CONNECTIONS 2025: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The plan is designed to address growth and development over the past five years as well as declining ridership through an in-depth review of the transit system. We will assess existing/projected conditions while developing short (1 – 5 year) and longer (5 – 10 year) range recommendations to create a more efficient, effective transit system with a clear direction for future development.
Although those changes grew out of the plan, Connections 2025 was just a planning document. The June 2018 bus network redesign puts those ideas into action.
We’ll continue working with the community throughout each implementation phase. Each implementation phase will require a subsequent public hearing process to sufficiently notify the community of upcoming service changes and consider feedback. We will also assess Title VI impacts of the proposed service changes and submit them to the Capital Metro board for review and approval.
• Improve transit design and operation to increase ridership
• Build advocacy and ownership within the community
• Define transit’s role in regional mobility and economic development
Other successes from Service Plan 2020: eliminated poor performing routes (cost neutral), moved off Congress to Guadalupe/Lavaca, and extended/realigned routes.
While we focus our attention on our bus network in Connections 2025, Capital Metro is also starting another project called, Project Connect. Connections 2025 is one of the ways we’re improving mobility in Central Texas; other studies such as Project Connect will help Capital Metro build upon the existing network and establish a long-term vision for high-capacity transit in the region.
In response to feedback from thousands of people around Central Texas, Capital Metro’s updated network will take a frequency-first approach, tripling the number of bus routes running every 15 minutes or better. The agency follows industry peers TriMet in Portland, Sound Transit in Seattle, Denver Metro and Houston Metro by investing in key corridors to build core frequent service and ridership, while reducing waiting times.
Capital Metro’s new plan is designed to improve the rider experience – creating a 24/7 transit system that will see expanded MetroExpress and MetroRapid service, and more east-west options.
FEATURES OF THE NEW NETWORK:
- 2 fare types (Local and Commuter)
- 4 MetroRapid routes (running every 7-15 minutes
- 13 Frequent Local routes (running every 15 minutes)
- 23 Local routes (running every 30 minutes)
- 4 downtown circulator routes
- 6 UT Shuttles
- 8 Express routes
• Austin ranks as the fourth-most congested metro area in North America according to the INRIX Traffic Scorecard – Average time wasted in traffic annually over 40 hours (up 3 hours from 2012).
• The five-county region of Central Texas is growing by 110 people a day.
• 147,000 people commute into Austin on a daily basis, adding 19.2% to the city’s daytime population.
• The region’s population is forecasted to increase 123%, with employment increasing 135% by 2035.
• Population growth
• Declining ridership
• Growth and development
• Increasing roadway congestion
• Increasing focus on the environment
• Improving the customer experience
Central Texas is experiencing explosive growth (over 50% increase in greater Austin’s population since 2000), with more residents and jobs arriving each day. Getting from Point A to Point B is challenging with congested roadways and unpredictable travel times. Our region is projected to grow 30% over the next 10 years.
Despite population growth, Capital Metro’s ridership has declined over the past few years. Capital Metro takes this very seriously and want to know WHY that’s happening. Although certain factors like low gas prices contribute to our declining ridership, we believe reviewing our entire system will give us a fuller understanding of all of the reasons for the decline, and allow us to create a system that will better serve our existing and future customers.