The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors learned more this week about the potential fallout of both Lago Vista and Manor ending their partnerships and leaving the Capital Metro service area. In August, both suburbs decided to hold elections to ask voters whether to continue or end partnerships with Capital Metro. Lago Vista is […]
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Two more Texas towns are considering leaving Capital Metro
Two more Austin suburbs – Lago Vista and Manor – have decided to hold an election this November to determine whether to pull out of their partnerships with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. These elections follow Leander’s vote in May, where residents ultimately decided to stay with the transit organization. “Council, we have had several […]
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Real estate, transit leaders see potential for change in Project Connect plans
As planning and early design work on the Project Connect mass transit plan moves forward, with cost increases mounting due to inflation and scope expansion, a Dallas developer told Austin real estate leaders recently that the city has an opportunity to remake transportation policy and serve as a model for other U.S. cities. At the […]
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Advocates continue the fight for free transportation for Austin’s unhoused
The start of Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s monthly board of directors meeting yesterday had a different feel than usual. Typically, a few speakers may approach the podium to speak in support of or against an item on the agenda. Yesterday, however, advocates and members of Austin’s unhoused community packed the Rosa Parks Boardroom to implore Capital Metro to […]
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Cap Metro struggles to recruit and retain more bus operators
Late last year, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority raised the starting hourly wage for bus drivers to $22/hour and kicked in a $5,000 signing bonus for qualified candidates with a commercial driver’s license. But despite these perks, the transit organization is having trouble hiring enough bus drivers to fill all available positions. “Generally, we’re gaining about […]
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Cap Metro expands free rides to cooling centers. Advocates for homeless Austinites push for more.
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Tuesday it will give free rides to cooling centers on days when a heat advisory is in effect – that is usually when the temperature hits 103 degrees or higher. Previously, the transit agency offered free rides on days when the temperature was expected to be 105. Advocates for people […]
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Advocates call for free Cap Metro fares for Austin’s unhoused
On Monday, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors unanimously approved the implementation of a new system that caps the amount riders pay for fares. Another part of the system provides reduced fares for people with lower incomes, called Equifare. But before they voted, some Austinites voiced their concerns saying the reduced fares do not go far […]
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Capital Metro hosts groundbreaking ceremony for its new station outside of Austin FC stadium
On Monday evening, following a compelling rendition by the Austin FC marching band of Camila Cabello’s “Havana” (singing “McKalla, ah la-la” instead of “Havana, ooh na-na”) state and local officials and Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff participated in a groundbreaking ceremony in front of what will be the new McKalla Station, located on the east […]
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Capital Metro budget talk raises concerns of a looming recession
A potential recession has many industries feeling wary going into the 2023 financial year, which begins on Oct. 1. At its finance committee meeting Wednesday, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority executives discussed the agency’s budget for the upcoming financial year and concerns they have about a recession affecting sales tax revenue, which funds 69 percent of […]
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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 […]
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Capital Metro announces leader of transit police force
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors has approved Eric Robins, the former chief of police of Sugar Land, Texas, to become the new chief administrator of the Capital Metro transit police. Robins will serve as chief administrator starting Aug. 1, until the nascent transit police department is certified by the Texas Commission on […]
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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 […]