* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] GOOD EVENING [ATD 1. Call to Order] EVERYONE. IT IS NOW 5:04 PM I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET US STARTED. I AM BOARD CHAIR LAURA CABELLA. UH, AND I'D LIKE TO CALL THE ORDER THE JULY 28TH, 2026 A TD BOARD MEETING. LET'S BEGIN WITH ROLL CALL VICE CHAIR GOMEZ HERE. UH, SECRETARY MALONE, PRESENT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY COOPER. PRESENT. TRUSTEE FLORES. PRESENT TRUSTEE TO WILL. TRUSTEE REYNA. TRUSTEE DELEON. TRUSTEE HOWARD NER, TRUSTEE FERNANDEZ PRESENT AND TRUSTEE ALDRETE PRESENT. VERY GOOD, THANK YOU. TRUSTEES. UH, AT THIS TIME LET'S GO AHEAD [ATD 2. Moment of Reflection, Pledge of Allegiance, Announcements] AND MOVE FORWARD WITH A MOMENT OF REFLECTION. OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE P JUSTICE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE REPUBLIC, WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY, JUSTICE FOR ALL. HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE, TEXAS ONE DAY ONE AND INDIVISIBLE. GOT IT. ALL RIGHT, MR. RETA, ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? NO ANNOUNCEMENTS AND CITIZENS TO BE HEARD. GOOD AFTERNOON. WE DO HAVE 1, 2, 3, 4. OH NO, THERE ARE NO CITIZENS FOR A TD. THERE YOU GO. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND THEN, UH, WE ARE [ATD 4. Consent Agenda] NOW ON OUR CONSENT AGENDA. TRUSTEES, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM. ANY QUESTIONS? IF NOT, MAY I HAVE A MOTION? AND SECOND TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. SO MOVED. SECOND. A MOTION. AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? CONSENT AGENDA IS APPROVED. MS. HOLDER, ANY LEGAL BRIEFING? NO MA'AM. WE DO NOT HAVE A LEGAL BRIEFING. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. TRUSTEES. WE'VE REACHED THE END OF OUR MEETING. MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND SECOND ADJOURN THIS MEETING PLEASE? MOTION. SECOND. MOTION AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THE A TD MEETING IS ADJOURNED AND WE WILL NOW [1. Call to Order] MOVE TO THE VIA MEETING. IT IS NOW 5:06 PM AND I'D LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THE JULY 28TH VIA BOARD MEETING. WE'VE ALREADY DONE OUR MOMENTARY REFLECTION IN OUR PLEDGE, UH, CITIZENS TO BE HEARD. YES. THIS AFTERNOON WE HAVE SEVEN CITIZENS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. I WOULD ASK THAT IF YOU'VE SIGNED UP AND YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SPEAKING ON THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF EASEMENT, THAT YOU WE WILL CALL YOU UP INDIVIDUALLY AFTER WE GET THROUGH WITH THE REGULAR CITIZENS TO BE HEARD. VERY GOOD, THANK YOU. WE NOW COME [3. Citizens to be Heard] TO THE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD PORTION OF OUR PUBLIC MEETING. THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN HEARING THE COMMENTS AND CONCERNS FROM OUR PATRONS AND CITIZENS IN THE SAN ANTONIO BAYAR COUNTY AREA. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS CONCERNING PUBLIC BUSINESS OR POLICY OVER WHICH THE BOARD HAS SUPERVISION AND CONTROL MAY BE ADDRESSED AT A LATER DATE BY THE PRESIDENT, CEO AND OR HIS STAFF. THIS PROCESS ASSURES THAT YOU RECEIVE THE MOST ACCURATE RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION OR CONCERN. THANK YOU. AND VIA APPRECIATES YOU TAKING THE TIME AND EFFORT TO SHARE YOUR COMMENTS WITH US THIS EVENING. OUR FIRST SPEAKER THIS EVENING IS MS. BARBARA STACK FORD. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS BARBARA STOPFORD. SORRY I THROAT UH, ESOPHAGUS PROBLEM. SO, UH, WHAT I'M REQUESTING IS THE FACT THAT, UH, SINCE THE NEW SYSTEM WENT INTO EFFECT, WE'VE HAD DIFFERENT PEOPLE ASK US DIFFERENT QUESTIONS. ONE OF THE QUESTIONS IS, BEFORE IT SAID THAT YOU CAN BE PICKED OUT WITH 92 DEGREES, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE OUTSIDE. HAS THAT POLICY CHANGED? 'CAUSE SOMEONE TOLD ME IT WAS 400 AND I DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER OF THAT. NUMBER TWO, UH, WE HAD AN EVENT AND, UH, SUPERVISOR CAME OUT. SHE WAS EXCELLENT, BY THE WAY. HER NAME IS JOY FRANKLIN. THERE WERE QUITE A FEW MIX UPS, I'M SORRY TO SAY WITH THE DRIVERS, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE AREA. IT COULD BE TAKEN BETTER IF THE CITY WOULD LABEL IT WITH [00:05:01] ARROWS THAT THEY COULD POSSIBLY SEE ON THE GROUND. THEY WERE, IT WAS AT 24 20 SOUTH ALAMO STREET, WHICH MEANS IT HAS A STREET AND A STREET WHERE A LITTLE, UH, AREA WHAT TREES ARE. AND IT WAS NEXT TO THE MAGIC MACHINE. AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW THE, UH, MAGIC THEATER AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW THEY COULD GET IN THAT LITTLE AREA, BUT QUITE A FEW PEOPLE WERE DROPPED OFF AROUND THE OTHER SIDES OR THAT. BUT IN THAT, THAT'S ALL LABELED FOUR 20 AS FAR AS I KNOW. BUT JOYCE DID A GREAT JOB. SHE STAYED DURING THE DAY, MADE SURE THAT THEY WENT AND FOUND THE PEOPLE THAT WERE MISSING AND HAD THE DRIVERS TURN AROUND AND COME BACK, PICK 'EM UP AND BRING HIM TO THE RIGHT AREA. SHE DESERVES CREDIT FOR THAT. I PLAN TO WRITE THAT UP. NUMBER THREE. UH, THANKS TO RYKO BEING HERE, I FINALLY GOT MY APP TO WORK RIGHT. I LIKE IT. THEY DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. QUESTIONS ARE, HOW COME THERE'S NO MORE PAPERWORK WHEN WE BOARD THE BUS? UH, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO GIVE THEM. AND, BUT IF YOU COULD WORK ON THAT IN THE MEANTIME. THANK YOU. YOU HAD TWO EXCELLENT DRIVERS ALSO WHO GAVE US VERY GOOD SERVICE IN THE PAST THREE DAYS THROUGH THE CHANGES. I WANT TO COMPLIMENT EVERYBODY WHO WORKED ON THIS PROGRAM. I FEEL THEY DID A GREAT JOB AND THEY ARE MAKING BENEFITS FOR US, BUT EVERYBODY HAS TO LEARN TO ADAPT TO CHANGES AND WE'LL SEE HOW THE CHANGES GO AS A TEAM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MR. JAMES HANNAH. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. OKAY. YES. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS JAMES HANNAH. AND, UM, ANYWAY, LAST MONTH ON 6 23, I WAS WAITING ON A BUS AND THE BUS WENT RIGHT BY ME AND SKIPPED ME. AND I'VE CALLED SEVERAL TIMES TO TRY TO FIND OUT WHY. AND, UH, EVERY TIME I CALL, EVERYBODY SEEMS CONCERNED ABOUT IT, BUT I JUST KEEP GETTING A RUN AROUND. AND THEY FINALLY TOOK MY NAME, PHONE NUMBER, EMAIL AND SAID THEY WOULD GET BACK WITH ME. AND I HAVE NOT HEARD BACK. I HAVE CALLED ON 6 23, 6 24 7 2. UM, I TALKED TO SOMEBODY OUT IN THE OFFICE TODAY AND NOW THEY'RE TELLING ME THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE GAVE ME A REFERENCE NUMBER. NOBODY HAS BEFORE, HAS SAID ANYTHING ABOUT A REFERENCE NUMBER. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW WE GO ABOUT FINDING OUT HOW THINGS HAPPEN WITH THE BUS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WE GET ANSWERS. THEY JUST KEEP PUTTING ME OFF. I'M OFF, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I FIGURED I'M GONNA GET TIRED OF CALLING AND, AND, UH, JUST GO AWAY. NOW. I LOVE YOUR BUS SYSTEMS AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THEM IMPROVE IN RIDERSHIP. BLESS YOU. AND, UH, I WISH MORE PEOPLE WOULD USE 'EM. I THINK THAT WOULD SOLVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS. UH, I'VE SEEN YOUR ADVERTISEMENTS ON YOUTUBE AND I THINK THEY'RE GREAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE SOME SYSTEMS TO WORK OUT. AND THAT'S ALL I HAD TO SAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MS. LVRA. DIANA CICK. ARE YOU HERE TO SPEAK ON VIA SERVICE? I THINK SHE, YES MA'AM. I WAS KIND ENOUGH, UM, TO TALK TO MR. ROBERTO, UH, ABOUT MY CONCERNS. UM, AND I GAVE HIM SOME, BUT THERE STILL ARE PROBLEMS WHEN PEOPLE ARE CALLING IN INFORMATION, WE REALLY DON'T KNOW. UM, THE FOLLOW UP OF OUR CONCERNS. UM, UM, PLEASE, UM, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW THAT I DON'T HAVE A PHONE IF, UH, USE MY ADDRESS TO SEND ME THE RESPONSE BECAUSE I HAVEN'T GOTTEN SOME OF THE RESPONSE AND MY CONCERNS. AND, UM, AS FAR AS THE SANITATION ON THE BUSES, THE WIPES, UH, WOULD BE BETTER INSTEAD OF THE, THE SOAPS OR WHATEVER YOU HAD BEFORE, UM, WOULD BE MUCH BETTER. THAT'S [00:10:01] ONE SUGGESTION THAT I HAVE, UH, FOR THE BUSES. AND THERE SHOULD BE RUNNING WITH 2 MILLION PEOPLE IN THIS CITY, THEY SHOULD BE RUNNING EVERY 20 MINUTES. IT'S NOT FAIR FOR US TO SPEND A WHOLE HOUR OUT THERE WAITING FOR THE BUS 'CAUSE WE JUST MISSED IT OR THAT THEY'RE RIGHT AFTER EACH OTHER. ESPECIALLY THE 46TH BUS. WE DIDN'T HAVE, UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE IT IN THE PALO ALTO, UH, COLLEGE AREA BUSES FOR ALMOST THREE YEARS. YOU DID A VERY BIG DISSERVICE TO THE PEOPLE THERE. THE 1 0 3 PRESENTLY SHOULD BE RUNNING CLEARED DOWN TO THE HOSPITAL, AT LEAST IN THE, UH, UM, TEXAS A AND M AND NOT FURTHER TO THE TOYOTA PLANT. I DON'T KNOW WHY IT TAKES YOU SO LONG TO, UM, ADDRESS OUR NEEDS. THAT'S NOT BEING, YOU'RE NOT REALLY, UM, TAKING THE BUSES YOURSELF. I GUESS YOU'RE NOT OUT THERE IN THE HOT SUN WHEN YOU'VE HAD PORT HOT ATTACKS AND HAVE TO WALK TWO OR THREE BLOCKS TO THE NEAREST STOP OR SOMETHING. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE DOING US A VERY BAD SERVICE. AND, UM, I TOLD THEM THE CONCERNS THAT I HAVE ABOUT THE BATHROOMS AT THE BROOKS, UM, STATION BEING THE NEWEST ONE, I BELIEVE. YOU KNOW, IT'S BUILT BUILDING, BUILDING. UM, THOSE ARE THE MAIN THINGS. UH, ON ZAMORA AND , THERE'S A STUMP THERE THAT HAS BEEN THERE THAT THE CITY NOR EVER RESPONSIBLE BY THE BUS STOP. IT GOT MOVED FROM THE CORNER RAMP ACCESS THE RED THING TO GO ON TO FURTHER DOWN BY THE BUS STOP SIGN. AND THERE WAS A BARREL THERE THAT THEY WERE FIXING IT. WELL, SOMETIMES SOMEBODY BROKE IT AND PUT IT OVER OVER THE, THE CEMENT WALL THERE AND IT'S STILL THERE. IT'S BEEN THERE LIKE TWO MONTHS ALREADY. BUT THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT I WANNA SHOW YOU PICTURES OR SOMETHING OR HAVE TRIED TO SEND YOU PICTURES OF MY PROBLEMS BECAUSE SOMETIMES I FEEL I MUST BE TALKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE THAT NOBODY GIVES ME A REPLY BACK. YOU KNOW? AND I'M SURE THAT I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE ALWAYS TELL ME WHY THEY'RE NOT GONNA PAY ATTENTION TO YOU. THEY'RE NOT GONNA PAY ATTENTION TO YOU. BUT INJUSTICE IS INJUSTICE AND SOMEBODY HAS TO SPEAK OUT. SOMEBODY HAS TO HAVE THE NERVE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO DO SOMETHING AND NOT JUST NOTHING. THANK YOU MA'AM. 