Metro Magazine

APR 2013

Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904

Issue link: https://metromag.epubxp.com/i/116664

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 35 of 61

Photo courtesy VIA Metropolitan Transit San Antonio's Primo BRT Fast, Comfortable Trans Prímo, which began service in December 2012, connects the two largest employment centers in the region. Distinctive service features include modern, stylized 60-foot buses built by North American Bus Industries, which are powered by compressed natural gas and carry up to 90 passengers. BY JAY SRINIVASAN 34 < mETRO mAGAZINE APRIL 2013 l ocated in South Central Texas, San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. With robust employment opportunities and low cost of living, the city experienced a 16% growth in population since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Seven years ago, forward-thinking leaders at the VIA Metropolitan Transit felt this growth would create traffic congestion issues and started looking at solutions to improve overall transportation along the city's high-ridership corridors. The result was San Antonio's frst bus rapid transit (BRT) service — Prímo. Prímo, which began service in December 2012, along the 12-mile Fredericksburg Road corridor, connects the two largest employment centers in the region — the central business district in downtown San Antonio and the South Texas Medical Center. Te BRT service, which includes a limited extension to University of Texas at San Antonio, also provides convenient connections to other transit services. In late 2007, to successfully complete this project, VIA commissioned Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. (LAN), a planning, engineering and program management firm headquartered in Houston, to serve as the general engineering consultant. Subsequently, VIA contracted URS Corp. to provide environmental assessment and preliminary engineering services and Parsons to provide detailed architectural and engineering plans and specifications. O'Haver and Prudent Technologies Inc. served as contractors. "Te Prímo project is the frst step in expanding transit options in San Antonio," says Justin M. Cain, PE, LAN's project manager. "As such, it is a signifcant and visible project for the city." metro-magazine.com

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Metro Magazine - APR 2013