SAN ANTONIO | City and Metro Transportation Thread

[sirkingwilliam]

B-CYCLE BIKE SHARE EXPANDS TO UTSA MAIN CAMPUS ON FAR NORTHWEST SIDE

Students and staff trying to get around the main campus of University of Texas at San Antonio will have a new option starting this week: B-cycle.

The bike-share nonprofit has installed two stations with a total of 22 bicycles at the campus for a five-month pilot program. UTSA students, faculty and staff can buy a $25 pass for access to the bikes for the pilot.

B-cycle has 55 stations, but until now, only one — the station at Mission Espada — has been located outside of Loop 410. It has plans for more than 20 added stations this year and intends to introduce a lighter model of bike.

The hope is that the pilot program at UTSA will make the campus more livable and accessible, said District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg, who helped get it off the ground.

“By doing more cycling than driving, I hope students will take advantage of the opportunity to save money, burn some calories and enjoy the beautiful UTSA campus,” Nirenberg said in a statement.

One of the stations is located near the Alvarez Residence Hall, while the other is near the Biosciences Building.

If the semester-long pilot is deemed successful, the two stations will likely become permanent and B-cycle may add more stations at the campus.

[SAguy]

More talk about linking SA and Austin...

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local...onio/22125561/

[trillhippy_210]

Originally Posted by SAguy

More talk about linking SA and Austin...

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local...onio/22125561/

I hope this happens, we could really benefit from it.

[KevinFromTexas]

San Antonio Bike-Share Threatens to Close Without Major Sponsor

Read More: http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/san-...-sponsor-money

.....

Modern U.S. bike-sharing has been around for less than a decade and there are plenty of kinks to still work out, especially when it comes to management and operation structure and funding. For San Antonio, Texas’ B-Cycle system, solving the funding question soon could be a matter of survival.

- Since its launch in 2011, San Antonio B-Cycle has operated primarily off revenue from annual memberships and daily user fees, with some small grants from foundations and contributions from minor sponsors, a financial model that left them nearly $32,000 in the red in 2013. --- Like many systems, San Antonio has a nonprofit, San Antonio Bike Share, in charge of operations and contracts with a bike-share company, B-Cycle, to maintain the bikes and stations. But unlike New York, Seattle and others who’ve garnered multimillion-dollar sponsorship for bike-share from companies such as Citibank and Alaska Airlines, San Antonio has been unable to secure a marquee backer.

- San Antonio B-Cycle’s executive director position is unpaid. Executive Director Cindi Snell, who owns three bike shops in town, told the Report that she’s frustrated and stepping down from her role after four years of unsuccessfully courting major sponsors. --- The news comes on the heels of the Texas Department of Transportation awarding San Antonio B-Cycle a $1.2 million grant to expand the 53-station, 450-bike system to 76 stations and 650 bikes.

- San Antonio launched its initial system using federal grant funding from the Centers for Disease Controls Communities Putting Prevention to Work program and the Department of Energy. They expanded the system in 2013 with a Federal Transit Administration grant. Those grants primarily funded the purchase and installation of stations and bikes and do not cover operating costs.

- Not all successful bike-share programs rely on corporate sponsorship, however. The rear fenders on Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) bikes in Washington, D.C., are conspicuously clear of logos. Instead, operating costs not covered by daily and annual users are paid for by DOTs in the city, Alexandria, Arlington County and Montgomery County. The municipalities see bike-share as a form of public transportation that, like subways, buses and private vehicles, needs public subsidy to close the gaps left by user fees.

- Ultimately, modern American bike-share is still in its infancy. Launched in 2008, CaBi’s short-lived predecessor Smart Bike was the country’s first next-generation system with computer-controlled docking stations. It’s little surprise nobody has figured out one best way to do things in just seven years. But San Antonio B-Cycle has made it clear that bike-share cannot survive on ridership alone.

.....

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http://www.sacurrent.com/Blogs/archi...-and-they-suck

B-cycle at UTSA Numbers Are Out ... And They Suck
Posted By Crystal Poenisch on Fri, May 8, 2015 at 5:49 pm

B-cycle premiered its pilot program at UTSA this January and the numbers so far do not bode well for the bike-sharing program. As of April 2015, there have only been 65 total checkouts at their UTSA main-campus location. According to Daniel Treviño, Operations Manager at B-cycle, the university had been interested in working with the company for a while and requested the pilot program.