'CAUSE THE MONEY IS BEING SPENT, A LOT OF MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT AND USELESS THINGS AND NOT WHERE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE GOING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MR. KEVIN LAMELLA. GOOD EVENING, UH, BOARD. I HAVE A QUESTION AND I KNOW THIS CITY IS GROWING AND ALSO Y'ALL GOING TOO. UM, I HAVE PROBLEMS. I, I RECEIVED A BLUE CARD AND I HAVE FUNDS ON MY RED CARD. I HAVE $57 ON THE RED CARD AND IT NEEDS TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THE BLUE CARD. I, I USED, I USED ON ONE OF THE VIATRANS, I USED THE, THE BLUE CARD AND I SAY, ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO TRANSFER THAT? AND THEY DIDN'T TRANSFER THAT. AND THEN IT, IT, IT'S KIND OF FLABBERGASTED THAT, THAT THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN CARE OF BEFORE THEY SEND A BLUE CARD. BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT, IT, IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING. I WANTED TO GET THAT ADDED ON BACK ONTO THAT BLUE CARD AND THEN DISCARD THE RED CARD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. AND WE'LL HAVE SOMEBODY TAKE CARE OF THAT FOR YOU. WE'LL HAVE SOMEBODY TAKE CARE OF THAT FOR YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS HOLLY RABINOWITZ. MA'AM, ARE YOU SPEAKING ON [00:15:01] THE REAL ESTATE MATTER OR VIA SERVICE? OKAY, GREAT, THANKS. OKAY. UM, MY NAME'S HOLLY RABINOWITZ. I'M, UM, A RESIDENT AND BUSINESS OWNER IN ALMAS PARK PROPERTY, COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY IN ALMA PARK. UM, AND I AM HERE ABOUT BUS STOP 6 9 7 5 7. IT'S ON THE CORNER OF JOY AND MCCULLOUGH. UM, WE HAVE SUBMITTED FIVE REQUESTS TO REVIEW THIS LOCATION. UM, DUE TO RIDERSHIP SAFETY, IT'S, UM, ON THE CORNER OF COM. UH, IT'S A COMMERCIAL DISTRICT AND AT THE TIME THE BUS STOP WAS PLACED THERE, THERE WAS ONE BUSINESS, UM, AT 51 0 3 MCCULLOUGH, WHICH WE CURRENTLY OCCUPY. SINCE THAT TIME, THERE HAVE BEEN NEW BUSINESSES ADDED AND THERE ARE THREE BUSINESSES AT THAT CORNER THAT RECEIVE DELIVERY BY SEMI-TRUCK. AND FOR THE SEMI-TRUCK TO MAKE THESE DELIVERIES TO DOCKS, THEY BACK DOWN JOY STREET, WHICH IS WITHIN INCHES OF THIS BUS STOP. UM, THE FIRST REQUEST WE SUBMITTED THE TRASH CAN BESIDE THE BUS STOP WAS COMPLETELY FLATTENED. THE BUS, THE, UM, THE SEMI NEVER STOPPED. THEY NEVER SAW THE TRASH CAN. THEY COMPLETELY FLATTENED IT AND KEPT GOING. AND THAT WAS OUR FIRST REQUEST IN 2025 TO REVIEW THIS SITE. UM, WE'VE SENT SUBSEQUENT REQUESTS FOR SIMILAR ISSUES. UM, THE, THE TRASH CAN WAS REMOVED AND THAT WAS THE SOLUTION. UM, WITHIN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, THE CONCRETE BENCH WAS COMPLETELY TURNED OVER BECAUSE IT WAS HIT BY A TRUCK AGAIN. AND WITHIN THAT, WE SUBMITTED THAT, UM, REQUEST WITHIN THE LAST 48 HOURS. UM, AND TODAY I TOOK, UH, PHOTOGRAPHS UNDER THE SAME REFERENCE NUMBER, WHICH IS 5 6 9 5 0 OF, UM, A TRAFFIC ISSUE. THE SEMI-TRUCK DELIVERY TODAY FOR ONE OF THESE BUSINESSES PARKED ON MCCULLOUGH, WHICH BLOCKED I GUESS THE, I DON'T KNOW WHICH DIRECTION, BUT TO THE DOWNTOWN DIRECTION OF MCCULLOUGH, BLOCKED THAT LANE OF TRAFFIC. SO I DIDN'T GET A PICTURE OF THE BUS, THE VIA BUS GOING AROUND INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC TO GO AROUND THE SEMI-TRUCK. BUT I DID HAVE, UM, A PHOTO OF ANOTHER LARGE COMMERCIAL TRUCK PASSING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. SO I BELIEVE WHAT I WOULD LIKE IS BEFORE A DECISION OR DETERMINATION IS MADE, UM, I, I REALIZE THIS IS A HIGH RIDERSHIP LOCATION. WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF STOPS IN AL ALMOST PARK WITHIN ONE TO TWO BLOCKS, OR I GUESS TWO TO THREE BLOCKS OF THIS PARTICULAR STOP. AND WHAT I WANTED TO REQUEST IS A POSSIBLE SITE REVIEW, MAYBE WHERE I COULD MEET A REPRESENTATIVE FROM VIA AND WE COULD LIKE LOOK AT IT LOGISTICALLY ON SITE VERSUS LOOKING AT A TOPICAL AERIAL VIEW MAP TO MAKE A DECISION. IT REALLY IS A CONCERN FOR YOUR RIDERSHIP. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS JENNIFER ANO. CAN YOU HOLD IT FOR ME, FOR ME? SURE. HERE'S YOUR PAPERS. GIVE IT TO THEM IN MY PHONE TOO SO THEY CAN SEE THE PICTURE. HELLO, MY NAME IS JENNIFER ANO. MY ID NUMBER IS 6 4 3 6 7. I AM DEAF AND BLIND BY THE STATE OF TEXAS AND I WAS, UH, IT'S OKAY. IT'S OKAY. IT'S OKAY. GO, GO AHEAD. OOPS. GO, GO. SORRY. YOU, YOU'RE GOOD. UH, FORGIVE ME. OKAY. MY NAME IS JENNIFER [00:20:01] RIANO, R-I-A-N-O. AND, UH, MY ID NUMBER IS 6 4 3 6 7. UM, I'M HERE TO MAKE A COMPLAINT ABOUT YOUR COMPANY IS NOT LISTENING TO ME. THEY'RE NOT LISTENING TO MY VOICE. I'VE BEEN HERE WITH THIS VIA TRANS SINCE 2010. NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE CITY BUS FOR, FOR A VERY MANY YEARS UNTIL MY HUSBAND PASSED AWAY IN THE YEAR OF DECEMBER, 2023. YEAH, 2023. NOW I USED THE VIA TRANS EVERY DAY. EVERY DAY. STARTING IN THE YEAR OF 2024. UM, I'VE BEEN HAVING A LOT OF PROBLEM WITH THE DRIVER, FEMALE ESPECIALLY, BUT EVER SINCE THEN, I STARTED HAVING PROBLEM WITH MY LEGS. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON UNTIL I STARTED SEEING THE DOCTORS AND THEY TOLD ME SOME OTHER STUFF. THEN I HAD MY LAWYER TO INFORM YOUR COMPANY THAT I NEED TO BE SHORT RIDE BECAUSE MY LEG WOULD NOT COOPERATING AND I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO MY BODY. BY THE END OF DECEMBER, DECEMBER 30, I CALLED IN JUST, YOU KNOW, TO BE NICE, TO LET THE, THE COMPANY KNOW, HEY, I'M GONNA USE MY WALKER. AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE GONNA SUSPEND ME IF I USED MY WALKER BECAUSE I'M ON LONG TERM. I WAS SCARED BECAUSE I NEED TO GO TO WORK. SO I USE A WALKING STICK. AND UM, I USED IT FOR A LONG TIME. THEN MAY 14TH, THAT'S WHEN MY LEG JUST GAVE OUT. I MEAN, COMPLETELY. I LOST MY LEG, I COULDN'T WALK. SO THEN LATER ON I FOUND OUT THE SEAT THAT I CALLED A CONCRETE SEAT BECAUSE THERE WAS SO HARD, FLAT METAL, WAS HARD TO SIT ON. AND I HAVE A DIFFICULT SITTING. SO I HAD TO FIND A WAY TO SIT AND IT WAS SO PAINFUL FOR ME TO SIT IN THAT CHAIR. SO, UH, I LOST MY LEG. NOW I HAVE A HARD TIME GOING TO BED. I'M ALWAYS IN PAIN, 24 HOURS GOING TO SHOPPING, CLEAN MY HOUSE. I LIVE BY MYSELF. I DON'T HAVE A FAMILY. UM, I LIVE BY MYSELF AND THAT'S THE WAY I WANT IT THAT WAY. BUT NO ONE LISTENING. MY LAWYER WARNED, Y'ALL SHORT, RIGHT? MY DOCTOR WARNED Y'ALL, Y'ALL STILL DIDN'T LISTEN. SO THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I'M GIVING YOU THE PAPER RIGHT NOW. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME. SO I'M TRYING TO GET SOME HELP. YOU KNOW, I'M IN A LOT OF PAIN, SO I'M VERY ANGRY. Y'ALL TOOK MY FREEDOM. I CAN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING BECAUSE OF THAT. THANK YOU FOR COMING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS COL. YES MA'AM. WE DO HAVE YOUR PAPERS. MY, OKAY. I'M YOU, OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS COLLE SANTOS. HI, MY NAME IS COLLEENA SANTOS. I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF MY MOTHER. I'VE BEEN HELPING HER. UM, I TRY TO COMMUNICATE ON HER BEHALF. HOWEVER, SHE IS SOMEONE WHO VALUES HER INDEPENDENCE. SHE DOESN'T WANT ME TO PUT MY LIFE ON HOLD, CONSTANTLY HAVING TO STOP WHAT I'M DOING AND COME OVER HERE AND HELP HER. SHE WANTS TO BE ABLE TO DO THINGS INDEPENDENTLY. SO WHEN SHE'S UNABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH VIA TRANS, WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE DISABLED, IT'S VERY, IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING, VERY ANNOYING, VERY, UM, UPSETTING THAT WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY COME OVER HERE AND THAT I HAVE TO BE HER COMMUNICATION BECAUSE WHEN I TAKE OVER ISSUES FOR HER, I ALWAYS, [00:25:01] Y'ALL SOLVE THEM RIGHT AWAY. AND THAT SHOULDN'T BE THE CASE. SHE SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF HER OWN ISSUES BY HERSELF. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THERE ARE NO OTHER CITIZENS TO BE HEARD. THANK YOU. CAN YOU VOICE OVER? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR COMING TODAY. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE. UH, WE ARE GONNA BE PULLING ITEM NUMBER FIVE B FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA. OH, YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO? WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON ONE SECOND. IS THAT THE NEXT ONE? THERE WE GO. OKAY, THANK YOU. YEP. SO WE HAVE A FIVE O'CLOCK PUBLIC [4. 5:00 p.m. Public Hearing] HEARING, UH, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. WE'RE NOW GONNA GO INTO THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF EASEMENT AND OR FEE. SIMPLE TITLE TO THE PROPERTIES IDENTIFIED BY EMINENT DOMAIN LOCATED WITHIN VIA SERVICE AREA TO EXPAND THE TRANSIT PURPOSES AND USES ASSOCIATED WITH THE VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT SYSTEM, SPECIFICALLY THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT SILVER LINE. MS. KENNISON. GOOD EVENING. HI, GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS ABIGAIL KENNISON. