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Stories by Nathan Bernier, KUT
Light-rail tunnel under downtown Austin might not happen after all
Some or all of Austin’s light-rail system could be at street level downtown instead of underground, which was the vision sold to voters when they authorized Project Connect in November 2020. The Austin Transit Partnership, a local government corporation created to build the Orange and Blue…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Nov 17, 2022
Double-decker highway coming to South Austin
Amid howls of protest and a legal challenge in federal court, the Texas Department of Transportation is plowing ahead with the first of three projects to widen Interstate 35 through Travis County. The I-35 Capital Express South project stretches from Ben…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Nov 16, 2022
How to get a free or cheap ride to go vote in the Austin area
You shouldn’t need a car to cast a ballot, but in a car-centric city like Austin, sometimes transportation is the biggest obstacle to voting. Lack of access to a car depresses turnout most among young voters and non-white voters, according…
Elections • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Nov 8, 2022
Broken buses slow Capital Metro schedules
Capital Metro bus commuters, already coping with reduced schedules put in place last year, are this week facing further frustrations as they try to catch a bus. The regional transit agency says a shortage of bus parts is keeping a…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Nov 2, 2022
Featured Collection: Austin Energy 2022 rate case
Austin Energy ramps up outreach for proposed rate changes
Austin Energy has entered the public hearing phase of its base rate review process, following its proposal to raise service costs. The monthslong dialogue with stakeholders and city staff, slated for resolution by City Council in November, has surfaced predictable…
More Headlines for Austin Energy 2022 rate case
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…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jul 8, 2022
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…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jun 23, 2022
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Council votes to replace destroyed pedestrian bridge in Roy G. Guerrero Park
In a popular East Austin park, a sidewalk leads off a cliff down a steep, rocky bank. Across the ravine, the sidewalk continues as if it were daring people to make an impossible leap. A pedestrian bridge used to connect…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jun 16, 2022
TxDOT wants cops to crack down on speeders, but APD's traffic enforcement units are understaffed
With traffic crashes killing about 10 people a day across the state, the Texas Department of Transportation is launching its first-ever safety campaign focused on the leading cause of road deaths: speeding. The new campaign includes an increase in speed…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jun 3, 2022
Austin Police Department Budget, 2012-2022
During the 2020-21 budget process, City Council cut $31.5 million from APD’s budget, citing the protests and “community outcry against the disproportionate impact of police violence on Black Americans, Latinx Americans and other non-white ethnic communities,” according to the approved…
ABIA attempts 'unusual' use of eminent domain to force out South Terminal operator
Ask anyone stuck on an airplane waiting for a gate at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport if the Barbara Jordan Terminal is big enough, and you’ll hear something like this: “It’s mind-boggling to me that Bergstrom has not grown as it’s needed…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • May 23, 2022
Austin's airport now wants people to arrive three or more hours before departure
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is busier than ever. With more than 250 flights a day, the airport is drawing an unprecedented number of passengers. But airline counters, TSA screening lines and concession businesses don’t have enough employees. The result has been notoriously…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • May 19, 2022
TSA lines are out the door again at Austin's airport
The lines for security screenings spilled out of the Barbara Jordan Terminal and onto the sidewalk Saturday morning at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The wait was so long that some people who showed up well in advance missed their flights. “It…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • May 17, 2022
TSA wait times are improving at Austin's airport, but it's about to get a lot busier
The wait to get through TSA security at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has improved in recent weeks, airport officials say. Lines are no longer stretching through the terminal and out onto the sidewalk as they were in March, when AUS Executive…
