Tag Archives: Capital Metro
Thursday, July 13, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Transportation
TxDOT pressures Capital Metro to act fast on I-35 transit
Time is running out for the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority to decide whether it will commit millions toward a vision that could bring dedicated transit infrastructure to I-35. At a board of directors work session on Tuesday, Vice President of…
Monday, July 10, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Transportation
Capital Metro could get into the ‘smart city’ game
Austin’s transit agency is working toward a pilot project that would use wireless technology to complement its bus service and bolster multimodal options in downtown. Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chief Information Officer Joe Iannello confirmed to the Austin Monitor recently…
Thursday, June 29, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Development
Updated: Plaza Saltillo development finally breaks ground
A giant empty field east of downtown Austin has at long last commenced its transformation into hundreds of apartments and thousands of square feet of office, retail and restaurant space. On Tuesday, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority President and CEO Linda…
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Project Connect advances despite lingering concerns over key details
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors on Monday gave its blessing to the handful of staff-curated corridors that will be studied for potential high-capacity transit investments. The 6-0 vote, with Council Member Delia Garza and fellow Board Member…
Friday, June 23, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Travis County looks to get into the transit game
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority could soon expand its transit operations into unincorporated parts of the county thanks to a vote at the Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday. The court’s unanimous decision to begin crafting a transit development plan…
Tuesday, May 30, 2017 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Conspiracies
Think before you speak… As we reported, last week’s final meeting of the Visitor Impact Task Force was a marathon affair. After nearly six months of meetings, the group kicked off the final round of bargaining over the details of…
Wednesday, May 24, 2017 by Chad Swiatecki
Transportation
Updated: City dives into corridor studies with southern region sessions
Austin’s Transportation Department is moving ahead with efforts to determine what should be done with the $482 million in corridor improvements voters approved last fall as part of the $720 million mobility bond. Thus far the department has completed six…
Monday, May 15, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Project Connect goes citywide
Three years after a proposal to lay 9.5 miles of light rail across a sliver of Austin went down in flames, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority planners are broadening their horizons. On Friday, the agency’s board of directors heard the preliminary results…
Monday, May 15, 2017 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Not our jam
Bit of turbulence during that pilot program… An attempt by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to make “data driven decisions” went slightly off the rails at Tuesday’s City Council work session, where Council members learned that a “parks pass”…
Tuesday, May 9, 2017 by Jack Craver
Transit
Council approves ‘Smart Trips’ transit outreach
City Council voted Thursday to approve a contract with a Portland-based company to operate the “Smart Trips” program, which aims to get more people in the urban core to opt for public transit, bikes and walking over driving. Before voting…
Friday, May 5, 2017 by Jack Craver
Transit
Downtown change: new rail station, more two-way traffic
In two votes Thursday, City Council approved funding to help the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority build a new downtown rail station and public plaza to serve the Red Line and gave the OK to turn East Fifth Street into a…
Tuesday, April 25, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Small change brings big boost to MetroRapid
MetroRapid’s popularity has taken off after a small but significant tweak the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority made in January. So far in 2017, both lines of the limited-stop service have together seen a 26-percent increase in ridership compared to the…
Friday, April 21, 2017 by Jack Craver
Transportation
Council approves Smart Trips program
City Council on Thursday approved the second iteration of Smart Trips, an education and outreach program aimed at getting people in Central Austin out of their cars and onto sidewalks, bikes and buses. The first iteration took place between April…
Friday, March 24, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
New MetroRail trains roll into Austin
With the arrival of tens of millions of dollars’ worth of new equipment, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is approximately half a year away from beefing up its tenth most popular route. On Thursday, workers at the agency’s North Operations…
Tuesday, March 21, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Texas State Legislature
Workman’s bill could help Lake Travis town ditch Capital Metro
Leaders of one of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s original members are hoping a state lawmaker can help them in their quest to quit the transit agency. Earlier this month, state Rep. Paul Workman filed House Bill 2627, which is…
Monday, March 20, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Transportation
Capital Metro demos robot bus
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority showed off a robot minibus last week that could be the future of linking low-density areas to the agency’s mass transit network. Along with RATP Dev, the parent company of Capital Metro contractor McDonald Transit…
Monday, March 20, 2017 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Gondolas! Open Letters!
High time… Perhaps in accordance with the leisurely speed at which its subject is known for, a long-awaited report on aerial gondolas is taking its sweet time in being made public. The high-flying transit alternative captured headlines last September when…
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Transit
Capital Metro touts partnership that keeps vulnerable residents moving
A nonprofit effort to expand transportation equity in Austin is celebrating a milestone while also dropping six figures to expand its scope. Last week, the Transit Empowerment Fund announced it has provided its 3,000,000th bus ride via its partnership with…