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF REAL ESTATE AND CAPITAL AMENITIES. THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENTS RELATED TO THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF EASEMENT AND OR FEE. SIMPLE TITLE AS PROVIDED BY SECTION 4 51 0.059 OF THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE FOR THE ENHANCEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE VIA TRANSIT SYSTEM. AND SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT EAST WEST CORRIDOR PROJECT, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE SILVER LINE PROJECT. THIS PROJECT WAS IDENTIFIED IN VIAS VISION 2040 PLAN, WHICH WAS ADOPTED IN 2016, AS WELL AS SUBSEQUENT CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND ALAMO AREA. MPO UH, PLANS. THE SILVER LINE IS A KEY PART OF THE KEEP SAN ANTONIO MOVING PLAN. THE FTA, THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION AUTHORIZED THE PROJECT TO ENTER THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS PROGRAM IN 2022. THE SILVER LINE WILL PROVIDE IMPROVED FREQUENCY AND SERVICE ALONG THE CORRIDOR, AS WELL AS MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE BENEFITS, SUCH AS IMPROVEMENT OF SEVERAL KEY INTERSECTIONS, CONSTRUCTION OF NEW STATIONS AND ACCESSIBILITY, IMPROVEMENTS TO SIDEWALKS, CONNECTING PASSENGERS TO THE CORRIDOR. AS SUCH, IT IS NECESSARY TO ACQUIRE CERTAIN PROPERTY INTEREST OF VARIOUS PROPERTIES ALONG THE CORRIDOR IN THESE AREAS, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, AS WELL AS SURVEY AND APPRAISAL OF THE PROPERTIES ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY. TODAY'S PUBLIC HEARING IS STEP ONE OF A TWO-STEP PROCESS OUTLINED IN SECTION 4 51 0.059 OF THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE. STEP TWO WILL INVOLVE A REQUEST FOR THE BOARD'S AUTHORIZATION NO EARLIER THAN 30 DAYS AFTER TODAY'S PUBLIC HEARING ON THE MATTER. THE RESOLUTION WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD FOR CONSIDERATION AT ITS BOARD MEETING IN SEPTEMBER, SEPTEMBER 22ND, 2026. SHOULD AUTHORIZATION BE PROVIDED VIA MAY PROCEED TO FILE CONDEMNATION PETITIONS TO ACQUIRE THE PROPERTY INTEREST NEEDED TO CONSTRUCT THE SILVER LINE PROPERTY TOIL THE SILVER LINE PROJECT WERE NECESSARY. THE UTILIZATION OF CONDEMNATION AUTHORITY IS AN ACTION OF LAST RESORT AND UTILIZED ONLY WHEN AN IMPASSE AND NEGOTIATION ARISES. AND WHEN AGREEMENT ON VALUE OR PRICE DO NOT OCCUR VIA REAL ESTATE, STAFF WILL FOLLOW ALL PROVISIONS OUTLINED IN THE UNIFORM ACT REGARDING RELOCATION ASSISTANCE AND ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE WHEN ACQUIRING OR NEGOTIATING THE ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY AT THIS TIME, CHAIR CABELLA, WE'LL READ HER STATEMENT. THANK YOU. IT IS NOW FIVE 30 3:00 PM AS PUBLISHED IN THE HEARTBEAT AND WEST IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH. THE WEEKS OF JULY 6TH, 2026 AND JULY 13TH, 2026 VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT BOARD OF TRUSTEES WILL NOW CONSIDER PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF EASEMENT AND OR FEE. SIMPLE TITLE AS PROVIDED BY THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE AS DEEMED NECESSARY FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXPANDING VIA VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT SYSTEM THROUGH THE ADDITION OF THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT SOBER LINE PROJECT. [00:30:01] AT THIS TIME, I OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING. DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS, UH, REGISTERED TO SPEAK? NO, THERE ARE NO CITIZENS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS AGENDA ITEM. VERY GOOD, THANK YOU. AS THERE ARE NO COMMENTS AT THIS TIME, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THAT'S GOOD. WELL, AGENDA [5. Consent Agenda ] ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WE ARE NOW ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. UH, WE ARE GONNA MOVE FORWARD IN PULLING ITEM FIVE B, THE VIA TRANS SUPPLEMENTAL TAXI CAP SERVICES FOR CONSIDERATION, AUGUST. I KNOW WE ARE ALSO PULLING FIVE I. IS THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT WOULD LIKE TO BE, UH, PULLED AT THIS TIME FROM THE TRUSTEES, IF NONE MAY HAVE A MOTION AND SECOND, APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS AS, AS PRESENTED WITHOUT FIVE B AND FIVE. I SO, SO MOVED. WE HAVE A MOTION. SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? THE CONSENT AGENDA IS APPROVED. IF WE CAN GO ON TO FIVE. I PLEASE. GOOD EVENING. JUSTIN KRUEGER, MANAGER OF TOTAL REWARDS. UH, SHOULD ALSO HAVE THOMAS LYLE WITH GRS ON THE PHONE, UH, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ON THE 2025 VALUATION OF THE DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLAN. HELLO? HELLO? CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME? YES, SIR. AWESOME. UM, DO YOU WANNA GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION OR, OR DO WE WANNA START WITH QUESTIONS? LET'S GO THROUGH THE SHORT PRESENTATION. YEAH, THOMAS, IF YOU COULD TAKE US THROUGH THE PRESENTATION PLEASE, SIR. O OKAY. SO WE TALKED ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION LAST WEEK, SO I'LL, I'LL TRY TO KEEP IT, UH, FAIRLY BRIEF. UM, BUT I DO WANNA GIVE, UH, YOU KNOW, AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE THE PENSION PLAN IS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE GOING AND, UH, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT PROJECTIONS AND RECOMMENDED CONTRIBUTION AMOUNTS. SO ON SLIDE THREE, UM, WE'LL, YOU KNOW, THE MAIN HIGHLIGHTS FOR THIS YEAR, WE HAVE A, UH, WE HAVE BETTER THAN EXPECTED ASSET RETURNS FOR MOST RECENT VALUATION. SO THAT HELP A LITTLE BIT WITH THE PLAN. UM, THE PLAN IS ON A 16 YEAR FUNDING POLICY. SO WE DO EXPECT THIS PLAN TO BE FULLY FUNDED BY 2042, AND IT'LL BE ABOUT 2033, UM, BEFORE THE PLAN IS, UH, 80% FUNDED ON SLIDE FOUR. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR DEMOGRAPHICS. GIVEN THAT THIS PLAN IS CLOSED, WE ARE SEEING A DECLINE IN THE ACTIVE MEMBERS IN THIS PLAN, AND WE SEE INCREASES IN THE RETIREES AND DEFERRED MEMBERS AS PEOPLE MOVE FROM ACTIVE STATUS INTO THE RETIREE STATUS. UM, ON SLIDE FIVE, HERE'S, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THE SUMMARY OF, UH, THE KEY RESULTS. YOU CAN SEE YOUR LIABILITIES GROWING, YOUR MARKET VALUE OF ASSETS IS CONTINUING TO GROW. BUT REALLY KIND OF ONE OF THE BIG NUMBERS THAT WE'D LIKE TO POINT TO FOR THE HEALTH OF A PLAN, THE STATUS OF A, A FUNDED, UH, PLAN IS THAT FUNDED RATIO. SO YOU'RE STILL ABOUT 71% FUNDED, BUT WE DO EXPECT THAT TO CONTINUE INCREASE AS CONTRIBUTIONS ARE MADE TO THE PLAN. AND, UH, YOU CAN SEE THE LAST YEAR WAS ABOUT $14.7 MILLION OF EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS AND JUST OVER $3 MILLION OF EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS. UH, SO EACH YEAR AS A PART OF OUR VALUATION, WE, UH, WE CALCULATE A CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT. UM, SO THIS YEAR, AS OF THE 2025 VALUATION, WE ACTUALLY CALCULATE THE CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027. THIS, UH, HELPS WITH BUDGETING AND PUTTING, YOU KNOW, GIVING NEW TIME TO PLAN TO MAKE THIS CONTRIBUTION. SO FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 26, WE EXPECT THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO BE $15.4 MILLION. AND THEN AS OF 2027, WHICH IS THE NUMBER CALCULATED AS A PART OF OUR MOST RECENT VALUATION, IS $15.8 MILLION. SO IT'S JUST SOME BASIC RECONCILIATION OF HOW WE GOT FROM ONE SPOT TO THE OTHER. UM, SO WE DO EXPECT, UH, ON SLIDE SEVEN, WE'RE SHOWING THE, UH, HISTORY OF THE, UM, THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS PLAN. THEY'VE BEEN FAIRLY STABLE FOR THE MOST PART. CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS TO THE PLAN DO BOUNCE AROUND A LITTLE BIT BASED ON ACTUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PLAN, MOSTLY DRIVEN BY MARKET, UH, PERFORMANCE. HOWEVER, WE, WHEN WE DO CALCULATE OUR ACTUARILY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT, WE DO ASSUME THAT THE DOLLAR AMOUNT PAYING OFF THE UNFUNDED LIABILITY INCREASES AT A 3% PER YEAR, WHICH IS WHY YOU SEE THAT SLOPE TOWARDS THE OTHER SIDE. AND AS WE GET CLOSER TO FULL FUNDING OF THE PLAN, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT 16 YEAR CLOSE AMORTIZATION PERIOD, WE DO EXPECT THE CONTRIBUTIONS AMOUNT TO DROP OFF. IT'S LIKELY AS WE GET CLOSE TO THAT CLIFF, WE'LL START TALKING ABOUT HOW TO SMOOTH THAT CLIFF SO WE CAN KIND OF EASE MORE INTO IT INSTEAD OF HAVING A 16, $17 MILLION CONTRIBUTION ONE YEAR AND THEN DROP IT TO, YOU KNOW, A MILLION DOLLARS THE NEXT YEAR. SO, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S, [00:35:01] THAT'S QUITE A BIT OF WAYS IN THE FUTURE. BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS JUST SOMETHING PUT ON THE RADAR. UM, ULTIMATELY THE SLIDE EIGHT SHOWS US THE, UH, THE LIABILITY OF THE PLAN AND THE RED LINE, AND IT SHOWS US OUR MARKET VALUE AND OUR ACTUARIAL VALUE OF ASSETS, YOU KNOW, UH, ON, IN THE BLUE AND GREEN LINE. SO ANYTHING BETWEEN BEFORE 2026 IS ACTUAL HISTORICAL DATA. AND THEN MOVING FORWARD, UM, IS, YOU KNOW, OUR PROJECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE. SO WE DO EXPECT THE ASSET VALUES TO KIND OF STABILIZE RIGHT THERE AROUND THE $450 MILLION MARK. AND WE DO EXPECT OUR LIABILITY TO START COMING DOWN AS BENEFITS ARE PAID OUT AND MORE MEMBERS MOVE TOWARDS RETIREMENT AND COMPLETE THEIR BENEFITS. SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR PREPARED REMARKS, UM, AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS IF ANYBODY HAS ANY ASSISTANT SECRETARY COOPER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT EXPLANATION. AND IT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION DURING THE WORK SESSION. I COULDN'T HIT MY SPEAKER BUTTON, UH, TO TELL THE CHAIR THAT I WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION ON THIS. SO I APOLOGIZE TO HAVE YOU GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN FOR ME. BUT THE ONE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD IS THE YEAR 2042. THAT TO ME SEEMS LIKE A LONG WAY OUT THERE. