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.

Capital Metro has been pleased to see an increase of transit ridership that includes more cyclists. We are looking at first/last mile opportunities to help cyclists and other passengers to connect to/from the trains and at bus transfer areas.  Information we get from this survey will tell us how we can provide better bike access to our services. 

While providing optimum services to all of our passengers, we want accommodate the needs of our passengers that connect by bike.   To do that, we are taking steps to address cyclist demand in a variety of ways:

We do allow for folding bikes on the buses. Standard bikes are not allowed on the interior of our buses due to space and liability reasons.  We have researched practices of other transit agencies throughout the country and have found this to be true of most other transit agencies aboard standard buses.  We are instead working on convenient options that will enhance bike/bus connections.  

We will be adding secure/enclosed bike storage at some of our transit stations and park and rides soon.  The first one will be at Kramer Station this spring.  It will consist of a fully-enclosed parking area for 24 bikes that is accessible by a secured access card to provide a higher level of security and protection for bikes.  For some, it will offer a preferred alternative to transporting bikes on the trains and buses. Six more of them will be installed in 2012-13 throughoutAustin.  We are also working with the city ofAustin’s implementation of their bike-share program. 

Capital Metro continues to improve safety, access, and accessibility to stops and crossings, to add bike parking at key stops, and to implement special projects like the shared use ped/bike trail construction from Highland Mall (Denson Dr.) to Lamar Blvd. to enhance pedestrian and cyclist connections to transit options.  These and other efforts will enable more people to ride their bikes to connect to transit opportunities that can best serve their lifestyle. 

Commuting by bike and transit is a growing trend in Austin and throughout the country.  From 1995 to 2000 public transportation rose by 38% in the US–APTA 2009; from 1990 to 2007 bike trips to work increased by 32% –US Census 2009a/2009b.

Bicycling supports transit use by extending the catchment area of transit stops far beyond walking range and at much lower cost than neighborhood feeder buses and Park and Ride facilities for cars.  Public transportation helps cyclists make longer trips by bike.  Public transportation offers a convenient alternative when cyclists encounter bad weather, difficult topography, gaps in the bike network, and mechanical failure.

Some of the main measures that promote bike/transit integration in the US include bike parking at rail stations and stops, multi-function bike stations with parking, bike racks on buses, bikes on board vehicles (mostly rail), and bike paths, lanes and on–street routes that lead to public transit stations/stops.  – Journal of Public Transportation Vol 12, No. 3 2009

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.

A water tank was set up to act as a delivery truck leaking fuel. Five other employees were positioned around the scenario to observe and take notes.

The response team consisting of a parts clerk, fleet mechanic, service island attendant and building maintenance technician briefly devised a plan and went to work. They immediately used spill socks from the emergency spill kit to stop the “fuel” from reaching the storm water drain nearby. It only took a few minutes to stop and contain the leak. Absorbent was used to soak up the “fuel” and it was disposed of properly.

Overall, the drill went well and the team followed the emergency spill plan. However, there is always room for improvement. The observers made some recommendations that will be used to update the spill plan and be incorporated into safety training.

As Capital Metro implements an Environmental and Sustainability Management System, we must review and test our emergency procedures. The results of this drill will help us to ensure we are doing everything possible to prevent or mitigate any environmental hazards during the fuel delivery process. As we move forward with the program, we’ll be testing other areas of operation that have a potential for environmental impacts.

The response team works to contain the leak with absorbent socks.

A fuel delivery truck arrives during the drill. The driver waits and watches as the team puts absorbent on the "fuel".

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.

Over the next several months, the Project Connect team will reach out to the public to build consensus and answer the following questions:

1. How will high capacity transit components in the CAMPO 2035 Regional Transportation Plan work as a system?
2. How will our region organize to develop and operate the system?
3. How will we pay for the system over the long term?

This week, the public is invited to attend one of three open houses to learn more, ask questions and provide valuable feedback:

• Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 5-8 p.m. at Bowie High School (4103 Slaughter Lane)
• Thursday, Dec 8 from 5-8 p.m. at Anderson High School (8403 Mesa Drive)
• Friday, Dec 9 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Austin City Hall Atrium (301 W. 2nd Street)

Want to know more? Visit connectcentraltexas.com.