21st June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
According to the Statesman, starting this fall, “for residents who commute to Austin for work and Austinites working in Round Rock” Round Rock will offer bus services that will link up to CapMetro services. The article also notes that “the routes are needed because Round Rock is not within Capital Metro’s service area,” and that ”the city estimates that 261 people will initially use the bus routes.” Round Rock has not yet determined what fares will be.
21st June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
My third week of riding the express bus has ended, and it is still going pretty well. I’m now on chapter 22 of the book I’m reading, which never would have happened if not for the reading time I’m able to have thanks to riding the bus. There were a few days there when I got pretty hot while waiting outside for the bus after work, and one day the bus that picked us up was having some mechanical problems so we had to wait for the next bus. Also, on Friday I had to bring in a dessert for a monthly potluck we have at work, and it was difficult to carry the dessert and my purse on the bus. But over all it’s been going well still – I still feel like its overpriced for what I’m getting but I will probably do it on and off in the future just because it’s a nice change of pace from driving everyday, and it’s better for the environment and the longevity of my car.
16th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
As part of National Dump the Pump day, tomorrow all Cap Metro Rides will be free if you print out a coupon. Check out their website for more information and look below to find the link for the coupon.
Cap Metro’s website notes that:
Thursday, June 17, is National Dump the Pump Day, and Capital Metro encourages you to be Ozone Action Hero and leave your car at home.
You can ride Capital Metro (MetroBus, MetroRail, and MetroExpress) free with a coupon on National Dump the Pump Day.
Download your coupon
Did you know that during rush hour, a full bus takes 35 cars off the road? Let’s fill the bus! Plan your trip now using Capital Metro’s easy online trip planner.
Walking, biking, or riding public transportation instead of driving is the single most effective way to reduce your carbon footprint and improve our region’s air quality. In fact it’s the number one heroic ozone action identified by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
All of Capital Metro’s buses and trains accommodate bikes on a space available basis, providing even more flexibility in using our services.
Thanks for the tip Eric! And I highly recommend using this opportunity to try out the express bus if it works with your commute. Check out my recent posts on my bus riding experience.
14th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
Inside one of the fancier express buses - notice the deep padded seats
So last week was my second week of my month of riding the bus- here’s a recap of my week:
Pros:
- It’s green to ride the bus
- Had a conversation with 2 non-coworker fellow bus riders. They were both very nice and normal
- Read 5 chapters of the book I’m reading now (The Jungle by Upton Sinclair)
- felt pretty relaxed about my commute
- was on time to work most days. When I drive I’m normally always a few minutes late, so then I have to stay a few minutes late
- took one short nap
Cons:
- missed a bus by just 30 seconds in the morning so had to wait another 15 for the next bus – so frustrating!
- realized that the last express bus of the night comes around 6:30, so if I ever have to work later than that I would be stranded
- because I realized the last bus was at 6:30, wasn’t able to shop with Carsi after work for very long (Buffalo Exchange – one of my new favorite stores! Look for a post sometime soon on my buy!)
- several times was looking forward to a nice nap on my ride home, only to be picked up be either one of the city buses that don’t have padded seats, or by a bus where the AC is turned so low it’s uncomfortable
- had a new bus driver one day who didn’t know about the usual shortcuts, so got to work late
But all in all, it’s still been a pretty good experience I would recommend trying!
9th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
If you’re interested in learning more about how Cap Metro spends its money and would like to take a survey on the 2011 budget, check out this link:http://capmetroblog.com/2010/06/04/budget-video-and-survey/. I’m a little skeptical about how much weight they will actually give the surveys when they set the 2011 budget, but I took it anyway. I think their main goal is more to get you to watch the video and do some PR trying to eliminate the misconception of how much money is spent on the metrorail, but it’s still interesting.
7th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 3 Comments
Last week I bought a one month bus pass for the express bus and thought it would be fun to document my experience in case anyone else is interested in trying it out. So every Monday for the next 4 weeks I’ll give a little Monday recap of my prior week’s bus experience.
First, a little more about the cap metro express bus. I first tried it out last June when my car’s transmission was dying. I was pleased to discover an express bus stop only a mile from the house we were then renting – I had driven by the stop many times but just never looked into it. I was also very pleased to discover that the month bus passes were about $34 a month, which was a pretty good savings for me. My car gets about 25-28 miles to the gallon, and the drive to work at the time was about that round trip. So I was able to save about $$15-20 a month by riding the bus.