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOUR ACTUARIAL TABLES GO OUT 10 YEARS AND THEN WE GOT THIS, YOU KNOW, PREDICTION, HOPEFULLY CORRECT THAT WE'LL BE PAID OFF WITH THAT LAST PAYMENT, WHICH IS A BIG ONE. I, I LIKE WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT SMOOTHING THOSE OUT A LITTLE BIT, BUT I JUST DIDN'T KNOW, HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THAT, UM, YEAR 2042 BEING THAT IT'S SO FAR OUT THERE AND I'M SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD WAY, I JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS. THAT WAS MY FIRST QUESTION. MY SECOND QUESTION IS, AT OUR PRESENT DAY, BEING 70% FUNDED, IS THAT GOOD, BAD, MEDIUM, AVERAGE? YOU KNOW, THIS, HOW, HOW, WHAT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT NUMBER? AND THOSE ARE MY ALL RIGHT. I, UH, PERFECT. SO I WILL, UH, I, I WILL SAY THAT I WASN'T WORKING ON THIS PLAN BACK THEN, BUT I IMAGINE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, BECAUSE THIS HAPPENS WITHIN THE MAJORITY OF PENSION PLANS. UM, THE, THE YEAR 2042 IS ARBITRARY, IT FEELS LIKE. HOWEVER, GENERALLY WHEN WE CLOSE THESE PLANS, UM, WHEN WE CLOSE THESE AMORTIZATION PERIODS, THE IDEA IS THAT YOU CLOSE IT AT 30 YEARS, OR YOU CLOSE IT AT 30 OR 25 YEARS. I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHICH ONE THIS ONE WAS, BUT EACH YEAR YOU MOVE FORWARD, YOU TAKE ONE YEAR OFF YOUR AMORTIZATION PERIOD. SO IF THIS, UH, UH, BASE WAS SET UP IN 2012, IT WOULD'VE BEEN 30 YEARS OUT AND YOU, SO EACH YEAR YOU GET CLOSER TO THAT, YOU REDUCE THAT NUMBER. AND THE REASON WHY YOU HAVE A DECLINING IN AMORTIZATION PERIOD IS SO THAT YOU ACTUALLY GET TO A POINT THAT SOMEDAY THE PLAN IS FULLY FUNDED AND PAID OFF. SO, YOU KNOW, THIS NICE SMOOTH LINE THAT WE SHOW ON THIS EIGHTH, UH, SLIDE HERE, YOU KNOW, IS NICE AND FLAT, RIGHT? UH, BOTH THE LIABILITIES AND THE, UH, THE VALUE OF ASSETS. BUT WE KNOW THAT THE MARKET VALUE OF ASSETS IS GONNA BOUNCE AROUND. AND WE KNOW LIABILITIES AREN'T GONNA MATCH EXACTLY, BUT IF WE USE THIS AMORTIZATION METHOD AND WE SAY, OKAY, WE KNOW EACH YEAR WE MOVE FORWARD, WE'RE GONNA TAKE ONE MORE YEAR OFF OF THAT, WE'RE GUARANTEEING THAT WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD IN OUR PROGRESS AND OUR FUNDING. SO THAT BRINGS ME TO THAT NEXT QUESTION OF SAYING, HEY, IS 70% FUNDED A, A GOOD OR A BAD SPOT? I WOULD SAY WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT ON THE FUNDED RATIO IS THAT WE'RE PROJECTING TO MOVE TOWARDS A HUNDRED PERCENT. SO IF WE HAVE A POLICY AND A PLAN THAT GETS THIS PLAN TO BE FUNDED, THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN A SNAPSHOT IN 70%. IF THE PLAN FUNDED, BUT THERE CONTRIBUTIONS GOING PLAN KNOW, AND WE SAW A DECLINING, YOU KNOW, PROJECTED FUNDED RATIO, THAT WOULD BE MUCH MORE CONCERNING TO ME THAN A PLAN THAT'S 50% FUNDED, BUT MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. SO THIS PLAN HAS A GOOD POLICY. THIS POLICY IS VERY COMMON FOR PLANS OF THIS NATURE BEING CLOSED PLAN. UM, SO IT'S VERY COMMON TO HAVE A CLOSED AMORTIZATION PERIOD, CALCULATED A LEVEL DOLLAR BENEFIT OR LEVEL DOLLAR AMOUNT MOVING THIS PLAN IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. SO I DON'T, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK THE PLAN NEEDS TO BE 100% FUNDED, EVEN COME 2042 WITH A CLOSED PLAN. YOU JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND YOU'RE NOT IGNORING ANY PROBLEMS BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THE, THE MORE MATURE A PLAN GETS, SO THE MORE CLOSE WE GET TO PAYING THAT LAST BENEFIT AMOUNT, THE MORE VOLATILE SOME OF THESE, UH, NUMBERS CAN BE. SO IT'S JUST NICE TO, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A POLICY TO CORRECT ANY DEVIATIONS FROM EXPECTATIONS. GREAT. THANK YOU. THAT'S A GREAT EXPLANATION. I APPRECIATE IT. AND MADAM CHAIR, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE AS PRESENTED IN A SECOND MOTION. SECOND. MOTION IN SECOND. ALL IN FAVORS, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX. UH, WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY DEFER THAT ONE TO ANOTHER A LATER DATE. UM, THIS [00:40:01] IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE UPDATES RIGHT HERE, OUR [7. Update on VIA Customer Applications - GO VIA and RideCo Paratransit App ] UPDATE ON VIA CUSTOMER APPLICATIONS. MR. BRIAN DILLARD, COMING TO THE HOT SEAT, OR VIA APP, UH, AND RIDE CO PAR, UH, PARATRANSIT APP. MAKE SURE JOHN B JOHN B. YOU READY? ? IT WAS, UM, THE PENSION PLAN WAS STARTED IN 2015, SO IT WAS A 22ND YEAR PLAN. YEAH, NO, YOU WANNA MOVE BRIAN, YOU'RE FIRST. YOU MIGHT HAVE TO WATCH AROUND. OKAY. I THINK I'M FIRST THEN GO AHEAD. ALRIGHT, LET'S DO IT. . UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD OF TRUSTEES. THIS IS ALSO MY FAVORITE BRIEFING AS WELL. UH, I'M BRIAN DILLARD, VICE PRESIDENT OF, UH, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY. I'M JOINED TODAY BY JESSICA GONZALEZ, OUR DIRECTOR OF GO TO MARKET, AND ALSO JOHN B'S GONNA BE BRIEFING ON, UH, OUR, UH, VIA TRANS. UH, OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, UH, WE'VE KEPT THE BOARD INFORMED AS GO VIA HAS PROGRESSED THROUGH DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF OUR MOBILE APP. TODAY WE'D LIKE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE AS WE PREPARE FOR LAUNCH, EXPLAIN OUR LAUNCH APPROACH, AND DISCUSS WHAT CUSTOMERS CAN EXPECT OVER THE NEXT COMING WEEKS. I'M PLEASED REPORT THAT WE'RE NOW ENTERING THE FINAL PHASE, UH, BEFORE INTRODUCING GO VIA TO OUR RIDERS. WHILE THIS INITIATIVE CERTAINLY INVOLVES TECHNOLOGY, GO VIA HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT BUILDING ANOTHER MOBILE APP. IT'S BEEN ABOUT MAKING VIA EASIER TO USE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. EVERY DECISION WE'VE MADE THROUGHOUT THIS INITIATIVE HAS BEEN CENTERED AROUND IMPROVING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. TODAY WE'LL BRIEFLY DISCUSS HOW GOVIA SIMPLIFIES THE RIDER EXPERIENCE, WHY THE LAUNCH TIMELINE EVOLVED, OUR LAUNCH READINESS ACTIVITIES, AND HOW WE'LL TRANSITION CUSTOMERS TO THE NEW APPLICATION. AS WE'VE DISCUSSED BEFORE, GOVIA IS FUNDAMENTALLY A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE. TODAY, DEPENDING ON WHAT A CUSTOMER WANTS TO ACCOMPLISH, THEY MAY NEED TO, UH, ACCESS MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS, DIFFERENT PAYMENT METHODS, OR DIFFERENT PROCESSES DEPENDING ON HOW THEY'RE RIDING. GOVIA BRINGS THOSE EXPERIENCES TOGETHER. CUSTOMERS HAVE ONE APPLICATION TO PLAN THEIR TRIP PURCHASE FARES, ACCESS THEIR TICKETS, AND RECEIVE IMPORTANT TRAVEL INFORMATION, ONE ACCOUNT, ONE APPLICATION, ONE CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE THROUGHOUT THIS INITIATIVE HAS BEEN GUIDED BY ONE SIMPLE QUESTION. DOES THIS MAKE USING VIA EASIER FOR OUR CUSTOMERS? BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, PEOPLE DON'T CHOOSE TECHNOLOGY, THEY CHOOSE EXPERIENCES. GO VIA IS ABOUT MAKING THE EXPERIENCE OF RIDING VIA SIMPLER GO VIA BRINGS TOGETHER THE CORE FUNCTIONS CUSTOMERS USE EVERY DAY. THEY CAN PLAN TRIPS ACROSS BOTH FIXED ROUTE SERVICE AND VIA LINK. THEY CAN PURCHASE FARES DIRECTLY WITHIN THE APPLICATION AND STORE VALUE FOR FUTURE TRAVEL. THEY CAN ACCESS TICKETS FROM THEIR MOBILE DEVICE, RECEIVE REAL-TIME SERVICE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THEIR TRIP, AND USE ONE APPLICATION ACROSS CURRENT AND FUTURE VIA SERVICES. THE VALUE ISN'T SIMPLY THE LEAST OF THE FEATURES. THE VALUE IS REMOVING UNNECESSARY STEPS FROM THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY. INSTEAD OF ASKING RIDERS TO FIGURE OUT WHICH APPLICATION THEY NEED GO VIA ALLOWS 'EM TO FOCUS ON GETTING WHERE THEY NEED TO GO. SO THE BIG QUESTION, WHY DID THE TIMELINE EVOLVE? WHY DID IT EVOLVE? AS WE CONTINUED WORKING TOWARD LAUNCH, WE'VE ALSO CONTINUED COORDINATING A NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES THAT ALL NEEDED TO COME TOGETHER BEFORE INTRODUCING GO VIA TO OUR CUSTOMERS. THOSE INCLUDED PAYMENT PORTAL INTEGRATION, QR CODE INTEGRATION, UPDATES FROM MULTIPLE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE REFINEMENTS, EMPLOYEE READINESS, MARKING PREPARATION, AND EXTENSIVE TESTING. AS THOSE ACTIVITIES PROGRESSED, THE TIMELINE NATURALLY EVOLVED. WE INTENTIONALLY CHOSE TO COMPLETE THESE CRITICAL ACTIVITIES BEFORE PUTTING THE APPLICATION INTO THE HANDS OF OUR CUSTOMERS. LOOKING BACK, I BELIEVE THAT ADDITIONAL TIME WAS THE RIGHT DECISION BECAUSE IT POSITIONS US TO DELIVER A STRONGER AND MORE RELIABLE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. FROM DAY ONE, WE'RE NOW ENTERING WHAT WE DESCRIBE AS OUR FINAL VALIDATION PHASE. BEFORE LAUNCH, WE'VE COMPLETED CLOSED TESTING WITH OUR PROJECT TEAMS AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS. OUR NEXT MILESTONE WOULD OCCURRED DURING OUR AUGUST SERVICE CHANGES. DURING THAT PERIOD, MEMBERS OF OUR SENIOR EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM AND EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM WILL RIDE OUR SERVICES, USE THE APPLICATIONS AS CUSTOMERS WOULD, AND PROVIDE FINAL FEEDBACK ON THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE. WE'LL ALSO HAVE A CUSTOMER TESTING GROUP USING THE APPLICATION BEFORE LAUNCH. FEEDBACK FROM EACH OF THESE ACTIVITIES WILL BE INCORPORATED AS WE FINALIZE LAUNCH READINESS, ASSUMING EVERYTHING CONTINUES THIS PLAN, WE'RE TARGETING A PUBLIC LAUNCH IN SEPTEMBER OF 2026. AT THIS POINT, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO JESSICA TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE'LL TRANSITION OUR CUSTOMERS TO GO VIA. SO TODAY WE HAVE TWO APPS THAT ARE CURRENTLY BEING USED. IT'S THE GO MOBILE APP AND [00:45:01] THE VIA THE, THE VIA LINK APP. SO WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS WE'RE LAUNCHING THIS APP TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW AN APP IS COMING. DURING THAT TRANSITION, WE'LL START TO LET PEOPLE SLOWLY, THE GOAL IS THEY SLOWLY STOP USING THE EXISTING APPS TO THEN DOWNLOAD THE NEW APP. SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO LAUNCH THIS. IT'S GONNA BE A SOFT LAUNCH BECAUSE WE WANT PEOPLE TO TRANSITION TO THIS NEW APP COMFORTABLY. THEN WE'LL START MOVING TOWARDS THE ADOPTION PHASE. THAT'S WHEN WE START TO EDUCATE THEM. WE ARE GETTING FEEDBACK, WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT IF THEY'RE SEEING ANY CHANGES, THAT WE'RE