VIA cuts San Antonio bus service again on all but its busiest routes
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A man wears a face mask as he waits for a bus in San Antonio on Wednesday. VIA Metropolitan Transit has gone to a “Sunday” schedule on more than half of its routes, and eliminated five more altogether. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A man wears a face mask as he waits for a bus in San Antonio on Wednesday. VIA Metropolitan Transit has gone to a “Sunday” schedule on more than half of its routes, and eliminated five more altogether. (AP
Photo: Eric Gay /Associated Press
A man wears a face mask as he waits for a bus in San Antonio on Wednesday. VIA Metropolitan Transit has gone to a “Sunday” schedule on more than half of its routes, and eliminated five more altogether. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A man wears a face mask as he waits for a bus in San Antonio on Wednesday. VIA Metropolitan Transit has gone to a “Sunday” schedule on more than half of its routes, and eliminated five more altogether. (AP
Photo: Eric Gay /Associated Press
Having lost nearly half its ridership in two months, VIA Metropolitan Transit has reduced bus routes and frequency again, planning an “essential service” schedule to start Monday.
The new schedule hopes to preserve bus service on 14 of its busiest routes, according to a VIA press release. Five routes with “extremely low ridership” will be replaced with “alternative service,” the release said. No changes will be made to VIAtrans and VIAlink service.
On April 6, five other routes were suspended entirely. In total, VIA says 52 of its remaining 92 routes will go on Sunday schedules, 11 of them with expanded morning hours.
VIA has been adding buses to routes when drivers notify dispatchers that a passenger limit of 16 has been reached. The limit was set on April 8 to ensure riders are able to maintain social distancing. This week the company began requiring all riders to wear face masks.
Here are highlights of the new Monday schedule, but check VIAinfo.net for all the route changes:
The most frequent buses, those arriving every 12 to 15 minutes, will still be maintained on Routes 2 (Blanco), 3 (San Pedro skip), 14 (Perrin Beitel skip), 20 (New Braunfels), 22 (Hays), 34 (South St. Mary’s), 76 (West Commerce skip), 82 (Culebra), 100 (PRIMO Fredericksburg) and 102 (PRIMO Military).
There will be no service at all on routes 7 (Stone Oak Express), 11 (VIVA Culture), 16 (JBSA Express – Fort Sam), 40 (VIVA Missions), 48 (IH-35 South Express), 54 (South Alamo), 65 (JBSA Express – Lackland), 70 (Cesar Chavez), 301 (VIVA Centro) and 631 (Sunrise / Summer Fest).
Mass transit ridership has declined dramatically across the country since the COVID-19 crisis took hold in February, and nearly 100 transit workers have died from the coronavirus nationwide, according to the Amalgamated Transit Union. VIA has seen about 45 percent fewer riders compared to this time last year.
About 150 VIA operators and other essential staff are on Emergency Family Medical Leave, which allows employees to care for loved ones at home.
Updates on VIA’s response to COVID-19 and related service alerts are posted regularly to VIAinfo.net/covid-19. Customers can plan bus trips on the VIA goMobile app or on Google by entering a trip date starting April 27. For assistance, VIA’s customer care number is (210) 362-2020.
Bruce Selcraig is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Bruce, become a subscriber. [email protected]
