So join us there! We will have some of Capital Metro’s healthiest minds out there, ready to give you some great healthy tips about transit, wellness and how to safety mount your bike onto our buses while staying active in Austin.

It will be a fun Sunday for the whole family to enjoy at this FREE festival. So come out, meet us on 6th Street and spend the day playing in the street at VIVA STREET! as we celebrate Austin together.

Ride Capital Metro there on the #4 Bus Route that runs parallel to 6th Street. Or, you can also plan out your best route through our Capital Metro Trip Planner. See you there!

Four-time international champion Arthur Murillo has driven buses for Capital Metro customers for 28 years.

Capital Metro Bus Operator Arthur Murillo has been named the best bus operator in North America. He competed in the 2012 International Bus Roadeo in California this weekend and won 1st Place in the 35-foot bus competition. Congratulations Arthur!

This makes Arthur a four-time winner of the International title, we are very proud to have a representative of Capital Metro accomplish such success.

The Roadeo is a bus operator and mechanic competition held at the local, state and international level every year. Along with Arthur, our mechanic team placed at both the local and state level earlier this year.

The American Public Transportation Association International Competition Bus Roadeo is designed to put bus operators and mechanics in their element as they are judged against their peers in a series of challenges. 

VP of Bus & Paratransit Services Dottie Watkins and Bus Operator Arthur Murillo in Long Beach.

Bus operators must steer their way along an obstacle course  as they are timed and judged for accuracy and safety. In the Mechanic competition, participants are judged on their ability to resolve bus maintenance and diagnostic issues while also being timed and compared on accuracy.

The Capital Metro team received an overall ranking of #7 among the 28 other teams in the competition. Arthur completed his obstacle course in an astounding 7 minutes and 3 seconds, beating out 19 other bus operators from across the country.

Did you know 6th Street didn’t always have the same name?

6th Street used to be named Pecan Street! Whoa!

I sure didn’t until know that until I checked out their page. But, now that I have your attention let’s blow your mind some more…

MetroRail STARTING @ 10AM SATURDAY, May 5!

So, as you plan your trip out to this year’s Pecan Street Festival, check out our website for a special MetroRail schedule made just for you, to make your life just a little bit easier!

The festival will take over 6th Street for two days (May 5 & 6)  of food, music and art. Check out the multiple bus stops around the 6th Street area and consider riding the rail there as it conveniently stops along 4th and Trinity.

- Bus stops:

So many routes that can take you downtown!

- North/South: 1L/1M, 3, 5, 7, 10, 17, 30, 101, 127, 142

- East/West: 4, 21, 122

- MetroRail: On Saturdays, MetroRail runs from Lakeline to Downtown (with six stops in between)

- Starts running at 10 AM on Saturday, May 5

- $2.75 per one-way ticket (buy a round-trip ticket to save time–$5.50)

- After you get off at Downtown Station, you only need to walk two blocks north to find all the Pecan Street Festival action on 6th Street

Pecan Street Festival website says it best:

PlazaLife is meant to inspire the community about what a downtown plaza can be. It’s about nurturing a pedestrian-focused, livable, vibrant downtown.  

Take a mosey over to the Frost Bank Tower Plaza at 4th and Congress on April 27-28 for a two-day celebration of music, games, and tons of events.

The announcement from DAA said it best, “Come and enjoy one of the free scheduled events or stop by the plaza any time to meet up with a friend, eat lunch, view the art and landscape installations, or just relax and watch the world go by on the Main Street of Texas.” 

When/Where is it?

April 27-28, Frost Bank Tower Plaza

401 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701

How do I get there?

- Bus routes: all downtown routes will get you close!

- MetroRail: 3 blocks west of MetroRail Downtown station

- Unsure? Check out the Capital Metro Trip Planner where you can plug-in your exact starting and ending (401 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701) location to find the best route for you.

What’s Going on?

Day 1: Friday, April 27

8:00 AM: Catch DAA educational event about the growing movement towards re-thinking public spaces.

9:30-11:00 AM: Enjoy the plaza on your own with Rebar Bubbleware furniture public event, free WIFI

Rebar Bubbleware Furniture
(Photo Courtesy Austin Art Alliance website)

11:00-2:00 PM: Live music, Downtown retail showcase, O. Henry story reading

2:00-5:00 PM: Rebar furniture, Free WIFI

5:00-6:30 PM: Music by the White Ghost Shivers

6:30-7:30 PM: Free sneak preview of Moontower Comedy & Oddity Festival

 Day 2: Saturday, April 28

9:00 AM: Free yoga classes on the plaza with Wanderlust LIVE

10:00 AM-2:00 PM: Giant chess with the kids, Playground in a Box

 

11:00 AM: Yoga on the Plaza, Chess Meet-up

 

Noon-2:00 PM: Music by The Invincible Czars

 

 

This year, that special day falls on April 22.

So how will you be involved?

If you still don’t have plans, we’ve got you covered. So, keep reading…

At Capital Metro, being earth-friendly and staying “green” is important to us. And, we take pride in the fact that as a public transportation agency, we help reduce harmful air emissions and carbon-footprints by facilitating people riding together each day–not alone in their cars.

• By making that switch to using public transportation versus driving you can help reduce your carbon emissions by up to 20 pounds per day, or 4,800 pounds a year!
• Dump the pump! For every passenger mile traveled, public transit uses about one half of the fuel consumed by automobiles.
• Green vehicles! With three Capital Metro hybrid buses and 14 Toyota Prius hybrids for carpools, we’re getting greener vehicles. We will also begin moving towards compressed natural gas vehicles in a few years.
• We’re keeping extra traffic off the streets! The Texas Transportation Institute says without Capital Metro, Austin area congestion would increase by 1,709,000 hours annually.

