The VIA Metropolitan Transit Advanced Transportation District (ATD) Board of Directors on August 27 approved an agreement with Bexar County that secures $102 million in ATD revenues to meet the agency’s local funding obligations for the VIA Rapid Silver Line. This move now allows the agency to seek a 50 percent match of federal funding for the $289.2 million project.
The board’s agreement was the final step in a process that began about a year ago, when VIA Metropolitan Transit representatives began discussions with Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, Bexar County Manager David Smith and others to develop a financing partnership to leverage sales tax revenue collected by the ATD and retained by the county.
The Silver Line will connect the area near Our Lady of the Lake University on the west side to Frost Bank Center on the east side and run through downtown. Service is expected to begin in 2029. The Silver Line is the second Advanced Rapid Transit corridor planned in the region. The Green Line, scheduled to open in 2027, will run from the area near San Antonio International Airport, along San Pedro Avenue, through downtown and to Steves Avenue on the south side. The corridors are designed to connect more people to more destinations in less time.
“The agreement between Bexar County and the Advanced Transportation District is a critical step because it secures the local funds VIA needs to receive federal funds that are expected to cover 50 percent of the project costs,” said Jeffrey C. Arndt, president and CEO of VIA Metropolitan Transit. “We worked closely with Judge Sakai, the commissioners and David Smith to reach the agreement, and I look forward to our board taking up the issue for a vote on Tuesday.”
A total of approximately $416 million in federal funding is expected for the VIA Rapid corridor projects, marking the first time in San Antonio, Texas, region history has qualified for Federal Transit Administration investment grants.
VIA Metropolitan Transit says the projects are eligible for federal funding because, in part, they meet a requirement to have dedicated lanes on at least 50 percent of their routes. VIA Rapid will also improve the safety of all people traveling through the corridors, regardless of mode of transportation. VIA Rapid is designed to move more people, faster and farther. It includes off-train fares, transit-friendly traffic lights, raised boarding platforms for better accessibility, and a 10-minute weekday and 15-minute weekend frequency, making it the most frequently used service in the VIA Metropolitan Transit system.
