Advanced Transportation District

In 2004 San Antonio citizens voted to improve traffic, streets and public transit by creating the Advanced Transportation District. The ATD funds are distributed as follows: ½ to VIA, ¼ to the City of San Antonio (COSA), and ¼ to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). In 2005, funding began and so did the improvements. 

Advanced Transportation District (ATD) Funded Projects Status Update

In 2005-2006, the Advanced Transportation District generated $40,389,739 in sales tax revenue. What follows is a synopsis of VIA projects completed to date, ongoing, and planned with Advanced Transportation District dollars.

Service

• Added more than 18,000 bus service hours system-wide
• Added later service to bus routes from Southwest to Northwest areas of town
• Added later service to the yellow route streetcar
• Continue to focus on providing later, more frequent, and expanded bus service
• Added Commuter Express routes November 2005
• Added Starlight (24 hour transit service) Spring 2006
• Added Vanpool Spring 2006
• Ongoing coordination with major employers (like COSA) for Vanpool and other VIA programs and services

Facilities

• Added 100 additional shelters and numerous benches and seats system-wide
• Installed 80 bus stop pads system-wide
• Transit Stations
  • Acquired South Central Transit Center property on September 22, 2006; architect started preliminary design; working on southbound bus exit with TxDOT; exploring name
  • Property acquisition and environmental clearance for Medical Center passenger facility in progress; lease negotiations ongoing
  • Reached agreement with TxDOT to allow San Pedro/410 Transit Center project to advance; preparing price proposal package for conceptual and preliminary design
  • Westside Multimodal – study proposals have been received by VIA and are currently being reviewed; target for Board presentation is January 2007.
  • Brooks Transit Center – met with Brooks City Base staff, who will provide architect with optional locations for layout and traffic review
  • 281/1604 Park & Ride – staff to meet with legal to formulate next steps
  • University Park & Ride – updating cost estimate and review of utilities for signals
• Super Stops
  • Completed concrete work for first Super Stop, shelter in place; electrical work complete
  • Second Super Stop - CPS legal agreements in progress
  • Third at Military/Zarzamora have traffic engineering approval
  • Fourth at Blanco/West – Bids received
  • Fifth at Zarzamora/Culebra – CPS legal agreements in progress
  • Sixth (North Central) Property surveyed, design in progress
  • Seventh (Rigsby/410) received draft Transit License Agreement from Wal-Mart; in legal review
  • Eighth TxDOT gave approval for SE Military at Brooks City Base; in design
• 50 Super Stops planned for construction over the next 10 years
• List of top 28 bus stops needing improvements has been compiled and sent to TxDOT. Work on planning improvements for deployment ongoing

Technology

• Electronic fareboxes planned
• Smartcard technology planned
• Signal priority planned
• Real-time bus arrival and departure displays planned

Fleet

• Updated VIAtrans fleet, 117 vans
• Continue to purchase new buses
• Established fleet replacement fund