Case Study: VIA Metropolitan Transit achieves inclusive, multilingual citizen engagement and real-time rider feedback with FiscalNote's Access Live

Transit Agency Breaks Language and Physical Barriers with Technology to Engage Citizens

VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio’s mass transit agency, needed a way to reach diverse riders and gather actionable feedback for its VIA Reimagined/2040 Vision planning—challenges amplified by language differences, physical accessibility needs, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency sought to break down barriers to participation so residents across the metro area could learn about proposed changes, ask questions, and shape future transit services.

VIA deployed Access Live technology to host multilingual telephone town halls and high-quality streamed events with closed captioning, ASL interpreters, moderated Q&A, and live polling. The approach enabled phone or online participation, produced more than 1,000 instant poll responses, engaged nearly 25,700 citizens (with about 1,500 online viewers per event), and created ongoing two-way dialogue that informed service and planning decisions.

VIA Metropolitan Transit