Program broadens access to public transit

The Transit Empowerment Fund – which works to expand transportation access to people who are low-income and dependent on public transit – announced Tuesday that it has hit a major benchmark. Since the program began in 2012, it has enabled more than 2 million boardings on Capital Metro transit services. The program, which is a partnership between Capital Metro, the Austin Community Foundation and One Voice Central Texas, provides passes for Capital Metro transit services to more than 33 area nonprofit social service agencies, which then distribute the passes to those who need them. More than 1,000 people rely on the fund in any given month, according to an announcement about the program, which adds, “Often, the lack of affordable and reliable transportation is all that stands in the way of receiving medical care for a chronic condition, getting a GED or finding work.”