The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) applauded the official opening of San Antonio’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) line, which will bring efficient, state-of-the-art transit service to thousands of commuters, students, seniors and others traveling the busy Fredericksburg Road corridor in Bexar County.

FTA contributed $52.6 million toward the project, or about 75% of the total $70 million cost.

The new VIA Primo BRT service features eight stops along a 20-mile corridor that takes riders to the area’s largest employment centers at the newly opened South Texas Medical Center Transit Center and in downtown San Antonio.

In addition, BRT riders can board connecting bus service to the main campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio. The Westside Multimodal Transit Center in the Cattleman Square neighborhood, which was awarded a $15 million TIGER (Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery) grant, is slated to open early next year and is also on the route.

In addition to funding for this project, in Fiscal Years 2010-2012, VIA Metropolitan Transit received approximately $8.5 million in discretionary FTA State-of-Good-Repair funds to help modernize, replace, and repair aging vehicles and transit facilities to keep its transit systems operating efficiently.