VIA Metropolitan Transit — the regional transit authority that operates bus service across most of Bexar County — has named a new chief of transit police of the relatively small but wide-reaching law enforcement agency.
Joseph R. Rose, who most recently served in a leadership role at Austin’s CapMetro, will oversee VIA’s transit police department — a unit that responds to tens of thousands of calls each year across a system that provides roughly 36 million passenger trips annually.
For many riders, the announcement raises a basic question: What exactly does VIA’s police department do? The answer is broader than many might expect.
What is the Transit Police?
VIA Transit Police is a fully commissioned law enforcement agency. Its officers are licensed by the state and have the same authority as other peace officers in Texas, including the ability to make arrests, issue citations and enforce local, state and federal laws.
Officers patrol buses, bus stops, transit centers and park-and-ride facilities across VIA’s service area, which spans about 98% of Bexar County, according to VIA. They also coordinate with local law enforcement agencies when incidents extend beyond transit property.
The department includes roughly 50 sworn officers, along with more than 100 security personnel stationed at transit facilities.
Those roles serve distinct functions.
Security personnel are typically the first to respond to routine, non-criminal calls — particularly at transit centers where they are already stationed. Those incidents can include customer assistance, disturbances and other quality-of-life concerns. While security staff can detain individuals for safety reasons, they do not have the authority to make arrests.
Security personnel may also refer situations to sworn officers when enforcement authority is needed.
Sworn transit police officers respond when incidents involve criminal activity or require enforcement authority, including situations escalated from security personnel.
By the numbers
In 2025, VIA recorded 20,509 calls for service to transit police, up from 18,938 the year before.
Those calls ranged from disturbances and suspicious activity to welfare checks and other incidents requiring a response on transit property.
The most common outcomes did not involve arrest.
In 2025, the top five calls included issuing 5,197 verbal warnings and 5,068 cases where no action was taken. Staff also recorded 3,952 responses related to maintaining safe transit service, took 1,298 reports and assisted the public 1,268 times.
In 2024, the top five calls included 5,280 verbal warnings, followed by 4,151 safe service responses and 3,422 cases with no action taken. Officers also recorded 1,387 reports taken and 890 incidents where a suspect fled the location.
When it came to arrests last year, transit police made 306, down from 508 the previous year.
VIA says that some of the most common charges included criminal trespass, arrests on outstanding warrants, drug possession and criminal mischief, which includes property damage or vandalism.
Citations accounted for another portion of enforcement activity.
In 2025, officers issued 410 citations. The most common were traffic-related violations, followed by drug possession, parking violations, justice of the peace citations and public intoxication.
Traffic-related citations also made up the largest share in 2024, followed by justice of the peace citations, drug possession, parking violations and public intoxication.
Justice of the peace citations generally cover low-level offenses, including disorderly conduct, minor theft, simple assault and failure to identify.
VIA officials said officers are encouraged to use the least intrusive response appropriate to the situation.
For many nonviolent offenses, alternatives such as warnings or citations are used when they can resolve the issue while maintaining public safety. Custodial arrests are typically reserved for more serious circumstances or when less restrictive options are not appropriate.
In its proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, VIA allocated about $13.7 million to transit police and security, accounting for roughly 4% of its total operating expenses. The budget also includes the addition of seven new transit police officer positions.
Last year, VIA’s budget included $13.1 million for its transit police and security.
As VIA expands its system, including plans for advanced rapid transit lines, the number of calls — and the role of transit police and security — is expected to grow alongside it.
