About:Capital Metro/service change/1-6-2019

Capital Metro 1-6-2019

January 2019 Service Changes

Capital Metro routinely makes changes to streamline and improve service and accommodate shifts in ridership.

The changes for January 2019 are designed to build on the [/Remap Cap Remap service changes], which went into effect in June. Continuous improvement is our goal, and so we take into account feedback we receive from our customers and from the wider public when considering changes to our service. The January 2019 Service Changes respond to that feedback and are intended to improve the rider experience while maintaining system efficiency.

These changes were approved by the Capital Metro board of directors Oct. 22 and will take effect Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019.

Capital Metro invites ongoing feedback year-round about our services and your experience as a customer, and that input is incorporated into the service change development process. For these proposals in particular, we have provided chances for the public to provide input both in person and online and will continue to take feed back until they take effect in January.

Cap Remap Schedule Revisions

The Remap Cap Remap changes implemented in June transformed our bus network and greatly increased High-Frequency service throughout Austin. While it's still early in the process, we're excited about the success of the new network. However, we know that several routes can improve even more.These changes are designed to:

• Improve on-time performance for some routes.
• Add service to accommodate high ridership on popular routes.
• Extend the service hours of other routes later into the night.
• Adjust schedules of particular routes to improve transfers.Routes that will be affected by these schedule revisions are:
• Route 2 Rosewood
• Route 4 7th Street
• Route 7 Duval/Dove Springs
• Route 10 South 1st/Red River
• Route 17 Cesar Chavez
• Route 20 Manor Road/Riverside
• Route 50 Round Rock/Howard Station
• Route 214 Northwest Feeder
• Route 233 Decker/Daffan Lane
• Route 237 Northeast Feeder
• Route 300 Springdale/Oltorf
• Route 335 35th/38th Street
• Route 337 Koenig/Colony Park
• Route 339 Tuscany
• Route 350 Airport Blvd.

Changes to MetroExpress Service

In January, some of our MetroExpress Commuter routes began to use the MoPac Express Lanes through an agreement with the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. The new service has been a great success, and even with additional service added to some routes, customers are experiencing heavily crowded vehicles on some trips.These changes will adjust schedules for several MetroExpress routes to accommodate rider demand. As a result, the following changes will take effect in January:

• Route 935 Tech Ridge Express - Two trips in the morning (6:03 a.m. & 6:47 a.m.) and two trips in the afternoon (4:15 p.m. & 4:55 p.m.) will be eliminated due to low ridership.
• Route 980 North MoPac Express - One trip in the morning (7:40 a.m.) and one trip in the afternoon (5:30 p.m.) will be eliminated due to low ridership. Two additional trips (one a.m. and one p.m.) will be extended from New Life Park & Ride to Round Rock Transit Center.
• Route 985 Leander/Lakeline Direct - Two trips in the morning (6:30 a.m. & 7:15 a.m.) and two trips in the afternoon (3:40 p.m. & 5:05 p.m.) will be added to accommodate high ridership.
• Route 987 Leander/Lakeline Express - One trip in the morning (6:25 a.m.) and one trip in the afternoon (7:10 p.m.) will be eliminated due to low ridership.

Routes 315 & 333 Service to Oak Hill Plaza

With ACC's closure of its Pinnacle Campus, Routes 315 Ben White and 333 William Cannon will change their final destinations to Oak Hill Plaza shopping center. The routes will also provide easy connections to one another.

Westgate Transit Center

A new Park & Ride that fulfills requests made by our customers, the Westgate Transit Center is scheduled to open next spring. It will provide parking for almost 200 vehicles and serve as a transit hub for Southwest Austin residents, with space dedicated for bikes, Car2Go and other ways to connect you to your bus.A number of routes will move their main transfer points from Western Trails Blvd. to the new transit center. Routes directly serving the Westgate Transit Center will be:

• Route 30 Barton Creek Square
• Route 105 South 5th Flyer
• Route 300 Springdale/Oltorf
• Route 311 Stassney
• Route 315 Ben White
• Route 318 Westgate/Slaughter
• Route 484 Night Owl South Lamar
• Route 803 Burnet/South Lamar

Route 3 Burnet/Manchaca and Route 103 Manchaca Flyer will not serve the Westgate Transit Center but will connect nearby.

Community Conversations

In October, Capital Metro came to you so that we could talk further about these changes and hear your feedback. In addition to the opportunities listed below, Capital Metro staff members were at bus stops in areas affected by the changes to discuss them with our customers.Capital Metro provided opportunities for you to share input at the following engagement events:

• Noon on Wednesday, 10/10 Public Hearing at Capital Metro Headquarters - Served by Routes 4 & 17
• 3-5 p.m. on Wednesday, 10/17 at North Lamar Transit Center - Served by Routes 1, 240, 275, 300, 323, 350, 383 & 801
• Noon on Thursday, 10/18 - January 2019 Service Change Webinar
• 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, 10/18 at Republic Square - Served by downtown routes
• 3-5 p.m. on Friday, 10/19 at Westgate Mall - Served by Routes 300, 311, 315, 318 & 803

The changes went before the Capital Metro board of directors on Oct. 22 and will take effect Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019.Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications are provided upon request. Please provide notice at least two days in advance. Contact Martin Kareithi at 512-389-7583 or email martin.kareithi@capmetro.org for more information or to request informational materials in another format.