MAKING THOSE CHANGES. AGAIN, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO ADOPT THIS AND TO USE IT AND TO REALLY EXPLORE THE APP, UNDERSTAND IT, AND MAKE IT BECOME THEIR DAY-TO-DAY, UM, GO-TO. AND WE WANT TO THEN START TO GO INTO THE COMMUNITY AND SAY, HEY, WE HAVE THIS APP. UM, THE GOAL OF THIS APP IS TO HAVE PEOPLE FIND IT EASIER TO RIDE VIA. WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE AWAY THOSE BARRIERS THAT THEY HAVE TO TODAY OF WHERE DO I GO NOW? THEY HAVE ONE APP THAT THEY CAN USE THAT CAN TAKE, TRANSITION THEM FROM ONE SERVICE TO ANOTHER. WHERE, WHERE IN TODAY'S WORLD, THEY'RE HAVING TO USE TWO APPS. SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE HOPE THAT THEY BENEFIT FROM THIS AND THAT THEY SEE IT. AND THEN LASTLY, AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO SUNSET THE APPS OF THE GO MOBILE AND THE VIA LINK, SORRY, IT'S REALLY CONFUSING TO SAY THEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN. . SO WE'RE GONNA TRANSITION OUT THOSE APPS AND THEN HAVE THEM GO 100% TO THE GO VIA APP. SO HOW DO WE DO THIS? MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS HAS ALREADY STARTED TO DEVELOP A, UM, MULTI-CHANNEL OUTREACH PROGRAM. SO IT ALREADY STARTED AT THE BEGINNING A COUPLE WEEKS AGO WHERE THEY STARTED THE, IT'S COMING SOON, THAT'S ALREADY BEING POSTED ON THE EXISTING APPS. IT'S COMING. SO WE ARE ALREADY KNOW IT'S COMING. AND A COUPLE OF WEEKS THEY'RE GONNA LAUNCH A, UM, CONTENT THAT'S GONNA SAY, THIS IS WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE. YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THAT AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION. SO WE'VE ALREADY DEVELOPED THAT CONTENT. THEN WE MOVE INTO, ONCE THE THE APP GOES LIVE, THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO THE HOW TO. SO WE'RE GONNA CREATE THOSE HOW TO VIDEOS TO REALLY MAKE SURE THE CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDS. SO THEY'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUALLY BE EDUCATED ACROSS THE WEB, UM, THE APP ITSELF, EMAIL, SOCIAL MEDIA. WE'RE GONNA HAVE, GONNA HAVE THAT CONTACT ON THE OPERATIONAL READINESS PIECE, WE'RE EDUCATING OUR FRONTLINE TEAM. UM, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY EDUCATING THEM ALL THE SAME, RIGHT? OPERATORS ARE GONNA BE TOLD HOW TO TELL THE CUSTOMERS, HEY, WE HAD THIS APP, BUT NOW WE HAVE THIS NEW APP. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, GO AHEAD AND CONTACT THE 2020 LINE. WE WANT THEM TO BE ARMORED WITH THE RIGHT INFORMATION TO LET THE CUSTOMERS KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT. BUT THEN WE HAVE THE CUSTOMER CARE RESERVATION AGENTS AND THE, UM, AT THE TRANSIT CENTERS THAT ARE GONNA UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ON HOW TO HELP GUIDE THE CUSTOMERS ON HOW TO USE THE NEXT APP. UM, SO THERE'S, IT'S, IT'S A BIG TRANSITION FOR US, BUT ALL OF THIS IS IN, UM, IS TO HELP SIMPLIFY THIS FOR THE CUSTOMER. ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? TRUSTEE? RENA? THANK, THANK YOU FOR THAT SO FAR. UM, AND I WROTE THE QUESTION AND THEN YOU FLIPPED TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND STARTED ANSWERING. BUT MY ONLY QUESTION WOULD BE, UM, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF DIRECT OUTREACH TO PASSENGERS AND, AND TO FOLKS. WHAT IS THE CONVERSATION WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS? AND SPECIFICALLY I'M THINKING WITH THE 100 PLUS PARTNERS THAT WE HAVE, ARE WE SENDING OUT INVITATIONS TO REQUEST MASS DEMONSTRATIONS OR MASS SIGNUPS WITH THE FOLKS THAT WE KNOW ARE ENGAGING WITH US, UM, IN LARGE GROUPS? SO I'M, I'M THINKING LIKE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, RIGHT? YES. FOR, FOR LARGE GROUPS, UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT COULD BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO GET A BUNCH OF FOLKS ON BOARD AS OPPOSED TO HAVING US DO IT OR INDIVIDUALS CALL CONSTANTLY. SO THAT'S A GREAT, THAT'S A GREAT TOPIC. AND YES, WE ALREADY OUTREACH. THE OUTREACH TODAY ALREADY IS STARTING WITH, UM, THE SCHOOL SEMESTER AND GETTING THE SEMESTER PASS AND THE U PASS. WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT THIS AS COMING SOON. SO THE, UM, THE OUTREACH STAFF AND THE SALES TEAM HAS ALREADY BEEN GOING OUT. THEY HAVE, UH, PAMPHLETS WITH QR CODES THAT TELLS 'EM WHERE TO GO. SO WE'RE DRIVING EVERYBODY TO THE WEBSITE TO LET 'EM KNOW IT'S COMING SOON. AND AGAIN, TO SHOW THEM THAT THIS IS AN ENHANCED WAY TO USE THE SERVICE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND I KNOW Y'ALL ARE ON TOP OF THAT. THE LAST THING WOULD BE THE, THE DIFFERENTIATED SUPPORTS THAT MAY COME. TALKING TO A 12TH GRADER AT HIGH SCHOOL IS GONNA BE VERY DIFFERENT THAN TALKING TO SOMEBODY WHO MAY NOT HAVE GROWN UP WITH A PHONE IN THEIR HAND OR TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO THEM. SO JUST MAKING SURE, AND I KNOW Y'ALL THINK THROUGH IT, BUT THAT DIFFERENTIATION FOR THE, THE VARIOUS DIVERSE WRITERS THAT WE HAVE. YEAH. SO KEEP IN MIND, SEMESTER STARTS A FEW WEEKS BEFORE WE LAUNCH THIS. SO WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO, UM, TOGGLE ALL THE DIFFERENT SERVICES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO OFFER. BUT WE DO KEEP [00:50:01] IN MIND THAT EVERY SERVICE THAT WE LAUNCH HAS THE RIGHT AUDIENCE IN MIND. YEAH, YOU ARE WELCOME. UH, SO BEFORE WE WRAP UP, WE'RE GONNA LEAVE YOU WITH, UH, A SHORT VIDEO THAT CAPTURES WHAT GOVIA ACTUALLY REPRESENTS. UM, SO THROUGHOUT TODAY'S UPDATE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE WORK THAT'S GONE INTO PRE PREPARING FOR THE LAUNCH. UH, THIS VIDEO'S GONNA KIND OF SHIFT US TO WHAT MATTERS MOST OUR CUSTOMERS AND THE SIMPLER, MORE CONNECTED EXPERIENCE WE'RE PREPARING TO DELIVER. SO, UM, HOPE YOU ENJOY IT. IN CLOSING, UH, I'D LIKE TO REC RECOGNIZE THE TREMENDOUS COLLABORATION AMONG A NUMBER OF PARTNERS IN THIS ROOM. I KNOW A MOBILE APP IS TYPICALLY POINTED TO IT. UH, I'LL TAKE THE BAD NEWS, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE CREDIT, I WANNA PROVIDE THAT TO MY TEAMMATES ACROSS THE BOARD. VIA HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB OF ENSURING WE DON'T OPERATE IN SILOS WHEN IT COMES TO A PROJECT OF THIS MAGNITUDE. SO, UH, JUST A REMINDER THAT WE ARE EXCITED TO INTRODUCE, GO VIA TO OUR COMMUNITY THIS SEPTEMBER AND LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING OUR RIDERS TO THE NEW EXPERIENCE, UH, THAT INCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION. I KNOW JOHN B'S GOT GOT SOMETHING COMING NEXT, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE IF YOU HAD ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME OR JESSICA. YEAH, LET ME, UH, ASK A, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS VERY MUCH ALONG THE LINES OF TRUST REINA HERE FOR OUR DIFFERENT POPULATIONS THAT ARE GONNA BE LOOKING TO USE THIS SENIORS STUDENTS, WHAT IS THE PROPOSED TIMELINE FOR THAT? I KNOW YOU'RE MAKING, YOU KNOW, MAKING THEM ALL AWARE, BUT ARE WE GONNA BE DOING ONSITE, UM, TRAINING FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS AT AT LARGE? UH, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A PARK AND RIDE, ARE WE GONNA HAVE ACTIVATIONS THERE? ARE WE GONNA HAVE A, A CERTAIN ACTIVATION THROUGHOUT, UH, THE YEAR SO THAT WE'RE DRAWING MORE PEOPLE INTO, UH, USING THE APP? SO OUR AMBASSADORS TODAY WHEN WE LAUNCH THIS APP WILL BE AT THE TRANSIT CENTER. SO THERE WILL BE THE FRONTLINE PEOPLE THAT WILL BE ABLE TO TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO DOWNLOAD THE APP AND ALSO THE 2020 LINE. SO THAT'LL BE THE FIRST, UH, THE FIRST PHASE. AND THEN THE TEAM IS ALSO, AS THEY'RE GOING OUT, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IT. WE, UM, ARE GOING, WE'RE KICKING THAT UP NOW SINCE WE ARE CLOSE TO A LAUNCH DATE, WHICH IS IN SEPTEMBER. AND SO NOW YOU'RE GONNA START TO SEE THAT COMMUNICATION GOING OUT, UM, AS A TEAM IS DOING THEIR PRESENTATIONS BECAUSE IT IS THE BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON. SO THEY ALREADY ARE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS. THAT'S GREAT. THANK YOU. I, I THINK YOU'RE, SO WHAT IS THE PROPOSED TIMELINE THOUGH FOR CONTINUED TRAINING? SO COMMUNICATIONS IS ONE TACTIC. YES. TRAINING AND THE PROPOSED DURATION OF THAT. WHAT ARE Y'ALL ANTICIPATING? IT DEFINITELY HAS TO GO THROUGH THE SUNSET, RIGHT? SO THIS WILL BE TILL THE END OF THE YEAR AND POSSIBLY NEXT QUARTER DEPENDING. UM, ONE OF OUR HUGE KPIS IS GONNA BE ADOPTION RATE. SO RIGHT NOW THE ADOPTION RATE GOAL IS FOR THE TRANSITION OF EXISTING CUSTOMERS MOVING THEM IN. WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE A, A HARD DEADLINE ON A, UH, A LEGACY SUNSET IF THE CUSTOMERS AREN'T READY FOR IT. SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GAUGE THAT 'CAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE THE MOMENTUM WE'RE HAVING AND WE'RE TRANSITIONING, WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS OR POTENTIALLY A ONE PERSON WHO'S USED TO TOGGLING AND WE'RE TRYING TO TEACH 'EM, HEY, YOU CAN DO THIS AND THIS ALL IN ONE. AND SO THAT'S REALLY OUR GOAL TODAY IS TO GET THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY HAVE ONE APP THAT WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEM. THEN, UM, SO THE EDUCATIONAL PIECE IS GONNA GO OUT THROUGHOUT AND I WOULD THINK FOR THE NEXT YEAR OR SO, UNTIL WE SEE IT. HOW MANY CUSTOMERS DO WE HAVE ON GO MOBILE TODAY? 30 40,000. 