I knew nothing about the express bus at that time, but here’s the deal: the buses make limited stops (usually about 4 up North) then the bus gets on the highway and makes limited stops once it reaches UT (about 6 stops before I would get to my stop). Also, for whatever reason, maybe to attract more upper middle class people to ride the bus, the express buses are often the large charter buses that have big comfy seats that recline. Sometimes if you are riding at a time of the day that has fewer riders, the regular city buses will be used, but I’ve always felt that they’ve been clean.
Furthermore, the type of people who ride the express bus are mostly students at or employees of UT, and some professionals who work downtown. Everyone is polite on the bus and hygienic. In the 5 months I rode the bus starting last June, I never sat next to someone who smelled bad and only twice had to sit next to someone who overlapped into my set – both common complaints I’ve heard about the UT buses and city buses. So I had a pretty good experience riding the bus during that 5 month span – I enjoyed being able to relax on the bus and take a nap on the ride home, and I definitely was able to read more. But the cons were that it added maybe 15-20 minutes round-trip to my commute, it was annoying to just miss the bus by a minute and have to patiently wait for the next one, and I lost the freedom of being able to do errands on the way home. And after being with people at work all day long, it’s nice to get in my car and have some time alone, which obviously doesn’t happen on the bus.
I would have continued riding the bus though, but cap metro increased the rates for $64 for a month pass. I find it incredible that it’s cheaper for me (if you’re only counting gas money) to drive my car to work rather than ride the bus. I realize there’s extra wear and tear costs on my car by driving in, but still, it’s pretty crazy how much more it costs in immediate expenses to ride the bus.
However, I did feel guilty riding my car in every day by myself, and decided to try the bus again for a month. Maybe it’s something I can do on and off, which will still be better for the environment than me driving in my car every day. So here’s my recap of my bus riding experience last week:
pros:
- was able to start and finish a short book (‘food rules” by Michael Pollan)
- had 2 naps
- had a long telephone conversation with my parents, which normally would occur while driving (not as safe)
- had 2 long conversations with a coworker who rides the same morning bus in, which I otherwise wouldn’t have had
cons:
- missed an evening bus by a minute and had to wait 10 minutes for the next one
- had to get up about 20 minutes earlier each day than I would have otherwise
- on Wednesday afternoon, was anxious about missing the evening bus when I had to be somewhere right after work
So all in all, it was a good experience so far. And if you work at UT or are a student there, you get to ride for free, so if you have that advantage I really recommend it.
21st May, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
Today, car2go launches publicly, and they are celebrating with their Rock, Register, and Drive party this evening from 4-10 at Republic Square Park. Recently, car2go was awarded the 2010 EPA Clean Air Excellence Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency for its innovative car sharing program designed to reduce the number of cars on the road. The car2go program has been in a test phase since November, but the company recently announced it will stay in Austin permanently and will now be open to anyone who wants to join. Normally, there will be a $35 registration fee, but for a limited time the registration fee is waived if you sign up on the Rock, Register, and Drive website or at the event this evening. You’ll also be able to test drive a car2go at the party, as well as listen to some great local bands and snack on some tasty treats. Get in on the free registration while you can–car2gos are easy, fun to use, really useful, and a green way to get around. If you haven’t already, check out our post about our first car2go experience for an explanation about how the program works.
28th April, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 2 Comments
If you haven’t gotten the chance to ride the new MetroRail, this weekend might be a good time to start! Capitol Metro is putting on a Rock and Rail weekend to celebrate and promote the commuter rail. There will be a free customer appreciation party on Friday afternoon at Brush Square park with music by Cienfuegos and W.C. Clark. Three rail connector bus routes that serve the Downtown Station will be free to the public to make getting to the party free and easy: 460 Downtown/Congress, 461 Downtown/Guadalupe, and 462 Downtown/Riverside.
Also, CapMetro is opening up the MetroRail for special service on Saturday, May 1. Normally, the MetroRail line doesn’t run on Saturdays, but you can ride anytime from 11:00 am to 11:30 pm on this Saturday only. Standard fares apply ($6 for a 24 hour pass), and be sure to check the schedule to plan out your trip. Also check out this handy guide on how to ride the rail if you need a few pointers. This would be a great way to get downtown this weekend without having to deal with parking, and there are quite a few events going on to make for a fun Saturday trip. Here are the events that CapMetro listed on its website:
- Pecan Street Festival – Ride MetroRail to the Downtown Station and walk a two blocks to the event on sixth street.
- Cinco de Mayo at Fiesta Gardens – Ride MetroRail to Plaza Saltillo and walk ½ mile to Fiesta Gardens.
