Project Connect’s path to an estimated $8 billion worth of high-capacity transit investments could be washed out if City Council and Austin voters don’t greenlight a $15 million installment this year, according to the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s director of long range planning. Javier Arguello told the Urban Transportation Commission on Monday night that the […]
Transit
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Green Line creeps forward at Commissioners Court
The Travis County Commissioners Court voted in a split decision on Tuesday to initiate a study of potential financing options for the proposed commuter rail line between Austin and Manor known as the Green Line. The move marks a small victory for the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority whose Project Connect initiative includes the Green Line […]
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Project Connect’s new system map remains mode agnostic
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday officially debuted Project Connect’s latest draft system map, a plan that charts a regional network of potential high-capacity transit investments. A series of multicolored lines trace major corridors, both established and developing, that converge on downtown from a variety of locations on the outskirts of the city. “This […]
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UTC boosts bus lanes on the Drag
The Urban Transportation Commission last Wednesday boosted a grassroots call on City Council to spend part of 2016’s $720 million mobility bond package on dedicated bus lanes along the congested stretch of Guadalupe Street known as the Drag. The UTC voted 6-0 to recommend that Council include in the final Corridor Construction Program “dedicated right-of-way […]
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AURA to Capital Metro: Seek new shelters
Even as it overhauls its downtown train station, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is sticking with the same design for its MetroRapid shelters, to the chagrin of one advocacy group. Last Thursday, AURA – formerly Austinites for Urban Rail Action before the group expanded its scope – published a blog post reiterating its standing call […]
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Shorter headways create mild headaches for Capital Metro
Ever since the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority began operating its two MetroRapid routes at 10-minute intervals during daytime hours, the agency has seen an uptick in an unwelcome phenomenon of buses of the same line running back to back. The bunching, which has been reported on social media, had made it onto the radar of […]
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Capital Metro board hits pause on MetroAccess contract proposal
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors on Monday sent back to its committees a staff proposal to readjust a paratransit provider’s contract to the tune of $25.7 million. Chad Ballentine, the agency’s vice president of demand response and innovative mobility, presented to the board the proposal that would extend Capital Metro’s agreement with […]
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Project Connect draft plan makes premature debut
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube after a draft version of its proposed Project Connect system plan found its way online Monday evening. The plan, which features an ambitious combination of light rail, bus rapid transit, regional commuter rail, and possibly even a downtown streetcar, was […]
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Capital Metro officially anoints new executive head
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s next CEO and president, Randy Clarke, will take the transit agency’s reins on March 7. On Monday, Capital Metro’s board of directors unanimously approved the terms of Clarke’s five-year contract, a document Clarke was on hand to personally sign. “What really intrigues me about this position is Austin itself. This […]
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CTRMA board finalists talk up transit during Travis County interviews
The Travis County Commissioners Court will decide on Tuesday which two of six candidates it will appoint to the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s board of directors. The court interviewed the applicants during a special session on Thursday. Of the six, two are current incumbents. David Armbrust has held his seat since 2012, while Charles […]
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Experience put Capital Metro CEO finalist over the top
The chair of the board at the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority said experience was the deciding factor when it came to selecting a lone finalist to take the executive reins. On Friday, after the board voted 7-0-1 to tap Randy Clarke to replace former CEO and President Linda Watson, Chair Wade Cooper said Clarke’s background […]
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Capital Metro CEO finalists face the public
The auditions are over and now it’s time for the judges to determine who gets to be Austin’s next top transit executive. The final four candidates in the running for the open president/CEO job at the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority faced three separate rounds of interviews on Monday in front of the board of directors, […]