San Antonio—The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) today released an update of its VIA Opportunity Analysis released in 1997. Jeff Judson, President of TPPF stated, “VIA took steps in the right direction by lowering bus fares. However, it has failed to reduce internal inefficiencies and then return those funds to San Antonio riders and taxpayers.” TPPF recommended a tax rollback and temporary tax reductions in 1997. The Agency is now pursuing an expensive project to build light rail in San Antonio. “Pursuit of an expensive light rail project will further exacerbate VIA’s unwillingness to reduce internal inefficiency and return money to the taxpayers,” Judson said.

TPPF is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute dedicated to the core principles of limited government, free enterprise and individual responsibility. The Foundation conducts no “contract” research and accepts no government funding. Several recommendations of TPPF’s 1997 study were implemented by VIA such as (1) a lowering of bus fares for specific groups of riders and a cancellation of plans to raise fares through 2003; (2) small reductions in cash reserves that are still insufficient to reduce the excessive levels of reserves held by VIA; and (3) a larger contribution to the City for street repairs drawn out of cash reserves.

TPPF recommendations still not addressed by VIA include (1) a 25 percent reduction in excessive administrative costs which could fund a 50 percent fare reduction for the foreseeable future; (2) a program of unit cost reduction through competitive outsourcing of operations; (3) a rollback of the 1995 base fare increase; and (4) temporary tax reductions paid for by increased agency efficiency.

Several significant changes have taken place over the past 16 months that warranted a review of VIA’s performance and plans for the future.

VIA OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS: UPDATE

Key findings:

 

  • Efficiency: Largely as a result of the significant ridership losses from the large fare increase in 1995, VIA’s ranking dropped from fourth to 24th as evaluated by the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

     

  • Ridership: It is estimated that VIA carries approximately 1.2 percent of travel in the San Antonio Metropolitan area. Because nearly 87 percent of VIA riders do not have automobiles, VIA’s impact on traffic congestion is minimal. It is estimated that VIA removes 0.2 percent of automobile traffic from roadways in the San Antonio area.

     

  • VIA’s Transit 2025 Vision Statement recommends future transit programs that could be effective and others that could be quite costly and ineffective. Recommendations include expansion of the bus system and construction of a fixed guideway (busway or light rail) system.

     

  • VIA’s proclivity toward light rail options overlook the record of such systems around the country. Light rail systems largely serve downtown destinations and are incapable of providing service to other parts of the region even though population growth is occurring only in non-downtown areas.. Generally, rail systems have cost considerably more than planned and five times that of bus systems providing comparable services.

     

  • The nation’s new light rail systems carry only a fraction of the person trips carried on a single freeway or signalized arterial, and have not reduced traffic congestion or air pollution. Automobile drivers are not attracted to light rail because it serves so few potential origins and destinations, and because it substantially increases travel times relative to the automobile.

     

  • Striving Up-Market at the Expense of the Poor: VIA has forced thousands of low income riders daily off its system through an unnecessary fare increase. What has become clearer since 1997 is that VIA prefers to spend taxpayer reserves in an attempt to attract more affluent passengers through a major transit investment such as light rail. VIA should return to its fundamental mission of providing mobility to those who need it, and do it a cost that is no more than necessary.