Capital Metro's board of directors voted Monday to overhaul nearly every bus and rail line in the region as part of a decade-long blueprint known as Transit Plan 2035. It's the biggest shuffling of the transit system since a controversial 2018 change known as "Cap Remap." But it won't happen overnight, and not everyone is on board.
Transit Plan 2035 is meant to deliver on delayed Project Connect promises and prepare the system for a light-rail line scheduled to open in 2033.
Over the next decade, CapMetro will shrink its bus network from 61 to 55 routes and run those remaining lines more frequently and later into the night while adding more east-west connections.
"What excites me the most and what quite frankly I'm most proud of is that we've found a way to improve our services without having more money," CEO Dottie Watkins told the board before the vote. "This plan demonstrates fiscal responsibility while still expanding opportunity."
The first five years focus on catching up with Project Connect, the largest transit expansion in Austin's history. The voter-approved plan has faced multiple delays but so far has survived lawsuits and state legislation aimed at cutting off the property tax revenue that funds more bus service and the city's first modern light-rail system.
CapMetro's immediate priorities under Transit Plan 2035 include boosting frequency on the newest pair of Rapid lines to every 10 minutes, opening park-and-rides at Expo Center and Goodnight Ranch and finally adding a new Red Line stop near the Domain.
Construction on that new train station — now called North Burnet/Uptown — is expected to start in November and take about two years. The stop, previously known as Broadmoor, was supposed to open in 2024. Delays have pushed CapMetro's share of the cost to $37.3 million, more than triple the original estimate.
The new transit map also doubles frequency on Airport Boulevard's Route 350, cutting waits from 30 minutes to 15 and extending the line to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The plan will add new east-west lines on Rundberg Lane and Oltorf Street, connections Watkins said riders have asked for "loud and clear."
But those gains come with tradeoffs. Several lower-ridership routes — including 5 Woodrow, 233 Decker/Daffan and 237 Northeast Feeder — will be discontinued or folded into on-demand Pickup service.
The same goes for several "flyer" routes that provide direct service between neighborhoods and downtown or the UT Austin campus. The 103 Manchaca Flyer, 105 South 5th Flyer, 111 South MoPac Flyer and 142 Metric Flyer are among the routes slated to be discontinued.
CapMetro board member Paige Ellis, who's also a city council member representing Southwest Austin, cast the lone vote against Transit Plan 2035.
Ellis said she supports the plan's overall goals but worries eliminating flyer routes would make it harder for her constituents to reach downtown. She pointed to other Project Connect delays, like a planned rapid route into Oak Hill that hasn't been designed yet.
"My concerns around Southwest Austin have put me in a position where I feel like I'm being asked to vote away the service that we currently have," Ellis said. "But I know there's many other things about this transit plan that are bringing a lot of great reliability and service into other parts of the region."
The gradual rollout means the changes will appear in phases through the next decade, and big adjustments to routes would still need to be approved by the CapMetro board.
