According to Forbes’ latest release, Austin is the fastest growing city in the country. Ryan Robinson, City of Austin demographer, says 110 people move within Austin’s five countries every day, that’s roughly 3,300 people a month or 39,600 a year!
We are sure you’ve heard something about Austin’s exponential growth, but each report doesn’t seem to mention the accommodations businesses are making to serve more people. That’s right, we are all doomed… Not!
One of the companies that is embracing the added weight of newcomers to Austin is Capital Metro. With the roll out of their new MetroRapid program you can expect a longer span of service and more frequent arrivals, that’s every 10-12 minutes during peak hours. They even have “signal priority technology” that holds green lights longer when a vehicle is running behind schedule (think of Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act) and dedicated lanes through the busy downtown core (Guadalupe and Lavaca).
I bet you’ve seen those super-long, “accordion” buses and did a double take. Here are some other programs that you probably haven’t heard of from Cap Metro:
– Guaranteed Ride Home program:
$5 membership fee entitles qualified customers reimbursement for up to four emergency taxi rides a year.
– Vanpooling:
Eligible groups of 5-12 people with a month-to-month lease agreement of a commuter van that includes insurance, maintenance, 24-hour roadside assistance, and fuel purchasing program.
– Cap Metro Mobile App:
With the new, free app, you can buy passes, plan trips and get real-time arrival information. App users are also eligible for future Cap Metro customer rewards.
– Metro Bike Shelters:
We are introducing new electronic card-accessed enclosed shelters – called MetroBike Shelters – at a number of rail stations and Park-and-Rides soon.
– 2020 Plans Available online:
Cap Metro released their plan for the next 6 years so there won’t be surprises for future riders. www.capmetro.org/sp2020/
This article appears in February 14 • 2014.