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Posts Tagged ‘Austin’

Happy Girl Scout Day – March 12

Posted in community, Rail Safety, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on March 12, 2013 | 1 Comment »

Girl Scout Day celebrates the day the first Girl Scout group was created on March 12, 1912, when Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low assembled 18 girls from Savannah, Georgia for a local meeting. Today, Girl Scouts of the USA has a membership of over 3.2 million girls and adults.

We are especially proud of our local scouts’ role in history. Did you know the Girl Scouts of Central Texas and Capital Metro created the Girl Scouts first-ever Rail Safety Patch Program?

ImageTake a lead from the Girl Scouts and educate yourself about how to be safe around railroad tracks. Check out:

Capital Metro conducts Operation Lifesaver (OL) presentations FREE OF CHARGE to schools, community and educational organizations in the Central Texas region. To schedule a presentation, please contact Mr Celso Baez at 512-389-7559.

Have a safe and happy Girl Scout Day and Women’s History Month.

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City/Capital Metro Partnership to Upgrade Accessibility at Bus Stops Throughout the City

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on December 13, 2012 | 5 Comments »

Over the next five years, many Capital Metro bus stops will be receiving accessibility makeovers, thanks to an ongoing partnership with the City of Austin Public Works Department. Through this partnership, more than 170 bus stops were upgraded last year.

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This bus stop at Burnet Rd at Rutland is just one example of hundreds of the improved usability and mobility that is coming to bus stops around the city.

Today, City Council approved an amendment to the existing interlocal agreement between the two entities that extends the partnership for the next five years.  

Pending budget availability each year, Capital Metro will reimburse the City up to $10 million over the next five years to help upgrade Capital Metro bus stops to meet the highest standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Public Works will manage the individual projects, which will be timed to coincide with other sidewalk or street work already planned whenever possible.  

“This collaboration is a great example of local tax dollars being spent wisely, with huge benefits for the community,” said City Councilman and Capital Metro Chairman Mike Martinez. “Incorporating bus stop improvements into already planned city projects just makes sense. It reduces staff time and paperwork, ultimately saving both the city and Capital Metro, time and money, while improving the walkability and accessibility of the city.”

Although all of our bus stops met the requirements of the ADA at the time they were constructed, we wanted to improve accessibility and meet the newest standards. Capital Metro launched a program in 2008 to upgrade stops with concrete landing pads, curb cuts, and in some cases, sidewalks. In 2008, two-thirds of bus stops needed some level of accessibility improvement. Today, about a third of the bus stops still need upgrades and will be addressed over the next five years. 

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Capital Metro’s Taking you to the Turkey Tomorrow!

Posted in community, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Tomorrow, Capital Metro will be partnering with H-E-B in its 23rd annual Feast of Sharing dinner on Nov. 20 from 4-8 p.m at Palmer Events Center (900 Barton Springs Road). This is an opportunity for H-E-B to give back to the community by providing residents with a delicious, free meal and festive entertainment.

For the 10th year, Capital Metro has partnered with H-E-B to provide 5,000 Day-Passes to Central Texans for a free ride to the feast. The passes include a special printed H-E-B Fest of Sharing logo and can be picked up at the service desk for free at five area stores:

- H-E-B at 2701 E. 7th St.

- H-E-B at 1000 E. 41st St.

- H-E-B at 2400 S. Congress

- H-E-B at 2508 E. Riverside

- H-E-B at 9414 N. Lamar

(Note: H-E-B began distributing passes last week, so you may want to call ahead to check availability.)

Last year, H-E-B provided about 14,000 meals and is grateful Capital Metro has extended its helping hand once again to promote the community event.

Use Capital Metro’s online Trip Planner, call the GO Line at 474-1200, or download the Austin Capital Metro app to find your best route to the Palmer Events Center. Route 30 Barton Creek, 5 Woodrow/South 5th and 100 MetroAirport have stops near the Palmer Events Center.

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New App Helping Austinites On-The-Go

Posted in community, commute community, fares, trip planning, Uncategorized, Web, tagged , , , , , , on November 7, 2012 | 6 Comments »

Capital Metro now offers a 100% FREE mobile app. It keeps your commute efficient with a Trip Planner, schedule times, service alerts and more–right at your fingertips!

Best of all, now you can purchase fares from the palm of your hand. That’s right! We’ve enabled this new feature TODAY. Now, you can take a sneak-peek of this fare purchasing feature and enjoy the full-capability of the Capital Metro app.

Use the Capital Metro app in FIVE EASY STEPS!

Step 1: Using your smartphone, easily locate the Capital Metro app by Bytemark in the App Store (http://ow.ly/eVh3u) or Google Play (http://ow.ly/eVh7a).

Look for some screen images that look like these:

Download the app for FREE!!

Step 2: Use this blue and green homescreen to navigate throughout the mobile app to reach: Schedules, Routes/Maps, Event info, Advisories and More Info.

