Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Commissioner Ellie Torres partnered with Valley Metro to launch the first bus stop in rural Hidalgo County, aiming to provide residents in high poverty areas a mode of transportation to higher education campuses.
Valley Metro’s Route 12 will stop in an unincorporated area near San Carlos, bringing a much-needed service to the rural community, according to Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez.
“I’m excited to give our services to people who are in the most need,” Cortez said. “That is very important because we have a very large percentage of people that live in poverty and one of the resources that they have to get out of poverty is to get an education. So in order for us to be able to move students from the east side to the university that would be a big help.”
Route 12 begins in Weslaco at the South Texas College Mid-Valley campus and ends at the Edinburg campus of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Torres said she learned about the need in 2018 when a constituent asked if there were any ideas about putting a bus stop in San Carlos so that students could access the university.
“Many of the families that live in that area struggle financially and have hardships, and many of them have access to maybe only one vehicle in the family,” Torres said. “So having a bus stop there would really help students in that area that are attending the university.”
Cortez said 74% of people living in rural areas have housing and transportation difficulties due to their significant distance from the city.
This service “will offer county residents a flexible route with access to county resources from San Carlos,” Cortez wrote on Instagram.
Route 12 will provide residents with free public transportation until the end of the year and has stops at the STC Mid-Valley campus, La Villa City Hall, the H-E-B in Elsa and the UTRGV campus in Edinburg.
In 2022, residents will have to pay $1 to ride the bus, with the exception of children under the age of 7, students with a valid ID and veterans.
Valley Metro has one bus in rotation for this route.
For more information, residents can call Valley Metro at (800) 574-8322.
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