VIA Metropolitan Transit (VIA) and San Antonio BCycle have integrated their systems into a single account and app experience. The new offering, available in Transit, enables riders to plan a multimodal trip, purchase a transit pass and unlock a bike with just a few taps.
By merging transit and bikeshare into one experience with Transit, VIA and San Antonio BCycle are making it easier to keep San Antonio moving. In the last two years, bikeshare has seen increased popularity. By bringing these services together in Transit, San Antonio BCycle and VIA are taking connectivity a step further, creating a combined option that brings mobility options together in one place.
“We are focused on enhancing our customers’ experience, including providing new, convenient tools that make it easier to choose and use VIA and all available public transit options,” said VIA President and CEO Jeffrey C. Arndt. “Partnering with the Transit app and BCycle to make it a seamless experience for our riders is part of the plan to use innovative transit technology that helps keep San Antonio moving.”
Thousands of San Antonians already use Transit every day to navigate the region’s public transit network. VIA riders have used ticketing in Transit for nearly 77,000 trips since VIA launched fare payment in the app in August 2021. VIA riders can now add bikeshare passes and unlock bikes with their Transit account for San Antonio BCycle’s network of more than 50 stations and 250 e-bikes.
“With their powers combined, VIA and BCycle are giving San Antonians a way to kick congestion and parking woes to the curb,” said Jake Sion, COO, Transit. “Bringing bikes and buses together in one app, with one account, makes it easier than ever to ditch the car and start riding with Transit instead.”
With a few taps, users can enter payment information once to purchase and activate any transit or bikeshare pass type with Transit. Previously, these services were not connected and required users to download multiple apps and enter payment information to separate accounts.
“Our goal is to connect communities one pedal stroke at a time by getting more people on bikes,” said JD Simpson, general manager, San Antonio BCycle. “To do that, our focus is on removing barriers to riding. This collaboration will make it easier than ever for Transit riders to add bikes to their options for alternative transportation.”
The technology behind this integration builds on the existing integration of VIA’s goMobile+ mobile fare payment, available in Transit, using the Justride SDK from Masabi, the company that powers mobile ticketing for the agency.
“Innovative solutions like this don’t just put the means to travel in users’ hands, but also the choice of HOW they travel – unlocking a myriad of modes to maximize convenience and ease of use, whatever the journey,” said Brian Zanghi, CEO of Masabi. “We are delighted to be involved in delivering this solution supported by Justride, enhancing the transit offering in San Antonio and promoting a healthier, more environmentally friendly way to travel.”
In addition to VIA, riders can use their Transit account to purchase fares for more than 65 transit systems across the United States and Canada. The app also provides bikeshare payments and unlocking for 12 systems throughout the United States and Canada.
