NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — Transportation planners are studying a regional bus service linking New Braunfels with San Antonio, San Marcos, Live Oak and Seguin as daily travel and congestion increase along the Interstate 35 corridor.
The Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization conducted the study to identify transportation improvements for New Braunfels and surrounding communities.
The study found that more than 35,000 trips originate in New Braunfels each day and travel to nearby cities, including San Antonio and San Marcos.
One option under consideration would create a regional bus route connecting the four cities that receive the most traffic from New Braunfels.
Some residents welcomed the proposal, saying public transportation could give people another option for traveling through the increasingly congested corridor.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” New Braunfels resident Christian Gonzalez said. He noted that people regularly travel between New Braunfels and San Antonio, while visitors from San Antonio frequently travel to New Braunfels for tubing and other summer attractions.
“I think it’s a great idea, and I hope something sticks,” Gonzalez said.
Robert Veliez also supported the concept, saying a regional bus service could help people avoid driving through heavy traffic.
“Those types of routes will be helpful for everybody to get through, especially with the traffic,” Veliez said.
Other New Braunfels residents opposed the idea, arguing that expanded transit could encourage additional development in the Hill Country.
Those residents said the area already faces challenges associated with rapid growth and questioned whether additional transportation infrastructure could intensify those pressures.
The study comes as communities along the I-35 corridor continue to look for ways to address increasing traffic and improve connections between Central Texas cities.