District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito says a growing city population means transportation services for older adults should grow too.
SAN ANTONIO — A policy proposal moving through San Antonio City Hall looks to expand the pool of older residents eligible to get a free lift to city-operated senior centers.
Right now, seniors can get free rides to one of 12 comprehensive centers only if they live within five miles of the location. District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito wants to extend that reach as San Antonio continues to grow outward, and as more people reach the age where they can start using those services.
Richard Robledo has seen the obstacles of that five-mile limit firsthand.
His mother, Carolina, spent nearly 50 years running a cleaners business on the south side before retiring well into her 80s.
“She raised three of us and was working 10, 12 hours a day, come home, take care of us. We had a great life,” he said.
After retiring, Robledo said his mother found herself at odds with what to do with all the energy of someone who operated a business for decades and met people every day through that work.
“When she retired, it was like part of her identity went away,” he said. “It was a strange feeling for her.”
The family eventually found the Doris Griffin Senior Center a short distance away, near Ingram Park Mall. It helped restore her sense of connection and routine.
“(We) immediately fell in love with the place,” Robledo said. “That was exactly what we were looking for.”
The senior center, like the others in town around it, provide a variety of services from meals and exercise to crafts and technology classes. Doris Griffin even has its own mini-movie theater and game nights; staff there say it’s particularly competitive on Loteria and Rummikub nights.
At these centers, all the services are free. Even Richard and his wife signed up, and he made a habit of going with his mother; he recalls seeing her talking with the kitchen staff while he took advantage of the gym equipment.
The regulars at the center all share the common refrain that it’s a second home.
“I looked at it and said, ‘Wow, there’s a gem,'” Robledo recalled. “If you’re over 60, that really is a viable place to go and find your place.”
But the Robledos’ schedules eventually stopped lining up. And for Carolina, now in her 90s and no longer driving, transportation became an obstacle. She lived just six and a half miles from Doris Griffin, but that was outside the radius for a free lift.
“When could I go, when Mom could go, it was hard to make that work,” Robledo said. “When you lose your ability to drive, it’s like part of your freedoms — part of your ability to do anything — are gone.”
About six months ago, Robledo approached Alderete Gavito at a community outreach event and talked about the challenge facing Carolina–as well as what expanding the radius could do for older San Antonians.
“I thought, ‘That’s a really great idea,'” the councilwoman said. “Me and my team jotted it down, we worked through it as a team, now we have this policy proposal.”
The Council Consideration Request (CCR) was filed May 5, with supporting signatures from four of Alderete Gavito’s fellow council members. The CCR points to World Health Organization research that estimates 22% of the world’s population will be over 60 by 2050, up from 12% in 2022.
It also highlights local data showing that nearly one in four Bexar County households had at least one resident who was at least 65 years old.
Alderete Gavito said the city’s transportation policy should reflect how the city continues to grow outward while the number of senior centers stays as 12 (in addition to four other part-time facilities).
“The city has grown, the city has expanded,” Alderete Gavito said. “So we need to expand too.”
She also emphasized the role senior centers play in combating social isolation among aging residents.
“We have had several residents say, ‘I’m right outside the transportation zone, I’d love to go to the senior center, I just can’t make it there,'” she added.
The proposal must first be discussed by the city’s Governance Committee before heading to the full City Council for potential consideration down the line. Alderete Gavito said she hopes the committee discussion will happen May 20.
Robledo said his mother has been encouraged by the proposal and understands future generations of seniors — including her son — could eventually benefit from it.
“She knows that she’s 93, not getting any younger,” Robledo said, “but she is looking at this and saying, this is gonna be good for you.”