VIA Better Bus Plan

Foursquare ITP is performing a complete bus network redesign through the Better Bus Plan for VIA. In 2019, VIA was considered the most efficient system across the largest Texas transit agencies. Post-pandemic, the agency has been struggling with continued operator shortages, similar to the majority of their peers, and recapturing ridership in a system still at only 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels of service.

To perform the redesign, our team has conducted a comprehensive needs assessment that reviewed market conditions and existing services to identify transit service gaps for both fixed-route and microtransit. We have also interviewed local and national peers to gain an understanding of what has contributed to their success in recovering from the pandemic.

Using this information, the Foursquare ITP team has established where and how to offer transit services in the post-pandemic world as service users return to the system. This includes building out fixed-route and microtransit solutions for VIA that will best fit into their network, while also establishing 30-minute or better service for all transit, and coordinating and supporting their Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) system, a major capital BRT infrastructure program. We are currently working with the VIA team to develop the 2029 VIA network that will be presented to stakeholders and the public and be further refined into a future five-year implementation plan.