30 40,000? ABOUT 30, 40,000. SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE CAPTURED GROUP. THAT IS THAT GROUP THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. UM, BRINGING OVER [00:55:01] TO THIS PLATFORM. THEY'RE USED TO A PLATFORM TODAY, THIS IS GONNA BE AN ENHANCED, UPGRADED PLATFORM, BUT WE'RE NOT DISCONNECTING THE OLD PLATFORM UNTIL THAT BIG GROUP MOVES OVER AND THEY'RE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS NEW PLATFORM. AND THEN TO THE CHAIR'S POINT, THEN IT'S ALSO GROWING THAT PLATFORM EVEN MORE. AND, AND YOUR PLANS TO DO THAT? OKAY, SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE THE DAY THAT IT LAUNCHES, YOU WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD THE LEGACY APPS. THOSE WILL BE REMOVED FROM GOOGLE AND THEN, AND THE ANDROID STORES. AND THEN, UM, THEY WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO ADD FUNDS TO THEIR WALLET. WE WOULD WANT THEM TO USE UP THOSE FUNDS, BUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS THEY CAN STILL USE THOSE APPS, BUT IT WON'T GIVE THEM ALL THE, UM, BENEFITS IT USED TO GIVE THEM. SO THAT THEN, AND THEN WE WILL BE PROMOTING ON THOSE APPS, GO TO THIS NEW APP. AND SO YOU BRING UP A COUPLE OF OF POINTS THERE TOO. UM, THE U FUNDS IN THE OLD LEGACY, IS THAT GONNA BE ABLE TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THE NEW APP? CORRECT. SO THEY HAVE TO USE WHATEVER, UH, PAY DOWN. OKAY. CORRECT. BUT WE'LL, WE WILL BE MONITORING THAT USAGE AND THE, THE AMOUNTS THAT, THAT OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE ON THEIR CARDS, SO THAT WAY WE CAN CONTINUOUSLY COMMUNICATE WITH THEM. OKAY. AND THEN WHAT'S THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS FOR VIA LINK REGISTERED ON THE APP OR ON THE, IN THE PLATFORM? A LITTLE OVER 21,000. 21,000. AND I KNOW WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT VIA TRENDS HERE SHORTLY. YES, MA'AM. UM, THE OTHER PART, AS WE GET MORE SOPHISTICATED FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE RESPONSE USING AI, WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR INTEGRATION OF AI INTO THE APP? OOH, . UH, WE, WE HAVE AN AI POLICY THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING AT THIS MOMENT WITH THE CEO. SO MORE TO COME ON THAT. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? TRUSTEES? UH, TRUSTEE RENA? SORRY FOR THE FOLLOW UPS. UM, ONE, JUST ON THE SUNSET, UM, I GUESS WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT WILL FOLKS HAVE IF THEY ARE HANGING ONTO THEIR APPS? WILL THERE BE A LEVEL OF ONE-TO-ONE SUPPORT, SOMEBODY CALLS AND SAYS I NEED TO COME DOWN AND SOMEBODY WALKED ME THROUGH. LOVE THAT, THAT WAS THE RIGHT ANSWER. UM, AND THEN FOR FOLKS WHO HAVE NEW DEVICES, RIGHT? I'M, I'M MARRIED TO THIS LEGACY APP, I JUST GOT A NEW DEVICE. MY ONLY OPTION IS TO COME IN AND AND JUMP ON THE, THE THE, OKAY, COOL. JUST CHECKING. AND THEN LAST ONE, IN TERMS OF THE, CAN YOU JUST EXPAND A LITTLE BIT ON THE FEEDBACK PROCESS? SO NOW I'M USING THE APP, WHAT IS MY AVENUE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND THEN TO ONE OF OUR CITIZENS EARLIER, WHAT, WHAT IS THE MECHANISM TO KNOW HOW THAT FEEDBACK IS BEING EITHER TAKEN IN, UH, AND INCORPORATED OR, OR NOT? UH, AND THE RATIONALE BEHIND THAT, THE SAME PATHWAY THAT WE'VE TAKEN WITH DEVELOPING THIS WITH CUSTOMER RELATIONS, WITH OUR MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS WILL CONTINUE THAT SAME WEB OF NETWORK OF, OF DEVELOPING THAT. SO THE SAME WAY THAT THEY PROVIDE THE CALVES COMING IN THE CUSTOMER ACTION FOUR. ACTION FOUR. THANK YOU. UH, THE SAME WAY THEY PROVIDE THE CALVES TO US. NOW IT, I'M AWARE OF THOSE BECAUSE A LOT OF 'EM HAVE TO DEAL WITH OUR, OUR CURRENT VEHICLES. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE MOBILE APP, WE, I'LL SEE THOSE AS WELL. SO WE'LL BE, WE'LL BE WORKING TOGETHER WITH ALL THE, ALL THE APPLICABLE DIVISIONS. JUST REAL QUICK, KIND OF GOING BACK TO WHERE THE COMMENTS FROM AN AN EARLIER SPEAKER, BECAUSE THERE'S NO, YOU NOT, YOU WILL NOT BE TRANSFERRING FUNDS FROM ONE APP TO THE OTHER APP JUST BASED ON THE SENSITIVITY OF, OF INDIVIDUALS IN THEIR FINANCIAL POCKETS. WHAT, WHAT'S KIND OF THE PLAY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ASSURING THAT IF THERE ARE STILL FUNDS LEFT IN THE OLD APPS CLOSE TO THE SUNSET THAT WE'RE MAKING, MAYBE MAKING SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO MAKE COMMUNICATIONS, UH, OR, OR FOLLOW UP WITH INDIVIDUALS THAT, THAT, THAT MAY HAVE FUNDS STILL LEFT OUT THERE. SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS, UH, ANYBODY THAT HAS ANY FUNDS THAT BRINGS IT TO OUR ATTENTION, WE'LL WORK WITH THEM AND MOVE THOSE FUNDS OVER ACCORDINGLY. WE'LL, WE'LL WORK ON THE BACKSIDE OF IT. TAKE CARE OF IT. NO ONE WILL BE LOST ANY MONEY, RIGHT? NOBODY, EVERYONE WILL BE, WE WILL MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S TRANSFERRED ACCORDINGLY. HOW WILL PEOPLE KNOW THAT, ASIDE FROM COMING DOWN AND HEARING THAT, HOW WILL I KNOW I HAVE FUNDS, THEY WON'T TRANSFER, BUT HERE IS MY AVENUE TO GET THEM. SO THAT'S PART OF THE, THAT'S PART OF THE SUNSET PROCESS. SO WE WILL START TO EDUCATE THEM SAYING YOU HAVE A COUNTDOWN AND THIS IS THE TRANSITION. SO WE'VE DONE IT IN THE PAST WHEN WE DO, WHEN WE SWITCH OUT CARDS, WHEN WE UPGRADE THOSE TYPE OF CARDS. SO WE'RE GONNA USE THAT SAME PROCESS AND IT'LL BE THE SAME PROCESS, UH, FOR, WELL ACTUALLY IT'S DIFFERENT FOR VIA TRANS THE NEXT PRESENTATION. BUT YES, WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA TAKE CARE OF THE CUSTOMER FIRST. I WOULD IMAGINE WE COULD BE PROACTIVE AS WELL, TO YOUR POINT, TRUSTEE. UH, 'CAUSE WE'LL MONITOR AND WE CAN SEE WHAT FUNDS ARE IN ACCOUNTS, CORRECT. AND AS WE GETTING CLOSER TO THE SUNSET DATE AND SOME OF THOSE FUNDS AREN'T MOVING BECAUSE SOME OF THOSE MAY HAVE SET 'EM IN AND THEY HAVEN'T USED OUR SERVICE FOR A WHILE, IT'S GONNA BE PROACTIVE ON OUR PART TO REACH OUT TO THEM TO TELL THEM, HEY, [01:00:01] YOU KNOW, YOU GOT $18 SITTING IN YOUR ACCOUNT, IT HASN'T DONE ANYTHING FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE FOR US TO DO WITH THAT? SO THERE'LL BE SOME OF THAT THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ESTABLISH AS WELL. JOHN, GARY, THAT BRINGS UP A, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE WHAT IF THOSE CUSTOMERS WANNA DONATE IT TO VIA, TO HELP UNDERWRITE SOMEBODY ELSE'S TRANSPORTATION? ARE WE GONNA HAVE A VEHICLE TO HELP ACCEPT THAT DONATION? WE WILL. , I HAD TO THINK ABOUT YOUR FULL QUESTION THERE, MADAM CHAIR. HOWEVER, IN THIS CASE, UH, WE CAN, UH, WE CAN TRANSFER THAT OVER SINCE IT'S A, IT'S A FAIR PRODUCT AND APPLY IT TO, UM, POTENTIALLY ANOTHER FAIR PRODUCT. YEAH, IT'S LIKE A ROUNDUP, RIGHT? WHEN YOU'RE AT A RETAIL STORE AND YOU ROUND UP, ROUND UP, ROUND DOWN. THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO THINK ABOUT THAT. UM, EFFECTIVELY, I I THINK THAT'LL BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY. UM, MAYOR, TRUSTEE DEION, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. YES, WELCOME. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. THANK YOU, . WE'LL, WE'LL SING TO YOU, UH, AFTERWARDS, BUT I WANTED TO RECOGNIZE YOU FIRST ON THAT. CAN, CAN I TELL YOU A BIRTHDAY CARD? I GOT ONE TIME. YES MA'AM. IT WAS LIKE, UH, I KNOW IT'S RUDE TO ASK HOW OLD YOU ARE. SO YOU OPENED IT UP AND SAID, BUT HOW MUCH DO YOU WEIGH ? WE WON'T ASK THAT EITHER. NO THANKS, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NOW MY QUESTION IS, UM, I KNOW THERE'S ALWAYS PROGRESS AND THINGS ARE IMPROVING ALL THE TIME. SO WHAT IS KIND OF THE LIFETIME FOR GOVIA? DO YOU HAVE ANY ANTICIPATION OF HOW LONG THIS APP IS GONNA BE FUNCTIONING AND YOU'RE GONNA CHANGE OVER TO SOMETHING ELSE? UH, I DON'T ANTICIPATE. SO THAT WAS ALSO PART OF THE, UM, THE LONGEVITY OF OUR TIMELINE HERE WAS MAKING SURE WE HAD THE RIGHT PRODUCT THAT WAS AGILE ENOUGH AND THAT WE WERE ABLE TO OWN THAT AGILITY. UH, I DON'T FORESEE US MOVING AWAY FROM THIS APPLICATION ANYTIME SOON BECAUSE THEY'VE ALREADY, UM, SO I'LL REMIND YOU, UH, THE COMPANY WE'RE GOING THROUGH IS DART, UH, DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT, OUR COLLEAGUE UP THERE, BUT THEY'RE WORKING WITH A COMPANY CALLED CUBA THAT ACTUALLY DOES A SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT. UH, I WILL NOTE THAT THEY ARE WITH 14 OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES, SISTER AGENCIES, AND WE'VE SEEN THE DEVELOPMENT OVER THE YEARS. AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHY WE WENT WITH THEM, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO SWITCH UP AN APP FOR OUR CUSTOMERS EVERY FIVE YEARS. I'D LIKE TO GO A DECADE WITHOUT HAVING TO DO THAT. THAT, AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE ON THE RIGHT PATH WITH THEM. EVEN SOME OF THE FEATURES THAT THEY HAVE ON THEIR ROADMAP OF DEVELOPMENT THAT WE DISCOVERED THIS MORNING ARE REALLY IMPRESSIVE IN CONS IN COMPARISON TO WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT BEFORE. SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA BE SWITCHING ANYTIME SOON. YES, MA'AM. ALL RIGHT. GREAT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, I'LL HOLD THE END OF THE REMARKS AFTER JOHN BEES. GREAT. THANK YOU. GOOD JOB, UH, GUYS. GOOD. WELL WELCOME, UH, TRUSTEES. THANK YOU. