VIA Metropolitan Transit Board adopts FY26 operating, capital budgets

The VIA Metropolitan Transit (VIA) Board of Trustees adopted a $339.1 million operating budget and a $235.2 million capital plan for fiscal year (FY) 2026.  The board also approved VIA’s five-year capital improvement plan of $1.1 billion, which will allow the agency to make investments in the VIA Rapid Green and Silver lines, new vehicles, renovation of existing buildings and construction of new facilities. 

The agency says key FY26 investments include: 

• More service and frequency: Expanding service hours, reducing wait times and improving travel times through VIA Link and fixed-route service enhancements. 
• Customer experience: Adding more shelters, improving signage and real-time information and modernizing rider facilities. 
• Safety and security: Expanding the VIA Transit Police force, upgrading surveillance systems and improving lighting and infrastructure. 
• Workforce development: Strengthening operator retention and recruitment, expanding training and career pathways, and fostering a culture of organizational excellence. 

The spending plan includes adding an additional VIA Link Zone, the Southeast Zone, in November and improving more than 55 routes over the year, increasing wages for all employees, investing in safety across the system and growing the agency’s capital reserve to ensure delivery of key infrastructure projects. 

VIA will begin receiving revenue on Jan. 1 from a 1/8th-cent sales tax approved by San Antonio voters in November 2020, which was dedicated to workforce development for five years before becoming a permanent sales tax for VIA’s Advanced Transportation District beginning in 2026. 

“This budget makes strategic investments that will help VIA deliver the improved, reliable transit system that meets the needs of our growing region,” said VIA Board Chair Laura Cabanilla. “We’re making historic investments in our service, our infrastructure and our workforce to benefit the community today and into the future.” 

The agency is accelerating the delivery of the Better Bus Plan and will complete 64% of the planned improvements within its first two years. According to the agency, in FY26, it is implementing programs with innovative cost-saving solutions, including a vehicle wellness program that is designed to add three to five years onto the lifespan of buses and save the agency $133 million over the next five years.    

“This budget is about turning resources into results,” said VIA President and CEO Jon Gary Herrera. “Every additional trip, every safer stop, every new operator we train is an investment that translates into real improvements for our riders and our community. The ultimate impact is greater mobility, stronger connections to jobs and schools and a system that earns the trust of the people we serve.”