New MetroRapid stops in the works

The Capital Metro Transportation Authority’s two premium MetroRapid routes could be getting new stops. The board of directors approved on Monday $10,152,270 to purchase 15 new MetroRapid buses. Those vehicles would help increase the service’s frequencies even with the addition of eight new stops. Two of those stops – one on Burnet Road near Rundberg Lane and another on South Lamar Boulevard near the Broken Spoke – would be exclusively for the 803. Meanwhile, the 801 could see new stops at Parmer Lane, Payton Gin Road, North Loop Boulevard, St. Elmo Road and Slaughter Lane. Due to their overlapping routes, both the 801 and 803 could also begin stopping at Guadalupe Street and West 31st Street. A Capital Metro spokesperson told the Austin Monitor that the new stops won’t be installed until spring 2018. On Twitter, Todd Hemingson, Capital Metro’s vice president of strategic planning and development, noted that the stops are “subject to ’17 budget approval and City of Austin coordination.”