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, I'M HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE A BRIEF UPDATE AND OVERVIEW OF OUR PARATRANSIT SOFTWARE. UM, SO WE COULD KIND OF CLICK THROUGH SOME SIDES HERE. SO OVER THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS, UH, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY AS A GROUP AND A TEAM TO THOROUGHLY VET AND PUT TOGETHER OUR SOFT, OUR PLAT OUR SOFTWARE PLATFORM. WE STARTED BY BUILDING LOGIC INTO THE SYSTEM, UPDATING OUR MAPPING AND IMPROVING OUR GEOGRAPHICS, UH, EQUIPMENT SELECTION AND PROCUREMENT. UH, WORKING ON THE APPLICATION, SETTING UP THE APPLICATION, RUNNING IT THROUGH VARIOUS TEST MODES, TEST GROUPS, UH, WORKING ON OUR SYSTEM UPGRADES OF HOW THE, HOW THE, UM, SOFTWARE WILL GO OUT AND WHAT THE BACKEND SOFTWARE WOULD LOOK LIKE AS FAR AS REPORTING. UH, MORE SO THIS PAST MONTH HAS BEEN A VERY LARGE WORK MONTH FOR US WHERE WE'VE BEEN DOING WHAT WE CALL TRAINING ONE OH ONE. OUR PARTNERS FROM RIDE CO WERE ON SITE FOR THE FULL DURATION. WE'VE NOT ONLY TRAINED ALL OF OUR PARATRANSIT STAFF, BUT ALL OF OUR OPERATORS AS WELL AS OUR CONTRACTORS. UH, SO, UH, THIS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THE FULL TEAM EFFORT AND SUPPORT OF OUR ENTIRE PARATRANSIT STAFF, OUR IT DEPARTMENT, OUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT, OUR A DA DEPARTMENT, OUR MAINTENANCE, UH, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY OUR SENIOR LEADERSHIP HAVE GIVEN US THE RESOURCES TO MOVE THIS FORWARD. SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS, UH, SWITCH TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND GO OVER A TIMELINE. UH, STARTING ON JULY 13TH, UM, WE'VE TAKEN ON THE UNDERTAKING OF INSTALLING THE VIA TRANS APPLICATION INTO THE VIA TRANS FLEET, EXCUSE ME, THE RIDE CO APPLICATION. AND WHEN I SAY THE INSTALLATION, THAT MEANS REMOVAL, PHYSICALLY, REMOVAL OF ALL THE EQUIPMENT, AND INSTALLING A NEW TABLET AND SOME OTHER DEVICES IN THE VEHICLE. SO WE STARTED ON JULY 13TH INTO THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND, WE DID THE REST OF THE VIATRANS FLEET AS WELL AS OUR ZTRIP PARTNERS. UM, SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THE FOLLOWING WEEK WE HAD A LITTLE BREAK SO WE COULD STUDY IT, MAKE SURE WE HAD ANY APPLICATION ADJUSTMENTS, UH, FINE TUNE THE SYSTEM. UH, AND THEN THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND AFTER THAT, UH, WHICH WILL BE JULY 22ND, WE INSTALLED APPROXIMATELY 50% OF THE MV FLEET. SO CURRENTLY AS WE SIT TODAY, WE HAVE 80% [01:05:01] OF ALL THE VEHICLES THAT ARE SERVING THE RIDING PUBLIC IN THE PARATRANSIT FLEET ON THE APP, ON THE RIDE CO APPLICATION TODAY MARKS A CRITICAL MILESTONE WHERE WE START OUR ONLINE BOOKING AND OUR RESERVATIONS AS WELL AS A SOFT LAUNCH OF OUR APPLICATION. AND THE REASON WHY WE DECIDED TO DO IT TODAY IS BECAUSE WE'RE MIGRATING OFF OF OUR CURRENT TRAPEZE SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE PHONE SYSTEM. AND THIS WILL PROVIDE AN EXTRA LAYER OF OVERSIGHT TO ENSURE THAT THE RIDING PUBLIC WHEN THEY BOOK TRIPS, DOESN'T MISS ANYTHING 'CAUSE WE'RE DOWNSIZING AND CLOSING OFF DAY BY DAY THE EXISTING SYSTEM AND COMING ONTO THE NEW SYSTEM. SO TODAY MARKED THAT DAY AND FROM ALL INDICATIONS IT'S GONE VERY WELL. THANK YOU. UM, SO THIS WEEKEND WE'LL, UH, WE PLAN TO INSTALL THE REMAINING GROUP OF VEHICLES, DO SOME ADDITIONAL TESTING, AND THEN MONDAY, JULY, EXCUSE ME, AUGUST 3RD WILL BE THE FULL TRANSITION CUTOVER OF THE ENTIRE RIDE COAST SYSTEM. UH, I CAN TELL YOU THIS TRUSTEES, WE'VE NOTICED A MARKED IMPROVEMENT IN A LOT OF OUR OPERATIONAL CHECK MARKS AND PARAMETERS. UH, I'VE HAD OUR IT DEPARTMENT GO BACK AND CHECK THE LOGISTICS AND THE MATH, AND THEY'RE WORKING THROUGH IT AND THEY'VE, GIVEN BRIAN AND HIS TEAM HAVE, UH, GIVEN US A THUMBS UP. ONCE WE COMPLETE THAT, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THE PROGRESS, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. WE PLAN TO HOLD SOME SESSIONS INTERNALLY WITH OUR OPERATORS TO GET FEEDBACK. WHAT'S WORKING. WE PLAN TO WORK WITH OUR OUTREACH GROUP TO TALK ABOUT, UH, CONSUMERS AND SOME OF THE LARGER USER GROUPS OF WHAT'S GOOD, WHERE THEY MIGHT NEED SOME MODIFICATIONS. AND THEN, UH, SOMETIME IN THE FALL WE WILL, UH, INITIATE OUR CO-MINGLING INTEGRATION AND THAT'S WHERE OUR VIA LINK PROGRAM CAN ACTUALLY SERVICE PARATRANSIT, UH, CUSTOMERS. SO WITH THAT, THAT'S A, UH, UH, A SHORT UPDATE AND I'M PREPARED TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. SECRETARY MILOW. OKAY. UH, TWO THINGS. FIRST ON THE PHONE RESERVATIONS, HOW WILL IT AFFECT THE SENIORS? AND I MEAN, YOU KNOW, MUCH OF THE OLDER POPULATION IS USED TO USING THE PHONE. THEY DON'T USE APPS. THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, SO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO, THEY MAKE THEIR RESERVATIONS. HOW THEY GOING TO KNOW WITH THESE, UH, CARS COMING IN AND NOT, 'CAUSE LIKE I SAID, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL FOR ME TO GET THE LITTLE ON MY PHONE, BUT A LOT OF THEM DON'T HAVE PHONES. I GOT YOU. UM, SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF, OF MY 88-YEAR-OLD FATHER WHO DOESN'T HAVE A SMARTPHONE, UH, THE PHONE SYSTEM, UH, WILL STILL CONTINUE TO WORK AND WILL STILL PROVIDE THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE, IMPROVED SERVICE THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING NOW. SO THERE WILL NOT, OR SHOULD NOT BE ANY DISRUPTION TO THE ELDERLY POPULATION. OKAY. AND SECOND, UM, I HOPE THE GLITCH HAS BEEN FIXED. , I CALL IT THAT BECAUSE ON THE OLD SYSTEM YOU HAD NOTES IF YOU HAD A CERTAIN, UH, CUSTOMER, THEY HAD SPECIAL NOTES OF WHERE YOU WERE TO PICK THEM UP, WHERE TO DROP THEM OFF OR WHATEVER. UM, I HAD A RIDE THE OTHER DAY. THE DRIVER DID NOT KNOW THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO PICK ME UP IN A CERTAIN AREA OF MY HOME AND I HAD TO GO BACK OUT TO THE OLD AREA. YEAH. SO, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT POINT. SO AS WE, AGAIN, TODAY IS A CRITICAL MILESTONE WHERE WE TOTALLY ARE MIGRATING OFF OF THE TRAPEZE SYSTEM ONTO THE NEW SYSTEM. SO THERE WAS AN INTERMEDIATE POINT WHERE WE HAD HALF OF THE SYSTEMS WORKING. SO ALL THE NOTES THAT YOU EXPERIENCE THAT ARE, UH, ASSIGNED TO YOUR ACCOUNT WILL POPULATE ON THE DRIVER'S SCREEN. SO THAT HAS BEEN UPDATED AND THAT WAS PART OF THE ONBOARDING PROCESS. AND WE KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME TECHNICAL THINGS WE'D GET THROUGH THIS WEEK, BUT, UH, COME NEXT WEEK, THAT WILL BE FULLY RESOLVED. OKAY. MADAM CHAIR, IF I MAY, YOU KNOW, I WANNA ALSO EMPHASIZE, EVEN THOUGH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE SAME RESERVATION PROCESS FOR THOSE THAT ARE COMFORTABLE CALLING ON THE PHONES, WE'RE STILL GONNA EXPECT TO SEE AN IMPROVEMENT OF HOW THEY'RE HANDLED ON THE PHONE BECAUSE THE BACKEND MECHANISM OF IDENTIFYING A RIDE FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL CALLING IN IS GONNA BECOME A LOT MORE EFFICIENT. YEP. SO WE SHOULD BE SEEING OUR CALLERS, YOU KNOW, AND THOSE THAT ARE STILL GONNA GO THROUGH THE CALL CENTER, STILL RECEIVE A GREAT DEAL OF BENEFIT BECAUSE IDEALLY WE ARE DELIVERING A MORE EFFICIENT SYSTEM, WE'LL HAVE MORE CHOICES OF RIDES AVAILABLE AND MAKE THIS A BETTER EXPERIENCE. SO THE EXPERIENCE THAT IMPROVES FOR VIA TRANS ISN'T JUST FOR THOSE THAT HAVE AN APP AND HAVE IT ON THEIR PHONE. THE FOLKS THAT ARE CALLING AND CONTINUING TO CALL [01:10:01] AND WANT TO CALL THAT WAY, THEY SHOULD BE SEEING THE, THE IMPROVEMENTS ON THEIR SYSTEM AS WELL. THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. THANK YOU. JOHN. GARY, UH, SO RIGHT NOW, IS THIS GONNA BE IN THE NEW APP OR IS THIS A SEPARATE APP? SEPARATE APP. SO THESE, SO WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ONE ONE APP THAT HAS EVERYTHING, ALL THREE SERVICES. WE WILL THOUGH, WHEN WILL WE, I'LL LET JESSICA ANSWER THAT. , UM, YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF IS THE GOAL. GET, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED BOTH OF THE APPS KIND OF AT THE SAME TIME AND, UM, WE GOT TO THE POINT WHERE IT WAS TOO LATE TO MERGE THEM AND IN ORDER TO DELAY EVERYTHING MORE, SO WE DECIDED LET'S GO AHEAD AND LAUNCH THEM BECAUSE IT IS SEPARATE GROUPS AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO BRING THEM ALL TOGETHER IN WITHIN A YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF. I'LL ALSO NOTE THAT THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT IS CONTINUED TO OCCUR BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE POPULATION THAT RIDES VIA TRANS AND THE APPROACH WE TAKE TO THOSE CUSTOMERS IS VASTLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE DO FOR FIXED ROUTE MM-HMM . AND SO WE WANT TO BE VERY MINDFUL OF THAT. I DON'T WANNA FORCE SOMEBODY INTO, YOU KNOW, A CONSOLIDATED APP JUST BECAUSE WE WANT IT. I WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S RIGHT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS A CONVERSATION THAT WE ALL WILL HAVE OVER THE NEXT YEAR WHEN JESSICA LAUNCHES IT IN A YEAR. RIGHT. , THERE YOU GO. AND TELL ME, UM, WHAT IS OUR CURRENT, UM, CLIENT BASE FOR VIA TRENDS ABOUT 21,000. 21,000. AND I KNOW FROM YOUR BOARD UPDATE IN MAY WE'RE GROWING, UM, ALMOST AT 11%. IS THAT ACCURATE? RIGHT. THAT IS ACCURATE. SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU JUST SAID, RYAN, ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF WE'RE TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THAT GROWING POPULATION AND EDUCATING THEM. UH, I KNOW WHAT JOHN, GARY AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UM, JUST LAST WEEK WAS TAKING THIS AS, UH, A MINI TOWN HALL MM-HMM . TO THE MAJOR EMPLOYERS, UM, THAT PROVIDE SERVICES FOR SENIORS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL SERVICES, UH, SO THAT THEY TOO CAN HEAR ABOUT THIS. WE CAN TALK TO 'EM ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AND HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A LISTENING SESSION. SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THOSE SCHEDULED OVER THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, FOUR MONTHS AS WE INTEGRATE INTO THIS NEW, UH, APP PROCESS, UM, AS A WAY TO, UM, HAVE THAT LITTLE BIT MORE OF A SPECIAL TOUCH, UM, BECAUSE OF, OF THE INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR USE. UM, THE OTHER PART I I WAS GONNA ASK WAS AS WE CONTINUE TO THINK ABOUT PARATRANSIT, UM, DO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF THO THAT CUSTOMER BASE THAT MAY WANNA BE USING THE APP JUST FROM SURVEYS? YEAH, SO WE'VE DONE, UM, BASED ON EXPERIENCE, WE'VE REACHED OUT TO OUR PARTNERS IN HOUSTON WHO'VE DONE THIS, UH, HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS, UH, THEY NOTICED A LARGE INCREASE, UH, ABOUT 12 OR 15%, HE SAID IN, INITIALLY IN THE FIRST MONTH OF REGULAR CUSTOMERS THAT WERE PHONE CUSTOMERS HAVE SWITCHED TO THE, TO THE APP BASED PROGRAM. SO, UH, TALKING WITH, UH, OUR MARKETING TEAM, THEY HAVE A, A PRETTY DECENT PLAN TO CONTINUE TO EDUCATE THE WRITING PUBLIC ABOUT THE FEATURES OF THE APP AND THE ABILITY. SO, WE'LL, WE HOPE TO A LARGE PORTION MA'AM, TO, UH, GET THE WRITERS ON IT. AND ONCE WE GET TO A CERTAIN PLACE WHERE WE CAN EDUCATE A COUPLE PEOPLE AND THEY START TELLING THEIR FRIENDS, HEY, THIS