District 7 Proposes Expanded Transportation to City Senior Centers

Published on May 06, 2026

SAN ANTONIO (May 6, 2026) – On May 5, District 7 Councilmember Marina Alderete Gavito filed a Council Consideration Request (CCR) to expand transportation access for older adults attending the City of San Antonio's senior centers.

Alderete Gavito stated, “I've spent so much time with our older adults at the Doris Griffin and Bob Ross Senior Centers. These centers are a source of enrichment, friendship, and community at a season in life that for many can be isolating.

"But too many older adults across San Antonio can't get to them. The current five-mile transportation radius leaves out growing parts of our city and county where the older population is rising the fastest.

"This proposal is about expanding access to those connections, so no senior is cut off from the programs, meals, and friendships that keep them healthy."

According to the CCR, the City operates 12 comprehensive senior centers and four part-time centers, serving more than 22,500 older adults in FY25. The City’s Department of Human Services provides transportation for participants within a five-mile radius of their respective center, but areas on the outskirts of San Antonio and Bexar County, which contain increasing populations of older adults, may fall outside that range.

The CCR calls for a strategic expansion of the radius, exploration of funding sources outside the general fund, such as grants and public-private partnerships, a partnership with VIA to expand options like VIA Trans and VIA Link, engagement with Bexar County, and collaboration with local aging-focused groups, including the City/County Joint Commission on Elderly Affairs and SALSA.

The item has been submitted for inclusion on the earliest available Governance Committee agenda.