- Cinco de Mayo with La Mafia at Austin Music Hall – Ride MetroRail to the Downtown Station and walk 8 blocks to the music venue.
- University of Texas Big 12 Tennis Championship and Texas Invite Track Meet – Ride MetroRail to the MLK, Jr. Station and catch Route 18 to campus. (Service on Route 18 will be increased to accommodate MetroRail passengers traveling to the UT Campus.)
- City of Austin’s One Green Step Event – Ride MetroRail to Plaza Saltillo and walk three blocks to the Pan Am Recreation Center.
13th April, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
Check out the Texas Tribune’s coverage of Car2Go here. And get excited because the Car2Go program goes public on May 21, so everyone will be able to sign up and try it out. Also, the company will throw a launch party at Republic Square Park that same day and announce statistics on the success of the program so far.
5th April, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Last week was the second week of the metro rail running. As this Statesman article notes, during the first week after the metro rail opened, when fares were waived, ridership was doing pretty good, but now that riding is no longer free, ridership has been down to about 1,000 daily boardings. The article also notes that “In Houston, ridership on the downtown light rail line (which opened in 2004) grew almost 50 percent between the first year and the second,” so there’s still hope for the metro rail increasing its passengers as more people try it out. The rail isn’t helpful to Carsi or I since I would have to drive a bit to get to the nearest station, and Carsi lives downtown and can just walk to work. But it seems much more convenient than driving for those who do live and work near the line, and I’ve heard good things from some people who have tried it out. Let us know if you’ve tried it out and how you think it measures up to driving to work!
23rd March, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
According to this Chronicle article, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has scheduled a series of opportunities for the public to review and comment on its draft 2035 transportation plan.
The article states that as an alternative to urban sprawl, the plan could “direct new density toward live-work-play nodes accessible both by major roads and by expanded transit…As drafted, the multimodal plan includes roadway, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities, supporting a regional goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled and emissions of both air pollutants and greenhouse gases.”
You can read the draft plan here, and attend one of several open houses this week and/or attend a public meeting on April 12th. Check here for more details.
18th March, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Austin Chronicle has a nice article with all the details about riding the new metro rail, including where to buy tickets, pickup times, and the shuttle bus system to take riders from the convention center (where the line ends) to other parts of downtown like UT and the Capitol. Check it out here – and remember that next week the metro rail will be free!
11th March, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
Carsi and I stopped by the Car2Go office yesterday after being asked if we would like to be beta pilot testers for the program. While we were at the office, we were told that anyone can sign up for the pilot program, but you must go to the downtown office on West 5th to sign up – just ask to be part of the pilot program.
The program won’t be available to the general public until late summer or early fall. As part of the pilot program there is no registration fee, just the 35 cents a minute fee to use the cars. Car2Go is still trying to figure out how much to charge for the registration fee once the program does start. Both Carsi and I signed up for the pilot program, but Carsi is more likely to try it out since she lives downtown – keep an eye out for her review of the cars!
10th March, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 1 Comment
Today, Mayor Lee Leffingwell announced in a press release that the City will not have an urban rail proposal for voters in November, stating that there are still unanswered questions about where the rail line would go, where the financing for it would come from, and how construction of it will affect Austinites. Mayor Leffingwell emphasized his continuing commitment to providing an urban rail plan to voters, and he expects to have a proposal by the end of 2011. This urban rail project is separate from the commuter rail project, which is still scheduled to begin service on March 22.
5th March, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 3 Comments
Capital Metro announced today that it will begin service on its commuter rail on March 22. The Statesman has all the details, including confirmation of the free fares week for people (like me!) who want to try it out.
1st March, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The testing will continue for 2 weeks and hopefully the rail will open for regular service on March 15th. We’ll update you when we learn when regular service will start for sure.
For cautionary words about safely crossing train tracks from the Statesman, click here.
25th February, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Austin’s Transportation Department today presented a new proposal to City Council today, which has two North-South routes, as opposed to the previous proposal which included only one North-South route. Under the new proposal, one of those routes will run West of the Capitol, and one will run East of the Capitol. Under the plan, one single route would cross Lady Bird Lake. A bond proposal may go before voters next fall, with an updated estimate of the cost of the new proposal available in April. For Statesman coverage click here, and for KUT coverage click here.
23rd February, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
As outlined by this Statesman article, the Cap Metro rail is still expected to open sometime next month. Passengers can buy a month pass for all systems for $70, an all system week pass for $20, or an all system day pass for $6. The first week of rail service will be free for all passengers, a great opportunity for Austinites to try out the new system.
*Update* Here’s some more info on the rail’s planned opening.
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