IS, THIS IS GOOD, THIS IS GOOD, THIS IS GOOD, GOOD THINGS START HAPPENING DOWNRANGE. THANK YOU. AND MADAM CHAIR, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT AS WELL THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, TO TOUCH BASE WITH, WITH THE GO VIA APP, BECAUSE MANY OF THE PATRONS OF 21,000 THAT WE HAVE REGISTERED ON THE VIA TRANS SIDE, MANY OF THOSE USE OUR FIXED ROUTE SERVICE. SO THE BENEFIT OF HOW WELL WE'RE DOING IN IMPLEMENTING THE GO VIA APP IS GONNA BENEFIT THEM AS WELL. YEAH. SO THERE IS THAT MOMENT OF CROSSOVER BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, THOSE TWO GROUPS OF CUSTOMERS, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE A LARGE POPULATION OR A LARGE GROUP OF THEM THAT USE OUR FIXED ROUTE. SO THEY'LL SEE A, THEY'LL SEE A BENEFIT FROM THE GO MOBILE APP AND THEY WILL SEE IT ON DAY ONE. CORRECT. SO THE GO VIA APP ACTUALLY HAS, FOR THE PAYMENT OPTION, YOU CAN CLICK AS A VIA TRANS CUSTOMER. SO ALREADY THERE'S THAT, THAT, UH, VISIBILITY. VERY GOOD. UH, SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS THERE MAY BE A POTENTIAL REQUEST FOR FUNDING IN THIS NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET TO ENSURE THERE'S INTEGRATION BY THE END OF CALENDAR YEAR 2027 FOR BOTH APPS. IS THAT ACCURATE? THEY GOT PLENTY OF MONEY. . SO WE HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE THOUGH. I, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, I, I REALLY THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, THERE'S A LOT MARKETING AND CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS REALLY, UM, THEY HAVE A LOT OF WORK AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF HATS THEY'RE WEARING. YOU KNOW, WE, WE TALKED EARLIER ABOUT THE [01:15:01] GO VIA APP, AND NOW WE'RE MOVING TO A VIA TRANS APP, AND UNFORTUNATELY IT'S NOT THE SAME CUSTOMER. SO THEY HAVE TO CREATE ALL NEW, DIFFERENT MATERIAL, ALL NEW, DIFFERENT OUTREACH, ALL NEW DIFFERENT PLANS, BUT THEY'RE STILL DOING THE SAME TYPE OF OUTREACH, TREATING THE SAME. THEY'RE, THEY'RE TREATING ALL THE SERVICES EQUALLY, BUT THEY ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S DIFFERENT, A DIFFERENT VOICE AND A DIFFERENT PER OUTREACH. SO, UM, THIS IS JUST A QUICK LOOK AT WHAT, WHAT IS HAPPENING. SO SOME OF IT, UM, OBVIOUSLY WHAT, WHAT WE'RE GONNA PROMOTE IS THAT THIS APP IS GONNA BE, UM, EASIER TO BOOK A TRIP, MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNT AND GET THAT REAL TIME VISIBILITY THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE. SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT'S REALLY EXCITING ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE'RE COMING OUT WITH THIS AND HOPEFULLY, UH, CUSTOMERS BEGIN TO, AS THEY START TO GET EDUCATED THAT THIS IS LIVE AND THEY'RE STARTING TO SEE THOSE TYPE OF RESULTS, THEY'LL START TO TELL OTHERS AND GET MORE PEOPLE TO USE THIS APP BECAUSE I THINK IT'S A WIN ACROSS THE BOARD. UM, OPERATIONAL READINESS IS NOT STARTING NOW. IT STARTED A YEAR AGO, SO IT STARTED WITH THE FIRST TELE-TOWN HALL ALMOST A YEAR AGO WHERE WE ANNOUNCED THAT THIS WAS COMING. AND THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS WE HAVE BEEN TELLING THIS, THIS GROUP, HEY, THIS APP IS COMING. AND SO THAT HAS BEEN A SLOW BUILD AND THEY'VE BEEN COMMUNICATED, UM, MULTIPLE TIMES THROUGH DIFFERENT TYPES OF DIRECT MAILS. E-BLAST. THE WEBSITE HAS BEEN UPDATED. UM, IF YOU GO ON THE WEBSITE TODAY, YOU ALREADY SEE THIS INFORMATION. IT IS GOING LIVE AS, AS JOHN SAID EARLIER TODAY. AND SO THERE IS A MULTI-CHANNEL OUTREACH. CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS ALSO BEEN ATTENDING, UM, DIFFERENT TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON VIA TRANS. UM, WHAT MAKES THIS, UH, THIS BASE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, UH, TIME CONSUMING IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO TALK TO MULTIPLE PEOPLE, RIGHT? YOU HAVE, UH, DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, DAYCARES, THINGS OF THAT WHERE YOU'RE EDUCATING STAFF TO USE THE APP. YOU'RE, UH, MAYBE, UM, EDUCATING THE USER AND THEN YOU'RE EDUCATING MAYBE CARETAKERS. SO WE, WE UNDERSTAND THIS AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS OUTREACH FOR THE LAST YEAR TO GET THEM TO THIS POINT. SO I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN THAT AND LET ONE LAST TRUSTEE RETO, ONE LAST QUESTION. UM, IN TERMS OF CARETAKERS, I WAS JUST THINKING THROUGH, IS THERE A LINK IF I'M A PARENT AND MY KID HAS A U PASS, I CAN SEE WHEN MY KID GETS ON A BUS, I CAN TRACK THEIR BUS. DO THOSE KINDS OF THINGS EXIST? IT HAS TO BE IN THE CUSTOMER'S NAME. YEAH, IT'S IN THE CUSTOMER NAME, BUT YOU CAN ALSO REGISTER, I BELIEVE, AS THE CARETAKER, AND YOU CAN HAVE CERTAIN ACCESS AND LIKE SEE WHERE THEY'RE GOING OR WHAT THEY'RE DOING, OR IF THEIR BUS, AND AGAIN, ON THE SCHOOL SIDE, PARENTS HAVE ASKED FOR THE SCHOOL BUS. I, I DON'T KNOW IF MY KIDS LOST. TURNS OUT THE BUS WAS JUST LATE, RIGHT? SO THOSE KINDS OF UPDATES I THINK ARE, WOULD BE CRITICAL TO HELP BOOST OUR, OUR STUDENT. NO, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. RIDERSHIP. THAT'S A GOOD MADAM CHAIR. THERE'S ALSO, UH, SOME SIGNAGE THEY PLAN TO PUT IN THE VEHICLES WITH A QR CODE, UH, EDUCATING THE RIDING PUBLIC OF HEY, TRY THE APP. YOU KNOW, OUR MARKETING TEAM HAS DONE A VERY GOOD JOB PUTTING SOME THINGS TOGETHER, SO THAT'LL PROBABLY BE MORE OF A PICTORIAL THING. THEY'LL POST UP JUST TO, WHILE YOU'RE SITTING THERE ON THE BUS, THE VAN, EXCUSE ME. NO, I, I APPRECIATE THIS HAS BEEN, UM, THANK YOU FOR GETTING US TO THIS, UH, THIS PLACE RIGHT HERE. THIS IS AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY. HOW MANY TRANSIT AGENCIES IN TEXAS USE THIS VIA TRANS OR GO VIA, UH, ONE INTEGRATION APP PROCESS? UH, IT MAY MAYBE A DIFFERENT SYSTEM. DALLAS? DALLAS. JUST DALLAS. YEAH, JUST DALLAS RIGHT NOW. SO WE'RE AHEAD OF AUSTIN. WE'RE AHEAD OF HOUSTON. AND THEN NATIONALLY, DO YOU KNOW, UH, BENCHMARKING WISE, HOW MANY TRANSIT AGENCIES? I THINK THERE WAS 13. 13. SO WE'RE STILL IN THAT, UH, TOP 5%, UH, PERCENTILE USING IT. SO AMAZING JOB ALTOGETHER FROM, UH, THE STAFF TO OPERATORS. I KNOW IT'S A HUGE LIFT. UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, THE EFFORT THAT EVERYONE'S BEEN PUTTING INTO THIS. 'CAUSE I KNOW IT'S GONNA BE BENEFICIAL, UH, TO OUR CUSTOMERS. AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CHANGE A CULTURE, UH, FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND THINKING ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY JUST BASED ON THE NUMBERS YOU SAID RIGHT NOW OF A POPULATION OF 2.1 IN BEXAR COUNTY, RIGHT? YOU THINKING ABOUT 82,000, IF WE, UH, ADD ALL THOSE UP, THAT'S LESS THAN THREE TO 4% OF OUR POPULATION THAT'S USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. SO MUCH UPSIDE ON HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO PROMOTE 30 MINUTES OR LESS ON 70% OF OUR TRANSIT, UH, LINES RIGHT NOW. AND THEN THE INTEGRATION OF THE APP AND THE EASE OF JUST A ONE TAP FOR THE YOUNGER POPULATION. WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE STUDENT, UH, UH, IDS OR STUDENT ACCESS TO THAT. SO, UH, A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY HERE, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE RECEIVES THOSE KUDOS FROM A, A STAFF ACROSS THE AGENCY BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S, IT WAS A BIG LIFT AND THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO, UM, HIGHLIGHT THIS AND THAT CONSTANT COMMUNICATION TO OUR KEY STAKEHOLDERS. LET'S TRY AND GET THAT OUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN. EVEN PRESENTING, YOU KNOW, TO, UM, [01:20:01] COUNCIL THE COUNTY, UM, MPO, WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HIGHLIGHTING TO THOSE, UH, KEY STAKEHOLDERS IS GONNA BE HELPFUL JUST TO GET THE WORD OUT. YES MA'AM. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. I THINK I'VE SPOKE A LOT HERE ON THIS, BUT THANK YOU. NEXT [8. *Legal Briefing] ITEM. LET'S SEE WHERE WE'RE AT. WE'RE GONNA GO INTO A LEGAL BRIEFING, MS. ALDER. OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD. UH, TRUSTEES AT THIS TIME WE'RE GONNA GO INTO A CLOSED SESSION. UH, TODAY IS JULY 28TH, 2026, AND THE TIME NOW IS 5 25. WHAT SIX IS IT 6 25? YES. 6 25, UH, PM AND THE VM METROPOLITAN TRANSIT BOARD OF TRUSTEES WILL OFFICIALLY GO INTO A CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION AS PERMITTED UNDER THE TEXAS OPENING MEETING ACT. THE ITEMS WE DISCUSS, UH, DURING THIS EXECUTIVE SESSION ARE AS FOLLOWS. ITEM EIGHT, A ENTITLED LEGAL BRIEFING DISCUSSION ON THE STATUS OF PUBLIC TRANSFER, PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST PROCESSES AND PROTOCOL RELATED TO YOUR REQUEST FOR AGENCY INFORMATION ON STAFFING, WHICH IS ALLOWED AS AN EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM PURSUANT TO THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.07. ONE ENTITLED CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY, ALL PERSONS WHO ARE AUTHORIZED TO ATTEND THE EXECUTIVE SESSION. PLEASE PROVIDE THE SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM OR HEAD TO THE SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, UH, MAY NOT ATTEND OR MONITOR THIS PORTION OF THE MEETING IN ANY MANNER. ALL RIGHT, LET'S SEE. IT IS NOW 7:13 PM AND WE'RE OFFICIALLY COMING OUT OF A CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS EIGHT A, NO, UH, DELIBERATIONS OF POST POLICY OR VOTE TAKING OCCURRED DURING THE EXECUTIVE SESSION. ALL RIGHT, TRUSTEES, IT IS NOW PRESIDENT C REPORT. NO REPORT. NO REPORT. UM, WE DID SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. WE DID. ALL RIGHT. AND, UH, WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF OUR VIA MEETING TRUSTEES, MA'AM, A MOTION AND SECOND TO ADJOURN. SO MOVED. SECOND. SECOND, MOTION, AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MEETING UH, IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU EVERYONE. HAVE A GREAT EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.