Tag Archives: Capital Metro
Thursday, June 21, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Capital Metro sets its sights on the sun
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority this summer is waging a two-front offensive on one of the most dreaded enemies of Austin bus riders: the Texas sun.The agency recently rolled out a pair of demonstration projects aimed at dulling the sun’s…
Monday, June 18, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Throwing side eye, catching rides
Side eye, or stink eye?… What exactly is the name given to the withering glances occasionally dished out by City Council Member Ora Houston toward her colleagues on the dais? Council Member Leslie Pool learned directly on Thursday during discussion…
Monday, June 11, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Cap Remap launch a success, despite a few wrinkles
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Randy Clarke is hailing the rollout of the agency’s most significant bus network overhaul ever as a qualified success.In a statement sent out on Friday, Clarke hailed agency staff for what he said was 18…
Friday, June 8, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Local group launches effort to enhance statewide transit funding
The launch of a grass-roots campaign to expand transit funding across Texas kicked off in Austin Wednesday night with input from regional officials and activists, and, from the audience, some impromptu criticism of the local bus service.Dubbed One Thousand Texans…
Monday, June 4, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Don’t speak
Once more, away from the breach… For decades, those who work with digital data have learned to encrypt it in defense against potential breaches. Unfortunately, according to Khalil Shalabi, Austin Energy vice president of strategy, technology and markets, data protection…
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Commissioners Court goes for Green Line
The Travis County Commissioners Court gave the green light last week to advance a study of a potential commuter rail line extending from downtown Austin out to Manor and possibly Elgin.The court voted 3-2 to approve the financial consulting firm…
Thursday, May 24, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Anxieties abound on the eve of Cap Remap
In its final meeting before a historic overhaul of Austin’s bus network, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors heard another blast of concerns from riders and stakeholders over potential service disruptions.A handful of speakers complained about the loss…
Tuesday, May 15, 2018 by Syeda Hasan
Transit
Cap Metro launches outreach campaign ahead of its June 3 redesign
In just over two weeks, more than half of all the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s bus routes will be altered – and some will be eliminated altogether – when the transit agency rolls out its Cap Remap plan. Ahead of…
Friday, May 11, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Capital Metro: Perhaps a stopgap plan for fill-in-the-gap stops
Reversing course, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is now planning to use temporary signs and posts for at least some of the agency’s long-awaited new MetroRapid stops.Since announcing in 2016 the eight pairs of stops intended to fill in key…
Tuesday, April 24, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Capital Metro votes on paratransit provider contracts
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors voted Monday afternoon to put the agency’s paratransit operations in the hands of a single contractor.The pair of votes to authorize agency CEO and President Randy Clarke to negotiate agreements with Ride…
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Project Connect’s big hopes hinge on small investment
Project Connect’s path to an estimated $8 billion worth of high-capacity transit investments could be washed out if City Council and Austin voters don’t greenlight a $15 million installment this year, according to the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s director of…
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Green Line creeps forward at Commissioners Court
The Travis County Commissioners Court voted in a split decision on Tuesday to initiate a study of potential financing options for the proposed commuter rail line between Austin and Manor known as the Green Line.The move marks a small victory…
Monday, April 2, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transportation
CAMPO offers the region a TIP
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is taking a draft proposal for more than $400 million worth of transportation projects out for public feedback.CAMPO assembled this latest iteration of the four-year Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP, from a list of…
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Project Connect’s new system map remains mode agnostic
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday officially debuted Project Connect’s latest draft system map, a plan that charts a regional network of potential high-capacity transit investments.A series of multicolored lines trace major corridors, both established and developing, that converge…
Tuesday, March 13, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
UTC boosts bus lanes on the Drag
The Urban Transportation Commission last Wednesday boosted a grassroots call on City Council to spend part of 2016’s $720 million mobility bond package on dedicated bus lanes along the congested stretch of Guadalupe Street known as the Drag.The UTC voted…
Monday, March 12, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Grin and bear it
Putting himself out there… Randy Clarke spent his second full day as the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s CEO personally apologizing to riders. Clarke and top agency brass posted up at the downtown rail station just before rush hour on Thursday…
Tuesday, March 6, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
AURA to Capital Metro: Seek new shelters
Even as it overhauls its downtown train station, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is sticking with the same design for its MetroRapid shelters, to the chagrin of one advocacy group.Last Thursday, AURA – formerly Austinites for Urban Rail Action before…
Monday, March 5, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Shorter headways create mild headaches for Capital Metro
Ever since the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority began operating its two MetroRapid routes at 10-minute intervals during daytime hours, the agency has seen an uptick in an unwelcome phenomenon of buses of the same line running back to back.The bunching,…
Tuesday, February 27, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Capital Metro board hits pause on MetroAccess contract proposal
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors on Monday sent back to its committees a staff proposal to readjust a paratransit provider’s contract to the tune of $25.7 million.Chad Ballentine, the agency’s vice president of demand response and innovative…
Wednesday, February 14, 2018 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Project Connect draft plan makes premature debut
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube after a draft version of its proposed Project Connect system plan found its way online Monday evening.The plan, which features an ambitious combination of light…