“There are lots of people who haven’t considered using transit before, so in this time when they’re thinking about their environmental impact, the most impactful change they can make is use public transportation to reduce their carbon emissions,” Capital Metro Community Involvement Manager John-Michael Cortez said.

This April 22, we’re involved all around town for Earth Day.

And, we hope you’ll join us!

The fun has already started!

Today we visited St. Edward’s Earthweek during Transportation Day, and we’re not stoppin’ there.

Tomorrow: Austin Community College Earth Fair 5:30-8:30 PM, Eastview Campus

Sunday, April 22: City of Austin Earth Day 12:00-6:00 PM, Muller Hangar

So now that you know how much you’re helping the environment by choosing Capital Metro… ride with us! It’s easy!

Capital Metro: 82 bus routes, 2,800 bus stops, MetroRail and more!

This funding comes from the FTA Very Small Starts program, which will help contribute 80 percent of the total $47.6 million MetroRapid project — coming in 2014.

“With the signed funding agreement, Capital Metro is able to proceed full-steam ahead to build this incredible new rapid transit service that will directly benefit almost 25 percent of the entire service area,” said Watson. “MetroRapid will connect neighborhoods, workers and students to universities, state offices, high-tech companies and regional retail and medical centers.”

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell, and Capital Metro Chairman and Austin Council Member Mike Martinez joined Rogoff and Watson at today’s announcement where they also toured a portion of the future MetroRapid route.

“Austin has a lot to be proud of, and we are going to continue to build a world-class transit network that will connect our region,” said Martinez.

So what does that mean for our riders?

Two new rapid-bus lines

Come 2014, there will be two new, high-capacity, rapid bus lines along North Lamar/South Congress and Burnet/South Lamar. These two routes will serve the highest ridership markets in the region. 40 newly designed low-floor transit buses will serve 77 stations.

Reduced travel times

On top of that, MetroRapid will have fewer stops, reducing travel times. Dedicated bus lanes though the heart of downtown will also help get you to your destination quicker then ever.

MetroRapid buses will run 5 am – 1am weekdays, 6 am – midnight Saturdays and 7 am -11 pm Sundays, with service every 10-30 minutes. This operating plan has a positive net effect of providing approximately 5 minute service frequency during peak periods and 7.5 minute service during off-peak times in  the core section of the system.

Real-time information

If that isn’t enough to leave you in anxious anticipation, come 2014 expect MetroRapid GPS-based Transit Signal Priority, enabling real-time bus arrival information.

The mission of the MetroRapid project is to help improve service quality, increase ridership, expand service and improve travel time and reliability. Learn more about this exciting new service capmetro.org/metrorapid.

Spring in Texas is in full bloom and although you might want to jump in the car and take some pictures with Bluebonnets on the side of the road, you should know Ozone Season has officially started and will stick around with us until late October.

But, don’t let that get you down because there are things you can do to stay safe and help out the environment during this year’s Ozone season.

Yesterday, Mayor Lee Leffingwell joined the CLEAN AIR Force of Central Texas at Austin City Hall to mark the beginning of the Ozone Season and speak with the public about reducing air emissions starting now and continuing throughout the summer.

 ”We are urging Central Texans to pay extra attention to ozone alerts and air quality levels this Ozone Season. Basically anything that limits your driving or electricity use will help make a positive difference in the quality of air we are breathing,” said Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell.

Just as Mayor Leffingwell said it, it’s our #1 recommendation this Ozone Season too — limit your driving and help out the environment. By using Capital Metro, one of the best things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint is to ride public transit instead of taking a personal car.

But what’s the big deal? –you might ask.

Actually, that’s a great question.

According to the CLEAR AIR Force, ground-level ozone is a clear, odorless gas that is harmful to human health, causing lung irritation and difficulty breathing.

It is formed when emissions from our electricity use and our vehicles “cook” on warm, sunny days with low wind,” CLEAN AIR states. ”High ozone levels are a health hazard to everyone, but especially to children, the elderly, people who are active outdoors, and people with existing respiratory conditions such as asthma.”

If you’re wondering what the ozone level will be this season, local meteorologists from KXAN, YNN, KVUE, Fox 7, LCRA and KEYE will notify viewers about daily air quality levels and Ozone Warnings. 

Keep these facts in mind next time when you’re reaching for your car keys and think about using public transportation as another way of getting around instead.

If you don’t know what route you can take to your destination, check out our bus and rail routes at capmetro.org, and remember, you can make a difference this Ozone Season.

The mission of this iPhone app is to combine public transportation data into one easy-to-use platform in real-time. But, their app is intended to take your transit experience to the next level by pulling in updates from other Roadify users and Twitter feed and show them on one screen along with stop times.

The Twitter feed you see includes all Tweets related to Capital Metro, so you get to see what conversation is ongoing about Capital Metro online. But, you don’t get route-specific Tweets, just everything that’s trending at the moment.

The interface is easy to navigate once you’ve chosen the city you want and choose Metro as your transportation you can then pick individual routes for their times. The only downside is you’ll have to look up which route number you want before hand to be able to find the time for it.

Anyone who downloads the app can tell us if this mix gets confusing or is as easy-to-use as they say should be for riders.

Roadify is aiming to provide public transportation data across the United States, but has been focused on New York City transit, so we’ll have to see how it works in Austin.

We’re always trying to get the latest tools out there for our riders to get to their destinations on time and as easy as possible, so if you try this app let us know how you like it and share your experience. We’ve included the Roadify app on our MetroLabs page, where we have a number of third-party transit apps for you to try.

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.