Uber does not have hard feelings about Prop 1. In a forum hosted by the Austin Monitor, Glasshouse Policy and KUT on the patio of the Ginger Man bar downtown, a representative of the ride-hailing giant expressed regret about the tenor of the multimillion-dollar campaign waged by the company earlier this year. The campaign attempted […]
Transit
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Connections 2025 experiencing a month delay due to rider concerns
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is moving a little less rapidly toward the adoption of Connections 2025, thanks in part to public outcry about some of its proposed service changes. The agency is banking that the long-range service plan and its emphasis on frequent service will reverse sliding ridership, which the agency’s board of directors […]
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In Connections 2025 briefing, Council detours
City Council’s first briefing on the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s proposed long-term service plan turned into a discussion on affordable housing, sprawl and park-and-rides this week. “As we all know, transportation is a system,” Council Member Ann Kitchen said as she introduced the transit agency’s vice president of strategic planning and development, Todd Hemingson, to […]
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Capital Metro’s ghost stations haunt city sidewalks
Before you ride the bus this Halloween, be sure that you’re not waiting at a ghost station. Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority data reveals scores of inactive stops throughout Austin, relics of routes either altered or no longer part of this mortal plane. A handful – approximately 20, according to one agency planner – still feature […]
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Opting for parity, Cap Metro kills premium fare
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors voted on Monday to eliminate the agency’s maligned premium fare tier. The vote was unanimous, at 7-0, with Board Member Juli Word absent. Starting in January, a single ride on MetroRapid buses and the limited-stop flyer routes will drop from $1.75 to $1.25, the same fare riders […]
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CAMPO kills Lone Star Rail, commits to finding alternative
The kill-shot came abruptly and mercifully for the Lone Star Rail District (also known as LSTAR) on Monday night. After months of procedural dickering, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Policy Board spent less than 10 minutes discussing the matter before voting to remove from its long-range planning document the proposed passenger rail service […]
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CAMPO meeting spells terminal trouble ahead for Lone Star Rail
The long-suffering effort to install passenger rail service between Austin and San Antonio could effectively be put to rest on Monday evening. The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization board of directors will likely vote to remove the Lone Star Rail District from its long-range plan, known as CAMPO 2040. The vote promises to be the […]
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Planning Commissioners raise concerns about proposed bus routes
Members of the Planning Commission raised concerns at a meeting last week in response to a presentation on the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s planned overhaul of bus routes. The ambitious 10-year plan, Connections 2025, aims to create a bus system that delivers more frequent service to more areas of the city, allowing more Austinites to […]
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CTRMA board gives the go-ahead to gondola study
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is leaving the future of mass transit to hang. On Wednesday, the CTRMA board of directors approved without any dissent a small stipend to study the feasibility of a proposed gondola system in South Austin. “We’re not a pavement company; we’re a mobility company,” said Chair Ray Wilkerson of […]
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Capital Metro’s budget grows as ridership shrinks
With the beginning of the next fiscal year just around the corner, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff are putting the finishing touches on the agency’s proposed $428 million budget. On Monday, the board of directors will likely vote on the draft plan, which is more than $70 million larger than last year’s budget despite a […]
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Cap Metro seeks input on plan that rewrites late-night and shuttle service
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is probing the public one last time before putting the final touches on a system-wide overhaul. That overhaul promises to increase frequent transit but also reduce late-night routes and University of Texas shuttle service. The agency has already conducted four open houses across Austin to show off the draft details […]
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Turning from toll roads, CTRMA eyes gondolas
A high-flying idea to provide an alternative to driving through Austin could soon get off the ground. Sort of. On Wednesday morning, members of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority board of directors gushed over a proposal to install an aerial tramway that would ferry riders from the University of Texas campus through downtown and […]