Austin transit agency looking toward 2020

City expects 50% growth

Steve Hawley, Feb 19, 10.

Capital Metro, the Austin transit agency, is considering ways to improve its service through 2020, according to the Austin Chronicle.

The board will consider the Service Plan 2020, a 370-page document detailing ways to improve service and accommodate population growth. According to estimates, Austin’s population will grow by 50 percent in the next decade.

The major recommendations include:

• Implement a network of frequent bus routes, including bus rapid transit.

• Move most through routes in Downtown from Congress Avenue to the Guadalupe/Lavaca corridor.

• Add commuter service to Manor, South I-35, South MoPac, and Highway 71 corridors.

• Add “flexible” (not fixed-route) service to Tarrytown, East Austin, and Northwest Austin.

• Eliminate or consolidate underperforming or redundant routes, including replacing some UT shuttles with regular fixed-route service.

• New capital projects, including upgrading Downtown bus stops, building new regional park-and-rides, and a Downtown Transit Center.

Commuter rail service from downtown Austin to Leander is expected to begin service in March, and the city is expected to implement bus rapid transit service in 2013

Capital Metro Service Plan 2020

(Photo credit: sahmeditor)