Ian Juarez EDINBURG – According to UTRGV Parking and Transportation, there has been a 25% increase in Vaquero Express ridership in Fall 2026 compared to the 35% increase seen in Fall 2025.
Maribel Contreras, director of transportation services at UTRGV, said Parking and Transportation does see the demand, and has added additional buses to the service if needed.
“We did start with six charter buses. And then for this fiscal fall semester for [2027], we started service with ten charter buses,” Contreras said. “So, we did increase the amount of buses that were being used in service throughout the routes.”
With a higher volume of students utilizing the Vaquero Express, some students have raised concerns over certain issues they have experienced using the buses.
Ignacio Hinojosa, a sociology senior, said they must come to the bus early as they’re handicapped and are scared they will not get a spot on the bus.
“Yesterday [this] poor guy had the door slammed right in his face, and they wouldn’t let him on,” said Hinojosa. “Parking for sure has been, like, a huge issue, and then just, like, the amount of students that are commuting between the campuses, it just seems like there’s an over, like, congestion.”
Juan Loya, a mass communication senior, said he felt the increase in students using the bus compared to previous semesters.
” I’ve been late to classes because of the bus, a lot, like, to my job here, too. I’ve heard, like, a lot of the same things from students here,” Loya said. “You gotta come here early or else you’re gonna, like, miss the entire line. You’re gonna miss the first bus.”
Contreras said Transportation services will continue to monitor routes and enrollment to give proper accommodations to students.
