The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors met Monday to discuss several important updates to the Austin Transit Partnership (whose board convened last Wednesday), including a multimillion-dollar service contract with the consultancy Ernst and Young. Board Member Eric Stratton delivered administrative and technical program updates to the board, including information on ongoing hiring processes. […]
Transit
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Cap Metro tries to keep Leander in transit system by offering infrastructure funding
In an attempt to keep Leander from holding an election on whether to cut ties with Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the regional transit agency’s board of directors voted unanimously Monday to sweeten its deal with the suburban community. Under the new proposal, Leander would get access to almost $2 million in infrastructure funding this year and […]
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Capital Metro updates city on federally funded transit study
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority shared how it plans to spend the first $900,000 in federal money granted to Project Connect this past Thursday in a briefing with the city’s Environmental Commission. The grant, awarded through the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Program, will fund a pilot study in an equity-based approach to transit-oriented development (ETOD) […]
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Leander City Council will decide tonight whether to hold an election on leaving Capital Metro
The Leander City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on whether to hold an election on severing ties with Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority – a move that could end commuter rail service to the suburban community and allow Leander to keep millions of dollars each year in sales tax revenue. The looming decision has prompted […]
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Cap Metro should have stopped bus service sooner during winter storm, unreleased after-action report says
During last February’s deadly winter storm, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers sheltered shivering Austinites and drove dialysis patients along treacherous roads to lifesaving treatments. But the agency had unrealistic expectations of how long it could operate in the worsening conditions, frustrating passengers and leaving buses abandoned on frozen streets. Those are some of the details […]
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Austin continues to explore bus access on the future Lady Bird Bridge
Austin’s Urban Transportation Commission, which advises city departments on transportation-related matters, met last week and continued discussions around the possibility of expanding the modes of transportation accessible on the future Lady Bird Bridge. The topic was also discussed at an Austin Transit Partnership public design workshop, and the city will continue the discussions into the […]
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Should buses be allowed on a new light-rail bridge over Lady Bird Lake?
Local officials overseeing Austin’s $7 billion expansion of public transit plan to launch an international competition to solicit designs for a light-rail bridge over Lady Bird Lake. Among the many questions swirling around the look and purpose of the structure, one has emerged as perhaps the most contentious: Should Capital Metro buses be allowed to […]
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Project Connect agreement sees third and final approval
On Nov. 17, the Austin Transit Partnership board approved the Joint Powers Agreement, which was created to delineate the roles of each of the agencies involved in administering the multibillion-dollar transit project, Project Connect. ATP was the last of the three governing bodies – besides Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the city – to pass […]
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Cap Metro to create 1,000 jobs over coming decade
On Monday, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors discussed its workforce retention plan, building on the discussion of labor shortages across the country, as well as the announcement last week that Capital Metro bus driver starting wages will increase to $22 per hour starting Jan. 1. The wage increases, in part made possible […]
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Project Connect update shows early work on schedule for construction
With City Council having recently approved the joint powers agreement that affirms the roles of the city, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Austin Transit Partnership in Project Connect’s completion, last week’s Mobility Committee meeting was focused mostly on updates on the many facets of the $7.1 billion project. Sam Sargent, director of strategy for […]
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Two down, one to go: Cap Metro passes joint powers agreement
At the Nov. 10 meeting of the Capital Metro Board of Directors, members emerged from a closed-door executive session to pass the joint powers agreement. The purpose of the joint agreement between the city, Capital Metro and the Austin-Transit Partnership is to delineate the roles and responsibilities of each of the three governing bodies to […]
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Capital Metro drivers and mechanics to vote this week on pay boost
The $1 trillion infrastructure bill being signed into law by President Biden has thrown a lifeline to Austin-area transit operator Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has struggled for months to recruit enough bus operators to maintain service. This week, the 1,220 workers who operate Capital Metro’s bus service and maintain its fleet of vehicles will […]