At the intersection of civic technology, applied research, and public sector innovation lies the Civic Tech Scholars Program, an initiative of the Better Futures Institute (BFI). Designed to train, motivate, and empower emerging leaders in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math), the program integrates community-based research, software development, and data science to address real-world challenges facing cities.

This spring, BFI Scholars partnered with VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio’s regional transit agency, to address a fundamental urban challenge: modernizing and streamlining the planning, evaluation, and evolution of public transit services. What resulted was a transformative collaboration, not just for the students and VIA but for the city’s broader efforts in digital innovation, mobility, and talent retention.

A Model for Experiential Learning and Civic Impact

The Civic Tech Scholars Program goes well beyond a traditional internship. It is an R&D, project-based civic and urban lab where students work directly with public agencies to co-develop solutions. Drawing from fields such as computer science, product development, data analytics, urban planning, and public policy, the program immerses young talent in the dynamics of urban systems and civic challenges.

The program’s structure follows a three-phase methodology:

1. Discovery and Engagement – Scholars engage with stakeholders, identify pain points, and scope out project goals in partnership with local agencies.
2. Development and Prototyping – Using a mix of internal and open data, students build and test practical, scalable solutions.
3. Delivery and Impact Assessment – Solutions are implemented or documented for operational integration, with tools and insights handed off to agency partners.

The VIA Collaboration: Data-Driven Public Transit Transformation

Vice President of Innovation and Technology, Brian Dillard, is working on a Data Governance Strategy as part of an initiative to upgrade current information management across the organization. In partnership with VIA, Civic Tech Scholars tackled a series of projects using General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) and Automatic Passenger Count (APC) sample data. Their overarching goal: automate time-intensive workflows, uncover service improvement opportunities, and enable faster, more confident decision-making for planners and leadership.

Key Challenges Identified:

• Previous comparison process of GTFS schedules using tools like Trapeze and ArcGIS took over an hour per iteration.
• Transit service changes were difficult to track, visualize, or evaluate over time.
• Operational complexity and inefficiencies in route variation were not clearly visible or communicated.

Key Outcomes Delivered:

• A Quality Assurance (QA) tool that reduced GTFS comparison time from 1 hour to under 60 seconds, improving speed by 72x.
• Interactive dashboards and summary reports providing at-a-glance insights for decision-makers.
• Tools that quantify route variation complexity, helping planners reduce confusion and operational risk.
• Automated analysis of stop-level service frequency by time blocks and day types, enabling more precise and equitable scheduling.
• Integration of APC data with GTFS shapefiles, producing GIS-ready visualizations of real rider movement across the city.

“Before this work, VIA had access to heat maps showing ridership. Now, planners can see real-time variation across space and time, segment by segment.” VIA Staff

The result? A scalable system that supports internal planning, improves transit reliability, and sets a new standard for data governance and transparency at VIA.

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Workforce Development with Civic Purpose

From a workforce development perspective, this project proves the power of place-based experiential learning. In a region where young talent often leaves for opportunity elsewhere, programs like Civic Tech Scholars provide a dual benefit: they offer high-impact, resume-building experiences to students and solve tangible problems for local agencies.

This is vital for a city like San Antonio, which sits at the heart of the South Texas Triangle, a fast-growing region facing urgent challenges in infrastructure, equity, and digital transformation.

From Prototype to Policy

While the Civic Tech Scholars’ spring collaboration with VIA was only ten weeks, the scope of its impact goes far beyond a single cohort. The tools developed are being reviewed for broader application across VIA departments, including scheduling, operations, and strategic planning.

Moreover, this effort is just one phase in a multi-year public research initiative led by BFI, which explores how public, private, and nonprofit actors can collaborate to shape the future of San Antonio and the region. Scholars began by engaging with public agencies, such as VIA; the next phases will involve private sector stakeholders and resident-focused workshops to co-create future-ready civic solutions.

Building Better Futures

The Civic Tech Scholars Program embodies the Better Futures Institute’s mission:  to shape a thriving, equitable, and resilient future for San Antonio by empowering a new generation of civic leaders. By placing students at the frontlines of public problem-solving and working shoulder-to-shoulder with city agencies like VIA, this program not only supports workforce development and talent retention but also helps advance a culture of innovation in local public agencies. 

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