Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority

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A Capital Metro bus painted in University of Texas at Austin colors.

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Capital Metro, provides public transportation to the city of Austin, Texas, primarily by bus. In addition to serving Austin, Capital Metro also serves several suburbs in Travis and Williamson Counties.

1 About the System
2 Member Jurisdictions (Past and Present)
3 Fares
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] About the System

Capital Metro was approved in 1985 by the citizens of Austin with a one-cent sales tax. In 1986, the system was launched, taking over the existing city of Austin bus services. In addition to adding and expanding bus service, over the years Capital Metro ran downtown trolley bus service called the 'Dillo (named after the armadillo, widely popular among downtown workers, visitors and party-goers alike. In response to the new ADA compliance rules passed in 1990, the system eventually became the first bus transit agency to have 100% of its bus fleet equipped with wheelchair ramps. In 1993, it took over shuttle bus service for the University of Texas campus and expanded it to run to nearby apartment complexes off-campus that cater to UT Students.

In 2004, Capital Metro added a trip planner to its web site. Riders enter their intended origin and destination, along with optional time, date, and other information, and the trip planner displays itineraries showing the stops, departure and arrival times, and times to get from the origin to the destination.

From the beginning, Capital Metro had studied Light Rail Transit for years. However, when it was put on the ballot in 2000, a 52-mile LRT system was turned down 50/50 due to perceptions on that it may cost too much money to build LRT while not doing much. So instead, a commuter rail plan, under the authority of Capital Metro, is underway and scheduled for completion in 2008. The system — which will be built on pre-existing freight rail lines — will run from Leander through northwest Austin and east Austin before terminating at a station on the extreme southeastern edge of downtown Austin, at the location of the Austin Convention Center, and will be called Capital MetroRail. In September 2005 Stadler Rail won a bid to build six diesel-electric rail cars for the system.^[1] Apart of the "All Systems Go" project, Capital Metro plans to expand existing bus service and bring Bus Rapid Transit to the city (called Capital MetroRapid) in late 2007 or early 2008.