Unfortunately, American unemployment rates have reached a high in the wake of the coronavirus. The pandemic’s negative effect on the American, and Texan economy has left many people struggling to make ends meet. Although VIA Metropolitan Transit has begun to collect travel fares after a 10-week grace period, those who take the bus and are unemployed are still eligible to ride for free under a new program.
VIA Metropolitan Transit has launched a new program called the Workforce Assistance Pass. This program allows customers to ride the buses for free for 31 days if they are drawing unemployment benefits. For riders to receive a pass, they should show a copy of their benefits statement. The statement should be dated May 15th or after and riders also need to show a current photo ID at any VIA ticket window.
Those who have extended unemployment benefits can also request a subsequent 31-day pass. VIA plans to continue this program throughout summer and have it ends in August of 2020. As VIA offers free bus passes, they hope that cost-free transportation will help those who have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic get around the city of San Antonio more easily.
VIA wants to extend a helping hand to the Texans who have suffered from job loss in the middle of an uncertain and strange time as the coronavirus pandemic. VIAtrans riders who are requesting Workforce Assistance Passes can contact VIA’s goLine (210) 362-2020 for instructions about how to apply via email.
As the country was forced to shelter in place and work from home, many people also lost their job. This has negatively affected the Texas economy. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, 2.2 million Texans have filed for unemployment.