Click the bottom row of the screen to navigate back to home, Buy Passes, Use Passes or change your profile settings.

Step 3: Buy Passes by clicking the shopping cart icon at the bottom, which will take you to this screen:

You will see the options to purchase either Local or Regional Passes. Tap the green plus circle to add the fare to your cart.

Step 4: Use Passes

When you are ready to board the bus or train and validate your fare, click the ticket icon at the bottom bar to Use Passes.

A screen like the one above will show up where you will see which passes you have available to validate. Simply tap on the pass you’d like to use and choose: “Use Selected Passes” at the bottom.

Tickets are available immediately after purchase, but once you activate your fare, the clock is ticking on the expiration date. Activate your fare just prior to boarding.

Step 5: As you are boarding, show the validate fare screen to the bus operator or train fare platform inspector. The validated screen will look like this:

The fare you have selected and amount will be shown on-screen along with the time and date of expiration. You bus operator or the fare inspector on your train may ask you to touch the screen as a security measure. Touching the screen will activate a visual change to the screen indicating a valid fare.

That’s it! Using the Capital Metro app is easy!

A few tips to keep in mind:

- The mobile app will only be available during a specific piloting phase until November 24.

- Capital Metro will not offer refunds for fares purchased via the app.

- Please call customer service for problems loading the app at (512) 474-1200 available: M-F 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

- If you have more questions check out our app FAQ section.

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Joining the Costume Party Downtown on Halloween?

Posted in bus routes, bus schedules, community, detours, ebus, events, Holiday events, MetroRail, rider tips, twitter, Uncategorized, Web, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 31, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Even though Halloween’s on a Wednesday, don’t let that be a drag. We know you’ve come to know the trusty E-Bus as your ride Downtown on the weekends, now take advantage of that tonight!

Capital Metro wants to help you reach the big party down as safely and conveniently as possible. That’s why we’re running E-Bus service on a Wednesday, which usually doesn’t happen, but we’re making an exception to help get all those Honey Boo Boo and Psy look-alikes to 6th Street.

Hours will be the same as E-Bus weekend service (8:30 p.m. until 3 a.m.). Catch a ride using routes #410 West Campus, #411 Riverside, and #412 Main Campus. Regular fares will apply. UT students ride free with valid school ID and ACC students ride with the Green Pass.

All you Halloween go-ers can also ride Capital Metro’s local service to and from the downtown area until around midnight. Night Owl service will run its usual schedule until 3 a.m.

We hope all our riders have a good time tonight. Use Capital Metro as your safe ride this Halloween!

We want to see all those elaborate costumes! Post your Halloween pictures as you ride transit today–rail, bus, E-Bus. Tweet them to @CapMetroATX or post to our Facebook wall!

If you’re just trying to go about your daily commute tonight: Capital Metro riders who plan to use the #4 Montopolis, #21 Exposition and #100 MetroAirport routes should take notice of anticipated 6th Street closure detours due to Halloween events from around 8 p.m. until 3 a.m. More detailed route and detour information can be found in the Capital Metro website ‘Service Alerts’ section. 

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Volunteering with Olympian Marlen Esparza

Posted in community, events, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 23, 2012 | 1 Comment »

The folks at Capital Metro take great efforts in staying connected with the local community in our service area. We care to help the people who use our services.

That’s why we’d like to give major props to our two worker-bees — Juan and Celso — who helped raise awareness of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Fit Pit Boxing event and volunteered last week alongside 2012 Olympian Marlen Esparza in teaching some Central Texas kids a new skill.

With a crowd of about 24, local boxers and Olympic Medalist Marlen Esparza taught some boxing basics.

“Marlen was there to give some motivational words on the hard work it takes to be the best,” said Capital Metro’s Community Involvement Team Coordinator Juan Wah. “Marlen was great! Coach Art and the Fit Pit staff did great helping teach the Bigs and Lils the basics of the sweet science.”

Check out some pictures of the fun!

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Capital Metro Wins National Award

Posted in bus routes, community, commute community, events, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

These bus/train ads have been up and down Austin streets for a few months now. They’re all about going downtown and grabbin’ a ride on MetroRail to get you where you need to go. If you’ve noticed them, you’re not alone — they’ve caught the attention of the American Public Transportation Association.

Earlier this month, Capital Metro found out we won the APTA AdWheel Award for this “Go Downtown” campaign we started in March when we began running Friday and Saturday night service! APTA contests are no joke, so this award means a lot to our team and lands us some major props in the industry.

The campaign mission originally was solely intended to encourage and inform riders like you about the new night rail service, but it’s cool too that someone else noticed our efforts because there were a  lot of very creative people who invested many hours into making the “Go Downtown” project shine.

Each year, APTA honors members’ marketing and communications efforts with the AdWheel Awards. Awards are presented in five main media categories: print, electronic, campaigns, social media, and special events. Recipients are honored in a special ceremony at APTA’s Annual Meeting, held each October.