It's possible that the price tag to rent the bicycles is a little too steep for the students. B-cycle offers an option to rent for the day at $10 per bike or an annual fee of $80 for unlimited bike checkouts. That's 100 packets of ramen per day or 800 for the year when you're a broke college kid.

Another possibility for the low numbers could be that the bikes are located on campus, not near the parking lots where they could provide much needed relief from the long trek to class. Or it could be the utter lack of infrastructure in the area. Students may want to avoid the paralyzing fear that can come with feeling a car tailing you because there are no bike lanes on UTSA Boulevard.

[sirkingwilliam]

Old news and it's not shutting down.

[Runner]

A little off topic but can someone tell me why it's so much cheaper to fly out of Austin than San Antonio? I've Heard from several people who say they have saved over $150 by flying out of Austin. This can not be good for our airport.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by Runner

A little off topic but can someone tell me why it's so much cheaper to fly out of Austin than San Antonio? I've Heard from several people who say they have saved over $150 by flying out of Austin. This can not be good for our airport.

Generally, yes... it is cheaper to fly out of Austin and you can find more direct flights (unless you're flying to Mexico).

[TexHorn]

Originally Posted by Runner

A little off topic but can someone tell me why it's so much cheaper to fly out of Austin than San Antonio? I've Heard from several people who say they have saved over $150 by flying out of Austin. This can not be good for our airport.

Per Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States), Austin has about 25% more air traffice than San Antonio. Probably because they have more affluent residents per capita.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by TexHorn

Per Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States), Austin has about 25% more air traffice than San Antonio. Probably because they have more affluent residents per capita.

Yeah, I think it's like 28%-30% more passenger traffic (and growing) to more non-stop destinations.

ABIA continues to add new non-stops and has an annual growth rate of ~7% versus SAT's 1.4%. Because of this, I believe they can keep their landing and gate fees lower. Plus, with more competition on routes, the airlines have to compete for the same travelers (i.e., lower fares).


Now, let's get back to the thread topic, shall we?

[Paul in S.A TX]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Yeah, I think it's like 28%-30% more passenger traffic (and growing) to more non-stop destinations.

ABIA continues to add new non-stops and has an annual growth rate of ~7% versus SAT's 1.4%. Because of this, I believe they can keep their landing and gate fees lower. Plus, with more competition on routes, the airlines have to compete for the same travelers (i.e., lower fares).


Now, let's get back to the thread topic, shall we?

8.4 million passengers versus S.A. and 10.7 million for Austin that's right at 20% more. S.A's Airport has seen a 9.1% increase in international traffic, we just need our total numbers to increase to see better service. I wish a huge hub Airport would have been built between New Braunfels and San Marcos to serve both metros. Maybe one day.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...number-of.html

[Paul in S.A TX]

• Video Link

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[trillhippy_210]

I know part of the 151/410 project is funded & will be started late summer but I really hope that the other 2 projects are coming soon! We need this asap

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Paul in S.A TX

8.4 million passengers versus S.A. and 10.7 million for Austin that's right at 20% more. S.A's Airport has seen a 9.1% increase in international traffic, we just need our total numbers to increase to see better service. I wish a huge hub Airport would have been built between New Braunfels and San Marcos to serve both metros. Maybe one day.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...number-of.html

I have also always felt an airport (potential hub) in that location would have been great long term planning. How about an NFL stadium in that same area too?

[sakyle04]

The "managed lane" project on I-10 looks like a disaster waiting to happen - nothing like bottlenecking 2 lanes into 1 (left lane) right before 1604 interchange (right exit).

Gonna be fun.

Can someone add up the costs of these projects and tell us the total? How many miles of LRT could we build if we just let exurbanites deal with the traffic they chose to move into?

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by Paul in S.A TX

8.4 million passengers versus S.A. and 10.7 million for Austin that's right at 20% more. S.A's Airport has seen a 9.1% increase in international traffic, we just need our total numbers to increase to see better service. I wish a huge hub Airport would have been built between New Braunfels and San Marcos to serve both metros. Maybe one day.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...number-of.html

28% higher than SAT (2.35/8.37=28%). Also, international PAX was down by 2.1% in 2014 vs. 2013 (SOURCE).

I too wish a hub airport was built on land between New Braunfels & San Marcos. That would have been great. But, one hell of a trek to get to...which is one of many reasons why the idea never gain traction.

There is a possibility that the two cities (plus the region) could come together in a couple of decades to revisit this idea. Who knows.


