VIA gets look at potential streetcar routes

More than a year and a half after they originally voted to build a streetcar system, VIA Metropolitan Transit board members got their first look Tuesday at where the downtown rail project could actually go.

The public will get another chance to weigh in on the six proposed routes Thursday night, at a 6 p.m. meeting at Central Library.

All six alternate streetcar routes meet the basic tenets of a plan board members originally approved in 2011 — the lines go north and south, and east and west.

But they differ on several key points. A few routes would put the streetcar on Alamo Street, passing in front of the Alamo, while other proposals suggest using South St. Mary's and Navarro streets. Some would travel east and west on Nueva Street; other routes would have the streetcars traveling on Martin and Pecan streets.

Five of the possible routes would end in Southtown, at South St. Mary's and South Alamo streets. The final route, which is also the longest, would stop at César E. Chávez Boulevard, just north of Southtown.

All six possibilities would end on the north at Broadway and Cunningham Avenue, near the Pearl. The east-west routes would terminate at VIA's West Side Multimodal Transit Center and at the Robert Thompson Transit Center on the east.

VIA will study ridership possibilities, costs, historical and economic impacts of all the routes and select a plan by summer. The streetcars should be operational by 2017. Officials have estimated the system would cost between $190 million and $200 million, but that cost could increase if VIA selects one of the alternatives with more track.

On Tuesday, the board also approved a contract with Yellow Cab to launch a new taxi subsidy program for VIA's VIAtrans customers, who have disabilities or special needs.

The program will work two ways: For those with a VIAtrans appointment, which must be made at least one day in advance, passengers can call VIA for on-demand, will-call service from Yellow Cab. The passenger will have to pay the $1.95 VIAtrans fee and VIA will subsidize the rest.

Customers will also be able to call Yellow Cab directly and make same-day appointments for trips. Customers will pay $1.95; the next $9 will be covered by VIA. Passengers will be responsible for the remaining fare.

The program was developed as part of VIA's efforts to meet Federal Transit Administration requirements and lower its denial rate, the number of VIAtrans customers the agency has to turn away because there aren't enough vans to respond to requests. Over the last year, VIA has decreased that rate by 57 percent, said Chief Operating Officer Keith Hom.

The program will cost $750,000 per year, half of which should be subsidized by the federal government for at least two years.

Approval of the program was met with audience applause. The service should launch in May.

“We have tried very hard to make sure we brought some measure of innovation and interaction and that we are trying to improve the quality of the service and the diversity of the service that we offer to this community,” said board Chairman Henry Muñoz III.

Larry Johnson, immediate past president of the Alamo Council of the Blind, said the new taxi program, particularly the will-call service, is a “very good step” toward providing more consistent service for VIAtrans customers. He said it's yet to be seen if taxi drivers will provide the sensitivity necessary to VIAtrans passengers or if they will respond to direct calls for service, since they are independent contractors.

Later Tuesday, the VIA board voted for an $11.7 million contract with GFI/Genfare for an automated fare collection system that would allow customers to pay bus fares with credit and debit cards. That could be implemented in roughly a year, said VIA Chief Financial Officer Steve Lange.

vdavila@express-news.net