San Antonio voters say yes to ATD Proposition A, yes to VIA’s Keep SA Moving Plan

VIA Metropolitan Transit's (VIA) Keep SA Moving Plan received a “yes” from San Antonio, Texas, voters with the passage of the Advanced Transportation District (ATD) Proposition A.

VIA says 68 percent of voters approved the measure that will rededicate a 1/8-cent share of local sales tax for public transit beginning in 2026. This is not a new tax. It reallocates a portion of an existing one-cent local sales tax made available for transit use by the Texas Legislature.

VIA currently receives a 5/8-cent share to fund operations for more than 1,200-square miles of Bexar County—a service area roughly the size of Houston Metro’s service. Other major Texas cities, including Houston, Austin and Dallas, dedicate the full cent to transit, pulling billions of dollars ahead of San Antonio in transit development and infrastructure. This win for ATD Proposition A means more funding will go to support transportation in San Antonio in 2026.

Voters also approved the city of San Antonio’s Proposition A to renew the 1/8-cent of sales tax that supports the Pre-K 4 SA early childhood education program, and the city’s Proposition B to support local workforce and economic development.

Proposition B will begin receiving a 1/8-cent share of the one-cent sales tax in 2021 to invest in workforce training as part of regional economic recovery plans. Beginning in 2026, that 1/8-cent share will transfer to the ATD for public transit programs, including improved frequency for VIA bus service and planning for a future Advance Rapid Transit system.

Jeffrey C. Arndt, VIA President/CEO, released the following statement:

“With voters’ support, we have taken a major step forward in rewriting the region’s transit history. An additional 1/8-cent sales tax will move us closer to our goals and toward parity with peer transit agencies in other major Texas cities.

We are grateful to the people of San Antonio for their vote of confidence and their show of support for funding the plan to Keep SA Moving. This initiative is the product of years of public engagement and community input and we are proud to have delivered on the community’s priorities for mobility today and in the future.

The revenue from this increment of sales tax will be available for transit improvements in 2026, but securing it today means that we can start important planning — and begin to tap into federal funding that has never before been available to our agency.

VIA has been moving people and connecting our community for over 40 years. We continue to ensure that essential workers can stay connected to essential jobs during the global pandemic so that our city can move ahead, toward recovery. I’m proud of the work our agency has done, even with the ongoing challenge of historic underfunding.

I’d like to thank the VIA operators, frontline workers and staff for the work they do, every day. Also, for the guidance and leadership from the VIA Board of Trustees and our Board Chair Hope Andrade, who separately served as chairwoman of the transit campaign that advocated for Prop. A’s passage.”