Anyway, I like the downtown baseball stadium idea. However, I wouldn't build one until a team has been identified and signed an agreement to move to SA. Otherwise, we'll be stuck with another "empty" stadium like the Alamodome (which began construction 25 years ago to lure an NFL team).

[JACKinBeantown]

Thanks for those videos, Paul. In one of them I saw what looked like an interchange in the area of I35 and Wurzbach Parkway. Is that what I actually saw? Is there an illustration showing what that might look like?

[Bigfoot Yancey]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

I have also always felt an airport (potential hub) in that location would have been great long term planning. How about an NFL stadium in that same area too?

I lived in Dallas for a while and I HATED flying out of DFW and I HATED driving to the Ballpark at Arlington or Cowboys Stadium. It is too far and a traffic filled disaster.

Now, picture having to drive twice the distance (40 miles) as from downtown Dallas or Ft. Worth to DFW in traffic on the death trap that is I-35. Add giant security lines. You've added an hour and a half to your trip already, pretty close to just connecting through DFW.

If there was an express train, I would be all for it.

[sirkingwilliam]

CITY COUNCIL APPROVES $166 MILLION, 7-STORY CONSOLIDATED RENTAL FACILITY

Right now, travelers that need a car have to take a ride to the outskirts of S.A. International.

"If it was right here with would be awesome because we'd still have the cart (to haul our luggage)," said traveler Vicki Higman.

Higman's wish will soon be a reality. This summer, the 3-decade-old hourly garage will be demolished. In its place will be a new 7-story facility called the Consolidated Rental Car Facility, or CONRAC.

"I see it as a drastic improvement," said Franccek.

Airport officials told Eyewitness News, the upper levels of CONRAC will house up to 12 rental car agencies and the lower levels will be for public parking. Officials expect the public parking portion to be complete in about 20 months and the rental portion should be complete eight months after.

"It makes things a lot easier," said Franccek.

Airport officials said while construction is going on travelers will be able to park in a designated parking area and be shuttled to and from their terminal.

CONRAC will be paid for by people renting a vehicle only at the airport. Airport officials want to stress that it will not be paid for by tax dollars or city funds.

LOCATION

[Tyrone Shoes]

Originally Posted by Paul in S.A TX

8.4 million passengers versus S.A. and 10.7 million for Austin that's right at 20% more. S.A's Airport has seen a 9.1% increase in international traffic, we just need our total numbers to increase to see better service. I wish a huge hub Airport would have been built between New Braunfels and San Marcos to serve both metros. Maybe one day.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...number-of.html

Feel free to shoot holes in my ideas.
Two items regarding SAT...
1. About ten years ago - more or less United tried to make SAT a regional focus city flying reginal jets to other medium/small airports (OKC, TUS etc). It was a huge failure because it was not supported by the flying public.
2. Longer ago before Austin built ABIA an idea was floated by the folks in Austin about building an airport to serve both communities located in San Marcos. The San Antonio city council shot that down rather quickly. Austin proceeded to buy land in Manor then the air force closed Bergstrom.

It is good to see the council approving monies to improve SAT and that continued with the funding of the CONRAC. We will not get trans-pacific or trans-atlantic routes until we get a longer runway. Our longest runway is shorter than the shortest Austin runway and they will get non stops Asia and Europe first.
Just my opinion.

[WorldTexas]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoes

Feel free to shoot holes in my ideas.
Two items regarding SAT...
1. About ten years ago - more or less United tried to make SAT a regional focus city flying reginal jets to other medium/small airports (OKC, TUS etc). It was a huge failure because it was not supported by the flying public.
2. Longer ago before Austin built ABIA an idea was floated by the folks in Austin about building an airport to serve both communities located in San Marcos. The San Antonio city council shot that down rather quickly. Austin proceeded to buy land in Manor then the air force closed Bergstrom.

It is good to see the council approving monies to improve SAT and that continued with the funding of the CONRAC. We will not get trans-pacific or trans-atlantic routes until we get a longer runway. Our longest runway is shorter than the shortest Austin runway and they will get non stops Asia and Europe first.
Just my opinion.

From first hand experience, I can say that key leaders in San Antonio see Austin as a threat and not as an opportunity for regional collaboration. I don't know if it's a cultural remnant from an earlier time, but it definitely reduces opportunities to partner on key things.

I recently relocated to the Seattle area and it's a very different vibe. There's a much more regional perspective here. With the elections done, you should encourage your elected representatives to extend a friendlier hand north.