SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones joined KSAT’s 6 O’Clock News on Tuesday night to discuss a range of topics, including a proposed fare-free pilot program for VIA Metropolitan Transit and the upcoming Bexar County elections.
Jones said the proposed fare-free pilot program for VIA has “floated” on the council for several years.
>> VIA employee union ‘not on board’ with free bus fare push
The program, which proposes to get rid of fares for riders, is a way to help “cost-burdened neighbors,” Jones said.
“When we think about helping people, this is a way in which we can do that,” she said.
Jones pointed out that when she attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Los Angeles, she learned from other cities, like Tucson, that have successfully implemented fare-free transit programs.
With early voting underway, Jones highlighted the significance of upcoming races for Bexar County judge and district attorney.
“When we hear about backlogs in domestic violence or in other areas, we want to make sure that there’s somebody who has experience with these types of cases and then an actual plan to bring those down,” Jones said.
She also discussed the ongoing search for a new police chief.
“A chief of police that shares your values and has experiences that I think bring to bear kind of where we’re at,” Jones said. “... Let’s look at all the other preventative aspects that we need to be looking at to make sure that we are staffing appropriately.”
Watch the full interview in the video player above.
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