Opinion: Public transportation is part of a green lifestyle – mySanAntonio.com

By Kristi Villanueva, For the Express-News

Published

7:00 pm CDT, Monday, October 28, 2019

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of public transportation? It might not be that it can improve the environment. But it should be.

The fact is, increasing transit ridership in major metropolitan areas, like San Antonio, could be the single best thing a community does to support clean air, clean water and walkability.

Transportation emissions from cars and commercial vehicles are the No. 1 contributor to air and environmental pollution in our region. Each person who chooses an alternative mode of transit during all or even part of their commute — taking the bus, biking, walking or carpooling — can actively contribute to a cleaner environment.

In San Antonio and Bexar County, VIA Metropolitan Transit is moving us closer to a cleaner, “greener” transportation system by offering additional transit options and focusing on cutting harmful emissions in our environment.

We like to say our buses are “red on the outside and green on the inside.” It’s true. VIA has been replacing older diesel buses with modern, energy-efficient models in a fleet conversion designed to reduce fuel consumption and nitrogen oxide, or NOx, emissions. In 2020, VIA will complete the upgrade to compressed natural gas vehicles, reducing its fleet emissions by 97 percent.

There are plenty of benefits in operating the majority of VIA’s fleet on alternative fuels, including electricity and propane. It costs less to power vehicles and drastically reduces emissions, which allows VIA to move more people at a lower cost, while leaving a smaller footprint on the environment. That’s a win-win-win.

But it’s just one of several steps VIA has taken to improve public transit and become an environmental leader in our region and join others who care about conservation in our community.

At VIA’s September board meeting, we endorsed the city of San Antonio’s updated Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, lending our support to the ultimate goal of reaching carbon neutrality. It underscores our focus on how we travel — not just where — and highlights transit ridership as an inherently “green” activity.

It continues our commitment to sustainability. As good community partners, we at VIA have completed several projects to help analyze, control and reduce our activities’ environmental impacts, such as retrofitting facilities with energy efficient lighting, participating in CPS Energy’s Windtricity program, installing solar panels at bus shelters and facilities, and investing in equipment and procedures for responsible water usage and water quality protection.

Our promise to contribute to a sustainable future for our region includes steps to make it simpler for more people to choose transit and have a personal, positive impact on our climate. With our VIA Reimagined Plan, we’re providing options that will make transit the mode of choice for getting where you need to go. Improved access, frequency and reliability are key to creating that shift in our community.

It’s a heavy lift. But it’s doable, with the right investments and support from our vibrant and forward-thinking community — the seventh-largest city in the United States and a large part of the fastest-growing region in the nation.

If emissions rise in proportion to the size of a city, as well as in proportion to the number of people who lack good access to public transportation, we’re looking at a perfect storm for deteriorating air quality in a city that’s already experiencing these challenges.

), it’s become clear that maintaining and increasing access to safe, reliable public transit options has shot to the top of our environmental to-do list.

Learn more about how you can be part of the solution at VIAinfo.net/Reimagined.

Kristi Villanueva is president and CEO of the West San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and serves on the VIA board of trustees.