“One of the most common requests we hear from the community at Capital Metro is to run MetroRail on evenings and weekends,” said Capital Metro President and CEO Linda S. Watson. “This agreement with the city allows us to deliver what the community has asked. MetroRail is a tremendous community asset, and by providing evening weekend service, a greater number of people will be able to use the system.”

Capital Metro had already budgeted to provide special event rail service during SXSW. You can ride MetroRail late on Friday, March 9 and 16, until midnight, and on Saturday, March 10 and 17, from 10:30 a.m. until midnight. Then the following weekend, Friday, March 23, *regular* weekend service supported by the city of Austin through the ILA will begin. Exciting!

Austin City Councilmember and Capital Metro Board Chair Mike Martinez said, “This ILA is a great win for the city and Capital Metro, but more importantly, Austin, Texas. As Capital Metro has added service we’ve seen increased ridership due to more transit options, and this agreement continues that momentum. People who work and visit downtown and along the Red Line route will be able to take commuter rail and enjoy even more of what Austin has to offer during the weekends.”

Under the multi-year agreement, the city of Austin will contribute a not to exceed amount of approximately $5.7 million over 34 months to assist with service within the city of Austin. Capital Metro will be responsible for costs associated with rail service outside the city limits. The city’s financial commitment to weekend rail service comes as a result of an existing ILA with Capital Metro in which the transit agency directs a quarter cent of its one-cent sales tax collection to the city for transportation projects in our community. The city has determined that funding a portion of this new rail service meets the criteria.

MetroRail ridership has nearly tripled since service began and is currently averaging 35,000 trips per month with standing-room only during morning and afternoon rush hours. The service also boasts a 99 percent on-time performance record. 

I am imagining all sorts of fun excursions I might like to do once the extended hours begin. What are your plans?

Amid the backdrop of the storied Manor water tower (of Leonardo DiCaprio fame in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape), the new park & ride provides parking for 68 cars and 4 bicycles and includes two pedestrian shelters for the #990.

As an appreciation to our customers, we’ll be at the new facility starting bright and early on the 15th from 5:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. to greet passengers and hand out light refreshments and other goodies.

COMTO creates professional and educational opportunities for minorities working in the transportation industry and promotes careers in the field.  The Austin chapter provides between $2,000 and $3,000 in scholarships each year to support its members.

Dinita will serve a two-year term and joins President Blanca Juarez (UT Parking and Transportation), Treasurer Cris Lopez (Veolia Transportation) and Secretary Alta Alexander (TxDOT) on the executive board.

Portrait by Diego Huerta for 31K Portraits for Peace exhibition.

Something special is coming to Austin beginning next Friday: 31K retratos por la paz/portraits for peace, a powerful exhibit featuring the photography of Diego Huerta that opens Jan. 27 at the Mexic-Arte Museum.

The 31K project chronicles the hope for peace that still remains in Mexico despite the ongoing drug wars that have killed 31,000 people. From the Mexic-Arte website:

Diego Huerta and project partner Daniela Gutiérrez have travelled throughout Mexico and arrived at cities like Guadalajara, Campeche, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Ciudad de México, Mazatlan, and Baja California.

For over 180 days Diego and Daniela have cataloged their project on both their website and Facebook pages providing followers with current photos and video diary excerpts from their national journeys throughout Mexico. 31K’s large-scale vivid photographs portray the breadth of lives lost and the hope for peace that still remains in Mexico. With each 31K photograph Diego presents the panoply of Mexican life. Each colorful image captures a vignette of the Mexican people from students, families, street performers, artisans, businessmen, and priests.

A visit to 31kproject.com is a chills-inducing experience, with poignant video diaries and photos from each day of Diego’s and Daniela’s travels. While you’re out and about around town or onboard the bus, you might see the exhibit preview on both the outside and inside of some of our buses. Capital Metro is a supporter of this fantastic exhibit.

Here are the details of the opening reception:

January 27
6 -7 p.m. Members Reception
7 -9 p.m. Members and General Public Reception
Admission: Free for Mexic-Arte Museum Members/$10 for non-members
Getting to the museum: Mexic-Arte Museum is on the corner of 5th and Congress. Ride 1L/1M, 5, 7, 10, 20, 30 and 101

Follow Diego and Daniela’s 31K Project on their official website and on their facebook page.

For many people, New Year’s is a time of reflection and introspection. There’s something about wrapping up a year and anticipating the next that just lends itself perfectly to resolutions and goal-setting. What went well in 2011? What do I want to do differently in 2012?

If any of your resolutions for 2012 pertain to saving money, getting healthier, or being kinder to our planet, consider adding Capital Metro to your bucket list for 2012.