So, thanks APTA for recognizing Capital Metro’s efforts through this award — it means a lot to us, but more importantly, we hope riders like you are continuing to enjoy Friday and Saturday night service and know we appreciate you for riding Capital Metro! Next time you see these cool ads around town, you’ll know they’re actually award-winning.

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Austin Poets to be Featured on Entire Capital Metro Bus Fleet next month

Posted in Capital Metro news, community, events, Transit Art, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on September 27, 2012 | 2 Comments »

On Saturday, Sept. 29, (10 a.m. – 12 noon) the Austin Poetry Society will announce the Poetry with Wheels contest winning poems at Nature’s Treasures, 4103 North IH-35. The winning poems, like this one below will be posted onboard Capital Metro’s entire fleet of buses in October.

- 70 poets entered
- 314 poems submitted
- 20 poems selected (both English and Spanish) for display on buses 

The first five completed poetry signs for installation on Capital Metro buses will be unveiled. The event is hosted in conjunction with the Austin International Poetry Festival, a four-day event taking place Sept. 27-30, at venues throughout Austin that attracts hundreds of poets from all over the world. The event is free and open to the public.

Capital Metro partnered with the Austin Poetry Society (APS) to bring poetry onboard its buses. 

“The partnership with Austin Poetry Society will provide a lasting benefit for our riders, who can be delighted every time they board one of our buses with thoughtful, artistic poetry,” said Capital Metro President/CEO Linda S. Watson. “Capital Metro supports the arts and has been exploring avenues of incorporating more art on our fleet and at our facilities.” 

Riders should begin to enjoy the poems onboard buses beginning in October, when the first batch of 420 signs will be installed across the bus fleet. The signs will feature 10 winning poems submitted in the contest and an additional two poems penned by Austin elementary students in a separate APS partnership with Badgerdog Literary Publications. The Austin Poetry Society anticipates producing a second batch of signs featuring another 12 poems next spring.

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Facebook Contest: Two Austin Film Fest Badges up for Grabs

Posted in Capital Metro news, events, happy passengers, MetroRail, MetroRapid, Transit Art, twitter, Uncategorized, Web, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

You may have heard about our MetroRapid groundbreaking yesterday…maybe you’ve also been one of the early birds to watch our new YouTube video…below:

But, do you know that Capital Metro has two Austin Film Festival badges to give away? It’s true! How can you snag one? Click here Our contest is ongoing until Sept. 30!

We want to see your transit-inspired artwork. It doesn’t have to be fancy or require an extreme amount of work. Think about what transit means to you…Where do you ride to? How many places have you been to on the bus? Where are you looking forward to riding MetroRail? Take a picture, Instagram it, draw something, sketch, doodle, crayon, stamp, collage, etc. Anyway you want.

Once you have your idea and have a creation, take a picture of it and upload to our Facebook contest page. Take this for example:

Here’s an example I of a picture I took on 9/11 of a bus, then added filters. Preface: I have no artistic talent to claim!

It’s that simple. Capture a transit moment and submit it. After we have some entries on our Facebook page, others will be able to vote on each photo. The earlier you submit, the more time you have to wrangle-in those votes!
Start now!

We’ll award the top two entries. Each of our winners gets one Austin Film Fest badge! Each badge is worth over $100 bucks.

Now, go onto our Facebook page and look for the green tab at the top and enter your art baby.

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Feds say we’re “doing it right”

Posted in Reviews/Audits, tagged , , , , on June 26, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Capital Metro recently received a positive review from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) triennial review. Since we are a federal funding recipient, we have to go through a review every three years with the FTA. In FY 2012, we conservatively estimate to receive around $36.1 million in federal funds.

So what’s the big deal, you ask? Well, a positive review is a reflection of the good work we’re doing here at Capital Metro. We have a responsibility to provide a vital community service and staff works hard to deliver quality transportation choices. Capital Metro President/CEO, Linda Watson believes this is further confirmation that “Capital Metro is on the right track” and that we are conducting business with integrity, transparency and fiscal accountability.

The review is one of the FTA’s management tools for the responsible administration of federal transportation grants. It scrutinizes the agency in 24 different areas including procurement, finance, maintenance, safety, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In its cover letter to Capital Metro, FTA Regional Administrator Robert Patrick congratulated the transit authority for its diligence in providing quality transportation in the Austin area.

The review was conducted by a third party contractor of the FTA, Advanced Systems Technology and Management, Inc. The review team congratulated President Watson on having a good team and “doing it right.”

From the beginning, Watson has made it my goal to create a high-performing organization and position the agency so that it is a significant and valued contributor to the growth and development of the region. We’re making strides to meet the needs of central Texas. Feel free to browse through the review, which is posted online along with a lot of other financial and audit information.

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