Top left, at a Downtown Campus ceremony, President Romo lauds the renewal
of the UTSA/VIA Rowdy Express bus contract, accompanied by John Milam (VIA
general manager), Janie Martinez (VIA board member), Priscilla Ingle (VIA
public relations staff person), Rowdy and Shelli Lyons (student government
president). At right, Tomas Larralde (assistant to the president), Lyons and
Romo ride the Express. Bottom left, Rowdy, Romo and friends prepare to board
downtown. At right, Rowdy disembarks at the 1604 Campus.
VIA, UTSA extend express bus service transit pact
(Sept. 25, 2001)--Officials from UTSA and VIA Metropolitan Transit--and a large, blue roadrunner celebrated on Tuesday morning the renewal of a transportation arrangement that gives fare-free bus rides to current UTSA students, faculty and staff traveling between the university's Downtown and 1604 campuses.
Rowdy, the UTSA roadrunner mascot, and university President Ricardo Romo were joined by VIA General Manager John M. Milam to announce the renewal of their transit partnership. UTSA pays VIA for all trips made.
The bus service has been dubbed the "Roadrunner Express" and includes VIA routes 93 and 94. Both are express routes that travel along IH-10 between UTSA's campuses on Loop 1604 and downtown. Currently enrolled UTSA students--as well as university staff and faculty--can ride either of these routes without having to pay the express, one-way fare of $1.50.
"UTSA is pleased to be able to partner with VIA once again to provide fare-free service for members of the university community who travel between our academic campuses," said Romo.
"Enrollment at UTSA continues to climb, and this fall reached a record 19,841 students. More than 2,000 of those students commute between the 1604 and Downtown campuses. The Roadrunner Express routes support that process, and in an environmentally friendly way," added Romo.
The Roadrunner Express began operating in 1998 and has been renewed through May 15, 2002. The fare-free bus rides for UTSA students, faculty and staff apply only to routes 93 and 94 and do not include transfers to other routes. Last year, as many as 5,000 rides per month were provided on the Roadrunner Express for members of the UTSA community.
Service along VIA routes 93 and 94 begins at approximately 6:30 a.m. and ends at approximately 10:30 p.m. Monday -Friday. Buses arrive at the 1604 Campus three to five times each hour. The 94 also operates on weekends from around 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more detailed route information, call (210) 362-2020 or visit the VIA Metropolitan Transit Web site.
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VIA, UTSA extend express bus service transit pact
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