Is this 'puro San Antonio' or what? Now you can commute to your downtown job--via river barge.
GO RIO Cruises, which won the contract to operate the Riverwalk barges and dinner cruises last year, says will begin testing commuter boats.
Commuters can board the barges at the Pearl, where parking is free, between 7 and 7:30AM. The GO RIO Commuter Express will drop passengers off at Casa Rio, which is convenient to Rivercenter Mall, the Convention Center, and the Alamo, and at Mexican Manhattan, for commuters to the Courthouse, Justice Center, and City hall.
“Local residents heading into downtown to their jobs can avoid traffic hassles, enjoy a pleasant ride down the beautiful River Walk, and still get to their workplaces on time,” said Lee Talamantez, General Manager of GO RIO.
Return barges will leave those same locations for the Pearl between 5:30 and 6 PM.
GO RIO is selling monthly passes for $25, which is less than a day's parking at a downtown garage.
“Commuter Express not only shows how much we appreciate our fellow San Antonians; it’s less expensive than driving and parking a car downtown, and it’s more environmentally friendly,” Talamantez said. “As San Antonio continues to grow and more jobs are created downtown, we believe GO RIO’s Commuter Express will provide a benefit to the city and be especially attractive to millennial workers.”
GO RIO will test the service through October, and will then make a decision on whether it should be continued, and possibly even expanded.