VIA’s Better Bus Plan aims to boost frequency, access; committee seeks district-level metrics
November 04, 2025 | San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
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VIA’s vice president of service planning, Sandeep Sen, said the plan will push the system toward 30-minute-or-better service across most routes and that, when fully implemented, nearly 20% more people will have access to high-frequency service and roughly 50% of residents will see midday or peak service improvements. Sen said the plan also aims to increase the number of jobs reachable by transit within 30 minutes by approximately 40% and to keep stop-level losses under 1% of existing ridership.
VIA said it has implemented 24% of the Better Bus Plan (between April and August 2025) and intends to implement additional service changes in January, May and August 2026, reaching 63% implementation by August 2026. VIA reported early success: a 22% ridership increase on 10 routes changed in the August service update.
Committee members pressed VIA for measurable success metrics. Council members asked for district-level ridership trends, senior-center access, last-mile options, driver staffing and retention numbers, and evidence behind VIA’s net promoter score (reported as 82). VIA said it will provide district-level data, explain NPS methodology and coordinate senior-center outreach and last-mile strategies; VIA also reported hiring roughly 80 operators with plans to expand hiring in the next year.
Council members and VIA agreed to follow up with detailed maps and ridership forecasts for specific districts prior to implementation of the next round of service changes.
Quote attribution: “When fully implemented, this better bus plan will provide 30 minutes or better service all throughout our system,” Sandeep Sen said.
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