installing 150 new bus shelters, providing travelers with greater convenience, protection and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance for extreme weather and accessibility. 

Ideally, the authority will achieve a 90 percent customer satisfaction goal by the end of the year. Additional efforts will include establishing a new Transit Ambassador program team, bringing the total number of ambassadors to 10. The program is designed to improve rider support, safety, communication and reliability. Further connectivity improvements will be elevated through the late-night connectivity pilot program. Once implemented, VIA will offer flexible microtransit options during off-peak and late-night hours through Transportation Network Company (TNC) partnerships. 

Among its headlining KSAM initiatives, VIA will focus on advancing development and deployment of the Green Line. The authority is continuing to push toward full-scale operations, setting the goal to have 80 percent of the planned Green Line projects either under construction or completed by the end of Fiscal Year 2027.  Core components required to achieve that level of advancement include either advancing or completing: 

• Final engineering. 
• Station construction 
• Utility relocation. 
• Grade-level preparation. 
• Right-of-way coordination. 
• Corridor construction sequencing. 

Bus fleet operations and vehicles are due for updates and expansions. The authority will start by procuring new buses to replace aging fleet vehicles, supporting overall reliability and quality of service. VIA will hire and train new operators to operate its rapidly expanding fleet and maintain higher-frequency service. Other core employee hires will include customer-facing teams and safety/security staff. 

For the final core pillar, VIA endeavors to optimize retention, accountability and budget stability. Over the next fiscal year, VIA intends to keep annual bus operator turnover to 19 percent or less, reassign or repurpose 26 roles, add 27 new roles, resolve 97.9 percent of IT Service Desk requests in adequate time and achieve a 7 percent or better procurement cost savings target. These benchmarks are critical indicators of a well-run transit system, ensuring that all resources are responsibly used to improve operations, achieve goals and implement capital planning and projects. 

Photo courtesy of VIA