VIA Metropolitan Transit’s board of trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint San Antonio native Jon Gary Herrera as head of the mass transit agency.
Herrera will be the first Latino to lead the city’s 46-year-old major transit agency.
“I’m honored to be chosen to lead VIA at a time of great progress and change for the city I was born and raised in, and where I have worked to support its continued growth and prosperity,” Herrera, who has served as VIA’s senior vice president of public engagement since 2017, stated in a news release.
His first day will be Jan. 4, when he’ll replace longtime President and CEO Jeffrey Arndt, who announced his retirement in August after 40 years of experience in the transportation industry.
“Our Board and longtime CEO have charted a path toward a more mobile future for our region,” Herrera stated. “I’m proud to be part of that mission and vision, and introduce new, innovative ways we can get there, together.”
Herrera became the lone finalist after a national search yielded three top candidates, all of whom work for VIA.
“The Board chose from among three impressive and capable internal candidates, who have each demonstrated a passion for their work and a commitment to carry us forward to the future,” Chairman Fernando Reyes said. “Every member of the team is part of Jeff’s legacy here. He will leave VIA stronger than he found it, and with the Board’s sincere thanks for a job done well, and always done with heart.”
Arndt came to VIA from Houston in 2012 as deputy CEO and chief of Business Support Services. Arndt was appointed president and CEO the next year.
“I applaud the Board’s selection and congratulate Jon Gary, who will be a strong and visionary leader for the agency and the people at VIA who keep San Antonio moving, every day,” Arndt said. “Choosing from within the VIA family speaks to the strength of our leadership and the entire team, who together will continue to accomplish great things for the community we serve.”
Despite being the least-funded major transit agency in Texas, VIA was recognized three times as the state’s “Most Outstanding Metropolitan Transit Authority” by the Texas Transit Association during Arndt’s tenure.
Starting in 2026, VIA will receive an additional, voter-approved one-eighth-cent sales tax on top of its one-half cent sales tax it currently collects. For decades, other Texas cities have applied the maximum 1-cent tax approved by the Texas Legislature in 1977.
Next year, VIA will break ground on the city’s first “Advanced Rapid Transit” north-south bus route, the Green Line, that connects the airport, job centers, neighborhoods and the missions. The east-west Silver Line is set to begin construction in 2027.
“A fifth VIA Link zone opened Downtown this fall, offering new and affordable on-demand options in the city center,” the agency stated in the news release. “And a Better Bus Plan to improve frequency and reliability on VIA’s core service routes will roll out next year.”