CapMetro is gearing up for a bustling spring in 2025, as it prepares to debut two new rapid bus lines in Austin. These additions are part of the larger Project Connect mass transit enhancement program. The Pleasant Valley line will connect communities from Goodnight Ranch to Barbara Jordan, incorporating various hubs such as the Mueller neighborhood and the Austin Lighthouse for the Blind, according to KXAN. Meanwhile, the Expo Centerline will span from Republic Square downtown to the Travis County Expo Center, linking along its path crucial educational and employment centers.
Despite the initial plans of employing diesel vehicles for the routes, the goal is to transition to a fully zero-emission fleet. As part of its environmental commitment, Capital Metro managed to secure nearly 200 electric buses last year, underpinning Austin's aim for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Remarkably, KVUE reports that a significant portion of the funding for these transit ventures, a sum of over $65 million, comes courtesy of federal grants.
To enhance the commuter experience, CapMetro also plans to implement pre-boarding fare payment and traffic signal priority. Improved station amenities are expected to align with the needs of a growing city populace. These updates have been made possible through the aid of a substantial $65 million Small Starts grant from the Federal Transit Administration, facilitating not just the building of stations but also the procurement of necessary vehicles. "We also knew that to be able to add these services, we needed to add vehicles to our system," CapMetro's president and CEO Dottie Watkins told KXAN. "And all of that stuff costs a lot of money, and so getting over that initial hump is often the hardest part to launching big, new services like this, and it’s why the support of the Federal Transit Administration has been so critical to us."
To ensure smooth service from the get-go, there will be a testing phase to iron out any scheduling kinks. "We’ll be operating the routes, we’ll be checking the schedules, we’ll be making sure that it all works in real life the way we thought it would work on paper," Watkins elucidated. These routes are slated to run at 20-minute intervals most of the day, segueing into 30-minute frequencies during the later evening hours, as per KXAN.
