A bus driver who rose through the ranks of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority over three decades is now poised to take the top job at the transit agency. Dorothy “Dottie” Watkins started driving buses in 1994 when she was 19 years old. Now 48, Watkins has served as interim president and CEO of Capital […]
Nathan Bernier, KUT
Posted inParks
What happened to the Zilker Park mini-train?
Zilker Park, the crown jewel of Austin’s park system, used to be home to a miniature train amusement ride that delighted families for generations and became one of Austin’s most iconic attractions. “The first one I ever rode, I was about 10 years old maybe. It was really exciting,” said Fred Britton, who was lounging […]
Posted inRoads
TxDOT’s I-35 plans for Austin are out. You had questions, and we have answers.
The Texas Department of Transportation is getting ready to expand the busiest section of the busiest highway in Central Texas. Interstate 35 from Ben White Boulevard to U.S. Highway 290 East in Austin will get two high-occupancy vehicle lanes in each direction along with a raft of other changes under the state’s preferred plan, now open for […]
Posted inRoads
TxDOT narrows options for widening I-35 through Austin
Lee esta historia en español. The Texas Department of Transportation has released the most detailed description yet of plans to widen Interstate 35 through the core of Austin, explaining how the agency believes its multibillion-dollar highway expansion could affect everything from parks to pollution. As part of a 7,000-plus page draft environmental impact statement – required under federal […]
Posted inTransit
CapMetro police force coming to North Austin office park
Capital Metro has secured the location of its first police department headquarters – a nondescript building in a North Austin office park – and is ready to spend millions on rent and renovations to expand the transit agency’s mission into law enforcement. The move to put more armed officers on buses and trains has drawn […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin’s legal costs to oust the South Terminal’s operator double to $3 million
Legal bills are piling up in the city’s fight to oust the company running the South Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. City Council voted Thursday to double ABIA’s legal services agreement with corporate law firm Winstead PC to more than $3 million. The move comes after the company with a 40-year lease to run the […]
Posted inTransit
Light-rail tunnel under downtown Austin might not happen after all
Some or all of Austin’s light-rail system could be at street level downtown instead of underground, which was the vision sold to voters when they authorized Project Connect in November 2020. The Austin Transit Partnership, a local government corporation created to build the Orange and Blue lines, is considering ways to cut costs as inflation eats into the budget for the multibillion-dollar system. […]
Posted inRoads
Double-decker highway coming to South Austin
Amid howls of protest and a legal challenge in federal court, the Texas Department of Transportation is plowing ahead with the first of three projects to widen Interstate 35 through Travis County. The I-35 Capital Express South project stretches from Ben White Boulevard south to State Highway 45 East. The signature feature will be two elevated […]
Posted inElections
How to get a free or cheap ride to go vote in the Austin area
You shouldn’t need a car to cast a ballot, but in a car-centric city like Austin, sometimes transportation is the biggest obstacle to voting. Lack of access to a car depresses turnout most among young voters and non-white voters, according to researchers at Harvard. So here are some free or discounted ways to get to a […]
Posted inTransit
Broken buses slow Capital Metro schedules
Capital Metro bus commuters, already coping with reduced schedules put in place last year, are this week facing further frustrations as they try to catch a bus. The regional transit agency says a shortage of bus parts is keeping a small percentage of vehicles off the road each day. But the number of sidelined vehicles […]
Posted inTransit
Here’s what Austin’s subway stations could look like
The most ambitious of Austin’s light-rail plans would burrow four miles of tunnel beneath downtown and South Austin to connect six subterranean stations and create the city’s first subway system. The subway would make up the centralized portion of the light-rail network. The other 20 stations would be above ground. Project Connect’s growing price tag – the […]
Posted inTransit
Why high gas prices aren’t hitting Capital Metro … yet
As gas prices hover near record highs, taking a big chomp out of many household budgets, the region’s public transit agency is sending hundreds of buses into the streets every day topped off with diesel costing less than $2 a gallon. Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority burns through some 4.5 million gallons of diesel per year […]