VIA Stone Oak Park & Ride — Local services in San Antonio

You know there are just some places that need to be safe havens for weary travelers and a park and ride should be one of the safest. ESPECIALLY VIA FOR GOD'S SAKE!!! I'm Psychologist, but i only work with people who come referred by one of my very close friends in the industry or a family member of someone who needs my help VIA word of mouth. Dr's like me are not a fine a dozen, and the people that come to me need my help because they're on their last leg of hope and only Jesus Christ can help them. It's definitely not me, but i do digress. So a friend of mine reached out to me. She was being kicked out of her hotel and was destitute. No where to turn, she was ready to get back on her feet. We got her a bus to San Antonio and she came in late. I'm a transplant from DC, so i do public transportation. I don't own a car. Call me crazy i know. Needless to say,i couldn't go get her. Downtown San Antonio is NOT the best place for a scared, 108lb tall lanky white girl, but she made it through the night even though they kicked her out of the bus station. That was expected and i prepared her for that, although I never understood why people can't wait for their ride there or at least sunrise when we know San Antonio is a 2 murder a night kind of town now. Sad but true. Once morning came she confidently boarded the first bus coming north. Bus 76 i believe. She made it to the park and ride easily. Only had to change busses once. Great ride. Everything was great, and i love VIA. Have never had any problems with them. They've always been so helpful, until now. She got off at VIA park and ride at stone oak and the nightmare started. Now, you can't expect a 13.00/hr "security" guard to be able to read people in a way that would allow them to say, "I this person is obviously out of place. They may need a little TLC. " What I do demand and will always hold any person accountable for in public is the free-reigned rude. The exact people that Hannibal Lector would eat. People that regardless of situation, rhyme or reason, will bring their street up bringing into play in a public that is neither prepared for it, nor deserves it. It's a display of pure animal instincts and horrible to any person who has been raised in a civilized society. These "people" Should never be let out of their neighborhood if they don't have the slightest want to serve people because that's the industry they're in. Regardless of what the 8hr in class, sewn in badge says, they're in the service industry and being helpful should be on the forefront of their daily purpose. I would gladly partner with VIA to get that training to their staff since it's obvious that the current training isn't enough. For free!!! She got off the bus and was OK because they were closed, if I remember correctly. It's sad that a person was safer while the place was closed than once it opened. My troubles started with Lyft. VIA is literally 3 miles from my house and for some reason my account was locked and needed verification. That took way too long, i guess, but the security guards couldn't seem to understand that her ride was coming, we just couldn't tell them how long because of my Lyft issues. I just feel that they should have been A LOT more accommodating. This is when they started in on her. What they don't realize is that because they're raised in the environment they're raised in, it becomes instinctual to pray on people. It's not their fault for being that way. It's VIA's fault for not accounting for this in their hiring process and providing the right training. They aren't bad people. They're uneducated socially, but that can be fixed. When they're not, the result is, well, obvious. They preyed upon her and kept at her and kept at her until she was in a frenzy and literally just walked out crying. Why she could not just wait there with her bags, to me, was simply because she was white. A horrible experience that i hope management let's me know they've done something about it. Again, my dissertation was on this exact phenomenon. I would help for free....

Have not used it but tried driving through one time recently, June 2023, out of curiosity and because many people said it wasn't being utilized. Signage was deplorable and non-existant... but also the same for the Park&Ride at Northstar Mall. Absolutely no info on this facility on this website. Website link was worthless. Only found out about the two express routes to Airport and Downtown because of comments. Only found out about not available for rideshare from comments. Where is rideshare for this area? No floor plan/site plan of facility with entrance/egress points. Is the 7a - 10p for bus service or just access? Bus times not listed. 7a is not early enough for many Airline flights. 10p is not late enough for some Airline flights, or for a game night on the town. It says Downtown, but not where. Does it go to the Coliseum and ATT Ctr? Does it go to Northstar Mall, which is by the Airport? ... and to the Northstar Park&Ride for connection to other routes? Is the facility locked down without access from 10p - 7a? So you couldn't take a taxi or Uber after hours and get your vehicle out? One comment said pamphlets were available at location, but should also be on...

So I’m only able to give Via Stone Oak Park and ride two stars.

The site is great, it has bike racks, plenty of parking and the bus seems to be running like clock work.

The reason it gets three stars....?

Via doesn’t allow photos of the Park and Ride. I’m guessing it’s for security precautions due to the world we live in.

I’m ok with that, what I’m not ok with is, they don’t have any signage stating that it’s against Via policy and the only indication that it’s not allowed... When the armed security guard informs you that picture taking is not allowed and that the pictures need to be deleted from your phone.

Also, there is a five hour gap for a return ride to the Stone Oak park and ride. This makes it less likely for parents to use it as a commute option.

Via public relations, if I can take a picture from the street, why can’t I take pictures from the...