For the first time ever, Travis County is putting together a long-range transportation plan. The county’s Transportation and Natural Resources division is hosting an online survey on its website as part of the first round of public engagement for the process. There will be two public meetings later this month. TNR’s Scheleen Walker told the […]
Capital Metro
The city’s urban transportation system.
Posted inTransit
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 […]
Posted inTransit
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 […]
Posted inTransit
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 […]
Posted inTransportation
Capacity, regional cooperation take center stage at transportation forum
Standing beside four other representatives from local and regional governments on Tuesday, Mike Heiligenstein of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority declared that Central Texas has to build its way out of congestion. “We cannot solve our problem without adding capacity in every sector of the region. Not just Austin, but the entire region,” Heiligenstein […]
Posted inRoads
Proposal to kick cars off downtown street yields a surprise
A proposal to move cars off of two downtown blocks would have a surprising benefit to late-night congestion, according to the Austin Transportation Department. Transportation Department staff told the City Council Mobility Committee on Wednesday that accommodating the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Downtown Station expansion by shuffling operations on East Fourth and East Fifth streets […]
Posted inTransit
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 […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Butterflies but not rainbows
Hersh the homeowner… Pay enough attention to local politics, and you’ll eventually notice a collection of commonly repeated phrases and cliches: “There are many tools in the toolbox,” “We can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” “That passes on a 10-1 vote, Council Member Zimmerman opposed” and so forth. Last week, however, […]
Posted inTransit
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 […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Cash rules everything around us
In for a penny… This week, City Council will OK the city’s budget. So, it’s understandable that the conversation last week was dominated by budget discussions – particularly given the $1.6 million or so that City Council is left looking for this week, and the many programs still left to fund. Although it took no […]
Posted inTransit
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 […]
Posted inTransit
Capital Metro embraces frequency as its future
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled on Tuesday a proposed major overhaul of its entire transit system, and the watchword is “frequency.” The Connections 2025 service plan will be the guiding document for operations at the agency for the next 10 years and beyond. The draft proposal outlined on Tuesday indicated several drastic changes, including […]