SAVE SOME GREEN
Conservatively, you can save a couple hundred bucks a month on gas by taking public transportation instead of driving your car. It costs just $1 per trip on the bus, and buying a multi-ride pass will bring the cost per trip down even more. Calculate your savings. Check out our low fares.

GET LEAN
I’m always fretting over my weight and trying to find time to incorporate more exercise into my daily routine. You may not immediately connect public transportation with exercise, but consider that every single transit rider starts and ends as a pedestrian. Think about it: you walk (or bike) to your stop, and on the tail end, you walk to your destination. Over time that walking adds up to pounds and inches.

GO GREEN
Recycling is great, but if you’re ready to take it to the next level, ride Capital Metro. Taking public transportation instead of driving your own car is the single greatest action you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. Calculate your carbon savings by riding public transportation.

If you want to make a difference in 2012 on the environment or on your waistline or bottom line, mosey over to Capital Metro’s online store and purchase a transit pass today. Here’s to a great beginning to 2012.

Ride a regular local bus to downtown that night for $1, and catch a free return ride via one of six Night Owl bus routes, which begin service at midnight and run til after 3 a.m. Catch one of these buses at 6th and Congress, with service to neighborhoods throughout town.

This means your transportation costs for New Year’s Eve can max out at a mere $1–the cost of a one-way fare via Capital Metro’s regular local routes. Yes! No parking fees, no circling the block looking for a meter, and no worrying about the dangers of being out on the road that night.

You can plan your trip with our online trip planner, and check out the Night Owl maps, too, to see if our late night service will work for you.

APD is stepping up its DWI enforcement. Don’t chance it! If you’re flying late on New Year’s, get on the Night Owl.

Data Analyst Brad Weaver, Vice Chair John Langmore and CEO Linda S. Watson met Mr. Ferguson (seated) and his caseworker Roy Salazar (right) at Plaza Saltillo for a train ride.

We posted a story from the Austin American-Statesman earlier about James Ferguson, who was selected for the newspaper’s annual Season for Caring and who is a train buff. 

Mr. Ferguson, with his new ball cap and the "official" MetroRail jacket.

After the ride, railroad folks from Capital Metro and our partners at Herzog and Watco presented Mr. Ferguson with some giftcards, bus passes and some railroad gifts, including the official MetroRail train engineer jacket. (I’m envious of the jacket!)

A happy Mr. Ferguson, in the cab of the MetroRail train.

This landmark plan outlines a strategy to address several funding challenges over the next few years while increasing our savings to a projected $68 million by 2018.

As outlined in Capital Metro’s new strategic plan, we are taking steps to strengthen the financial health of the agency. The long-range financial plan will help Capital Metro meet its financial goals by:

• Maintaining current service in the short-term
• Providing funding for bus fleet replacements
• Helping meet cash reserve targets of Senate Bill 650
• Continuing MetroRapid plans as scheduled
• Planning for federally-required Positive Train Control implementation
• Supporting the labor structure transition

Of significant concern has been ensuring that Capital Metro’s ageing fleet can be replaced on a regular schedule. The long-range plan includes a seven-year strategy that will replace a total of 292 vehicles.

That strategy includes Capital Metro borrowing $20 million to jumpstart the vehicle replacement program in FY2013-14 and to allow the agency to stay on track to meet the Texas Legislature’s cash savings requirements as specified in SB650. Capital Metro expects to save millions in vehicle maintenance costs over the life of the loan.

JAMES FERGUSON: Taking life’s journey alone
Austin American-Statesman
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Written by Kirk Bohls

James Ferguson (left), 66, loves trains so much that he once took one to Chicago just say he'd been there. Ferguson says his favorite job was selling roses on a street corner because he had no boss. Photo courtesy: Ralph Barrera AMERICAN STATESMAN

James Ferguson has always liked trains.

 He’s not sure why or when his fondness for that mode of travel first sprung. But the 66-year-old Texan has always had an affinity for train travel.

 Inspired by talk show host Jerry Springer, who said everyone ought to travel to Chicago once in a lifetime, Ferguson hopped aboard an Amtrak train when he was younger and headed toward Chicago.

It wasn’t all he was counting on. The sleeping car that he thought he had booked wasn’t to be found, and he spent much of the trip sleeping in coach. Once he arrived in Chicago, he booked a room in a budget hotel and returned home the next day.

 “Jerry Springer said a trip to Chicago never hurt anyone,” Ferguson said. “I was only there one night. I saw all the tall buildings. And I can say I have been to Chicago. I don’t know why, but I just like trains. I love to watch freight trains, and I love to hear a train whistle.”

 The life journey that the Lampasas native has taken also has been fraught with trouble and obstacles. He never knew his father and stayed only briefly with an alcoholic mother before he was shuttled between foster parents and Austin State School, where he spent a dozen years and made a lot of friends.

Read the full article from the Austin American-Statesman.