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.

Sustainable Neighborhoods and Capital Metro partner in efforts of planting more trees at bus stops.
Photo courtesy of Steven Zettner of Sustainable Neighborhoods

Trees – they help sustain the environment, and if you’re one of our MetroBus riders, you love to see them at the bus stops. They look nice, give you shade and keep you cooler during the summer. And, now we’re one step closer to seeing them at every bus stop thanks to the partnership between Capital Metro and volunteers from Sustainable Neighborhoods.

Earlier this month, over 25 volunteers went out to nine bus stops on Burnet and Anderson to plant two or three Mexican Plum and Texas Redbud tree seedlings at each site on March 11.

The seedlings were planted with a nifty new item called a Groasis Waterboxx, which will help water the seedlings for one year through a self-irrigation process. After a year, the trees should naturalize and not require subsequent watering when the re-useable Waterboxx can then be installed on another seedling.

The partnership is the beginning of a trial project for planting the street trees along Capital Metro bus routes.

“The tree seedlings are tiny – just 4″ liners,” Steven Zettner of Sustainable Neighborhoods said. “The waterboxxes are about the size of a large tire. They are donut shaped and wrap around the seedling, buffering it and emitting moisture very slowly. The waterboxx’s water bladder absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, causing water to condensate and refill the bladder.”

Since the planting day, Sustainable Neighborhoods has been checking in on the bus stop seedlings and documenting their progress on their blog: http://www.snaustin.org/brainstorming/waterboxx

“Thanks in part to good rains, the waterboxxes have remained mostly full and the plants wet. Will be interesting to see how they fare over the summer if the rain stops,” according to one blog entry on March 23.

Volunteers plant seedlings into Waterboxx containers.
Courtesy of Steven Zettner of Sustainable Neighborhoods

Now, there are 20 new Waterboxxes in North Austin and if the trial proves successful, it will signal a new method for planting trees at bus stops in an environmentally friendly mission that’s less expensive and labor-intensive.

“There are about 25 bus stops on Burnet between 2222 and 183, six have shaded shelters, two are at existing shaded locations, and we planted trees at 7 more,” Zettner said. “Assuming our trees make it, that will eventually double the shade quotient … and if this experiment pans out, we’ll be able to hit many other bus stops and sidewalk locations around NC Austin in the coming couple of years.”

The project has already helped to raise awareness and plant seedlings in North Austin that will one day help shade our riders and help the environment. If you stumble upon one of our little trees tell us how they’re doing and shoot us a picture of its progress. We can’t wait to see them full-grown and hope the project can keep expanding to help plant more trees!

Summer reductions – UT Shuttle service is reduced during the summer to reflect ridership and enrollment. Ebus service and select trips targeting high-ridership middle schools are suspended until August.

MetroRail schedule adjustment – 1 morning round-trip and 1 afternoon round-trip would be added (including a much-desired 5:55pm Downtown departure). A midday trip would be shortened from Lakeline to Howard to accommodate freight rail. Travel times would also be reduced by 15 percent.

Route realignment to improve customer access – CR Cameron Rd shuttle would be realigned to the Mueller redevelopment (Dell Pediatric Research Institute and Moasic Apartments). Route 18 MLK, Jr./Enfield would be realigned out of MLK Station. A stop would be added at MLK at Alexander Ave.

Schedule adjustments due to high ridership – Saturday frequency on Route 1L/1M North Lamar/South Congress would be improved from 16-20 to 13-18 minutes. This improvement will benefit many weekend customers. It’s important to note that service improvements to Route 1L/1M North Lamar/South Congress on Saturdays would be made possible by the following service reductions:

Schedule adjustments due to low ridership – Early morning frequency on Route 5 Woodrow/South Fifth would be reduced from 40 to 50 minutes. Select trips on Route 935 Tech Ridge would be consolidated to improve efficiency. We have seen a strong correlation between gas prices and commuter ridership and will continue to monitor both closely. Select trips on Route 135 Dell Limited would be eliminated as a result of Route 935 changes. Route 499 Day Labor would be eliminated.

A critical component of the service change process is public involvement. Customer feedback helps Capital Metro fine-tune the service change package and ultimately improve service.

Click here for more information on all of the service change proposals, including details on how to provide feedback.

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.