Transportation
The Path Forward
San Antonio’s future growth is being designed to be sustainable and efficient; to be a place where our community can easily get around in a safe, reliable, efficient, cost-effective, and healthy way. A comprehensive transportation network provides choices to people so they can determine how they move around the City. As an individual, these choices can have impacts on your wallet and your health. Collectively, these choices impact air quality and how much space is dedicated to moving people.
As the city grows and more people join our community, we’re rethinking how the transportation system works and what we can do to offer more transportation options. We know we can’t keep building roads, which can reduce the space we have for housing and green spaces and affect our air and water quality. These choices are critical to moving people, preserving our community, and mitigating impacts on our region’s resources.
UNIT | Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is a measurement that estimates the total amount of miles each vehicle within a certain area travels within a given period of time. |
| VMTVehicle Miles Traveled |
2010
2015
2040 - Goal
San Antonio has a goal to reduce the amount each person travels in their vehicle each day.
Did You Know?
San Antonio's public transportation system, VIA, has 95 routes and 6,621 stops in San Antonio? VIA's service area is over 1,226 square miles covering 98% of Bexar County. In 2017, our buses were used over 26 million times! Find out where your closest stop is!
Transportation
Creating Safer Streets in San Antonio
San Antonio is planning to triple the amount of “complete streets” we will have in our City by 2040. “Complete streets” are those that enable safe, convenient, and comfortable travel for every member of our community, regardless of age and ability and their preferred way of travel (biking, walking, public transportation, motor vehicle).
Cool pavement is a water-based asphalt applied over existing asphalt.
Transportation
Paving the Way for Neighborhood Cooling
The City of San Antonio became the 1st city in Texas and the 3rd major city in the US to utilize cool pavement as a heat mitigation tool. Cool pavement is one solution to achieve neighborhood-level cooling by applying an asphalt treatment to reflect the sun’s rays while also protecting existing pavements. The City applied a cool pavement seal coat, donated by GuardTop, at the east end of Hays Street Bridge and will monitor and share the results in Fall of 2022.
Transportation
The Benefits of Biking in San Antonio
Watch this video for Mayor Nirenberg's thoughts on the importance of biking in San Antonio.
Did You Know About our Walkable Community Program?
The Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization developed the Walkable Community Program which recognizes the need to plan for everyone and all modes of travel, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, pedestrian, wheelchair user, or transit rider. Sign up your community to participate!
Transportation
The Future of Our Transit
Mayor Nirenberg and Judge Wolff have recently created ConnectSA, a non-profit organization who will work with VIA collecting community input on the future of the transit system in San Antonio. They will also be responsible for educating the public about how we can expect San Antonio to grow and how our transportation systems need to be developed to ensure that our people can get from place to place safely, economically, and quickly.
Check out our fact sheet for more information about ConnectSA.
Transportation
Electric Vehicles
To reach our sustainability goals, not only do we need to reduce overall Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), we also need to use vehicles with cleaner fuel types, like electricity. The City of San Antonio recently launched EV-SA to unify our initiatives around electric vehicle plans, policies, and programs. Read more about the benefits of electric vehicles and how the City of San Antonio can help you make the transition.
Transportation
Map of EV chargers in San Antonio. Click for larger version.
Promoting electric transportation is a major strategy for reducing GHG emissions in San Antonio’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. Electric Vehicle San Antonio (EVSA) kicked off a partnership with Blink Charging to add over 100 publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging ports to over 50 City-owned sites, like libraries and parks, to encourage EV adoption.
The City, including Mayor Nirenberg, held a ribbon-cutting event at the first installation site, the San Antonio Zoo, in Fall 2021 to launch the project. To raise the public’s awareness of electric vehicles, the Office of Sustainability launched a comprehensive public information campaign to increase education and engagement about EVs.
Transportation
Transitioning to a Sustainable, Electric Fleet
San Antonio is catalyzing the transition to electric vehicles for municipal operations. 19 Chevy Bolts were added to the City’s fleet in 2021. As part of the SA Climate Ready Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, San Antonio has committed to lead by example by converting fleet vehicles and trucks to more efficient options, with a priority on electrification. To support this, the City put in place the Sustainable Fleet Management & Acquisition Policy to ensure vehicle fleet purchasing aligns with San Antonio’s climate goals.
Land Use & Transportation
Start Biking and Walking in San Antonio Today!
There are bike and walking routes all over San Antonio! Find out where they are below.
Land Use and Transportation - Land Use
Land Use
How we use and develop our land in San Antonio impacts every one of our community members. We look at all the different needs our City has (like housing, business, open space) today and, as our community grows and changes, in the future. San Antonio is committed to guiding our growth and development, protecting our history and resources, and promoting an equitable and sustainable city accessible to all San Antonians.
UNIT | While housing alone is traditionally deemed affordable when consuming no more than 30% of income, the H+T Index incorporates transportation costs—usually a household’s second-largest expense—to show that location-efficient places can be more livable and affordable. |
| %Percent of Income Spent on Housing and Transportation |
2010
2017
2040- Goal
By 2040, San Antonio aims to have residents spend no more than 35% of their income on housing and transportation -- creating a more affordable San Antonio for all families.
We're planning on saving you money!
In San Antonio, the average household spends 23% of its income on transportation. This is equivalent to over $12,000 per year. Our City is developing plans that will allow more people to live and work in our regional centers and its surrounding neighborhoods. We are also improving our walking, biking, and transit options. The result will provide San Antonians with transportation options that won’t break the bank.
Land Use and Transportation - Land Use
San Antonio Walk Score
San Antonio is the 35th most walkable large city in the USA. With a score of 38, we're just behind Austin who has a score of 40. This measurement is important because it helps us understand how easy it is for our community members to get from their home to nearby services within a 30-minute walk. Our goal is to earn a score of 61 or more. This would mean our City is more walkable, allowing our community to have greater access to the things they need without having to get in their car.
Land Use and Transportation - Land Use
Explore Your Ideal Place Type!
San Antonio has identified 12 “Place Types” that show different ways we can ensure that all residents living in existing and new neighborhoods have safe and convenient access to jobs, housing, and a variety of amenities and basic services including great parks, strong schools, and convenient shopping and services. Explore the Place Types to see which places you might want to live!
