VIA Metropolitan Transit history

In March 1978, VIA purchased transit system assets from the City of San Antonio and began operations.

1979 Residents in unincorporated areas of Bexar County and suburban cities of China Grove and Grey Forest vote in VIA service by a margin of 10 to 1.

1980 The 25-foot Chance bus is introduced.

1981 VIA announces plans for downtown streetcar service.

1983 Streetcar service begins.

Misael started at KSAT-TV as a photojournalist in 1987.

1988 VIA introduces the Automated Vehicle Monitoring System, an innovative bus management and communication system capable of monitoring the activity of VIA’s fleet.

1991 The TriParty project is completed.

1992 VIA launches lift-equipped bus service with the introduction of wheelchair-accessible buses.

1993 The Robert Thompson Transit Station opens, and VIA transports record numbers of passengers to Alamodome events.

1994 VIA ranks second in the nation for cost-effectiveness by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

1995 VIA receives Achievement Award for bus safety from the American Public Transit Association for the third consecutive year.

1996 VIA introduces Transit Bike Patrol to provide a safer transit environment for bus patrons in the downtown area.

1997 VIA introduces the Ozone Season Pass.

1999 The River Walk Streetcar Station opens, a result of a partnership between VIA, the City of San Antonio, and the San Antonio Water System; the Streetcar Station provides the first public connection to the River Walk that is wheelchair-accessible.

Voters rejected the quarter cent sale tax increase to fund it in 2000.

2001 Work begins on the Comprehensive Service Plan, a system-wide assessment of VIA’s bus services that will result in increased productivity and efficiency; new bus routes, schedules, and services planned.

2002 The Customer Information Center at the Ellis Alley Park & Ride facility opens, a result of combined conservation efforts with S.A. Conservation Society and neighborhood groups; the facility was fashioned out of two historic homes on the near East Side.

VIA has implemented an Environmental and Sustainability Management System (ESMS) using the International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001:2004 standard as a guideline.

2006 Installation begins on 700 new bus shelters.

2007 VIA begins selling passes and tickets online through the agency's website.

2009 VIA enters into an agreement with CPS Energy to receive wind-generated electricity for all of the agency’s power needs.

RJ Marquez has been at KSAT since 2010.

In 2011, VIA introduced the modern streetcar project, but the $280 million dollar proposal was met with push back and ultimately fell apart.

2012 VIA Prímo bus rapid transit service begins.

2013 VIA’s first all-electric, battery-powered buses enter service.

2015 • VIA becomes the first major transit agency in the nation to offer free, system-wide 4G LTE WiFi. • VIA opens Centro Plaza at VIA Villa, a state-of-the-art transit hub, just west of Downtown San Antonio.

In 2016, VIA earned certification from the ISO for the agency’s proactive efforts to provide sustainable service through its ESMS. VIA was the first agency in the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Region 6, a five-state region, to earn the ISO 14001 certification.

In 2017 VIA began a conversion of its entire fleet to CNG Buses.

The approved operating budget for fiscal year 2020 was $249.4 million.