Capital MetroRapid

Capital MetroRapid is a bus rapid transit[3] service in Austin, Texas, owned and operated by the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro).[4] It currently consists of two routes which run north-south served by stations designed by McKinney York Architects.

Capital MetroRapid
Overview
OwnerCapital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
LocaleAustin, Texas, U.S.
Transit typeBus rapid transit[1]
Number of lines2
Number of stations43
Chief executiveRandy Clarke[2]
HeadquartersAustin
Websitehttp://www.capmetro.org/metrorapid
Operation
Began operationJanuary 26, 2014

Service on the first route, MetroRapid North Lamar/South Congress (Route 801), began on January 26, 2014.[5] It replaced existing bus Routes 1L/1M and the 101 Express, which traveled along the same corridor. (1M was renamed Route 1 Metric/South Congress, while a local version of the northernmost portion of former route 1L was created as Route 275. The Metric corridor is now served by 325.) Before the original Route 1 North Lamar/South Congress was split into 1L/1M in 2006, it was the busiest line in the Capital Metro system and peaked at 10 minutes headways Monday through Friday, with wider headways on the weekends. (The current Route 1 has wider headways, resulting in overcrowding buses.) Route 801 serves 43 stations between Tech Ridge in North Austin and Southpark Meadows via the University of Texas and Downtown Austin.

A second route, MetroRapid Burnet/South Lamar (Route 803), serves a total of 34 stations between The Domain and Westgate. It began operation during August 2014, but the original Burnet/Manchaca Route 3 remained in service at slightly reduced frequency.[6]

Description and Headways

As both Routes 801 and 803 run north to south, each travels down North Lamar Boulevard and Burnet Road respectively, from their northern terminuses. Approaching the Guadalupe Street corridor, both share stops from 31st Street along Guadalupe into the UT area, The Drag and downtown. Both lines then diverge at Cesar Chavez Street, and the 801 and 803 continue along South Congress Avenue and South Lamar Boulevard respectively to their southern terminuses.

Capital MetroRapid begins service at 5 a.m. Monday through Friday, with both lines operating high-frequency service of 10 minutes during the day, with early mornings and early evenings every 15 minutes; service ends at 12:30 a.m. Monday thru Wednesday and at 2:30 a.m. Thursday and Friday nights. On Saturdays, it operates from 6 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Weekend daytime headways consist of every 15 minutes, and seven nights a week (including late Thursday to Saturday nights), every 20 minutes.[7][8]

Criticism

The premium fare structure recommended by a consultant caused problems for the agency. It did not collect as much money back from the fare increase as was originally expected.[9] Other BRT systems in Texas such as San Antonio and El Paso intentionally priced their BRT system for local fare. The MetroRapid bus fare was lowered to regular bus prices on January 8, 2017[10]

The agency still experiences MetroRapid problems. People cannot easily get a connecting local route at the Domain MetroRapid station--their nearest local routes are on Burnet road. There are no 803 stations at the Arboretum even though the frequency of the 3 was reduced. The 803 goes into the Pickle Research Center during times/days the campus is closed as opposed to a station easily connecting with the 3 and the 383. Customers using the 801 at the North Lamar Transit Center must walk to the local buses, they do not readily connect to the covered shelters. The North Lamar Metrorapid station is not well lit and has physical steps which are not ADA compliant.

List of Capital MetroRapid stations
MetroRapid station shared both by Routes 801 & 803
Transit hub/center and/or park and ride
Bolded MetroBus route number (i.e. 7) indicates high-frequency service

Route 801 - North Lamar/South Congress

north to south

Stop Intersection/
address		 Connections Notes
Tech Ridge 900 Center Ridge Drive MetroBus 1, 52, 135, 243, 392, 935
CARTS		 northern terminus
Serves Tech Ridge Retail Center. Park and Ride
Chinatown North Lamar Boulevard and Kramer Lane MetroBus 1
Masterson North Lamar and Masterson Pass MetroBus 1
Rundberg North Lamar and West Rundberg Lane MetroBus 1, 324, 325, 481 Serves Rundberg/Lamar Shopping Center
Fairfield North Lamar and West Elliott Street (northbound)
North Lamar and Fairfield Drive (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 481
North Lamar Transit Center 7911 Research Boulevard MetroBus 1, 323,350, 383, 481 MetroRapid stop is located on the North Lamar southbound service road north of U.S. 183 intersection, within walking distance of transit center; both northbound and southbound buses stop there.
Crestview 6920 North Lamar Boulevard MetroRail Red Line at Crestview Station
MetroBus 1, 7, 300 481		 MetroRapid stop is located on North Lamar at Airport Boulevard (southbound) or Justin Lane (northbound)
Brentwood North Lamar and West Koenig Lane MetroBus 1, 337, 481 Serves Texas Department of Public Safety office
Triangle 4600 Guadalupe Street West MetroBus 1, 481, 990
UT Shuttle 656 (IF), 681 (IF/FW)		 MetroRapid stop is located on West Guadalupe at West Forty-seventh Streets
Serves Texas Department of Health and Texas School for the Blind. Park and Ride
Hyde Park Guadalupe at West Thirty-ninth Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe at West Thirty-eight-and-a-half Streets (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 481, 990 Serves Austin State Hospital
31st Street Guadalupe and West Thirty-first Streets MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 481, 803
UT/Dean Keeton Guadalupe and West Dean Keeton Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and West Twenty-sixth Streets (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 410, 481, 803, 982, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 640 (FA), 642 (WC), 661 (FW)		 Serves University of Texas at Austin
UT/West Mall Guadalupe and West Mall walkway (northbound)
Guadalupe and West Twenty-third Streets (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 410, 481, 803, 980, 981, 982, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 640 (FA), 642 (WC)		 Serves University of Texas at Austin, The Drag
Museum Lavaca and West Seventeenth Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and Seventeenth (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 3, 18, 19, 20, 105, 481, 803, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 663 (LA)		 Serves Blanton Museum of Art and Bullock Texas State History Museum
Capitol Lavaca and West Thirteenth Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and West Twelfth Streets (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 20, 30, 103, 481, 803, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 663 (LA)		 Serves Downtown Austin, the Texas State Capitol complex, ACC Rio Grande campus, Travis County Courthouse
Austin History Center Lavaca and West Eighth Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and Eighth (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 19, 20, 30, 103, 105, 111, 142, 171, 481, 485, 803, 935, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 663 (LA)		 Originally called "Wooldridge Square"
Serves Downtown, Austin History Center, Capital Metro Transit Store, Congress Avenue Historic District (walking distance) and Sixth Street.
Republic Square Lavaca and West Third Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and West Fourth Streets (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 17, 19, 20, 30, 105, 111, 142, 171, 483, 484, 486, 803, 935, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990 Serves Downtown, City Hall, Lady Bird Lake (Colorado River) and Republic Square. Within walking distance of Austin Convention Center and Downtown MetroRail station.
Vic Mathias/Auditorium Shores West Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road MetroBus 1, 7, 10, 20, 142, 483, 486, 935, 987 Originally called "Auditorium Shores"
Serves Auditorium Shores, Long Center, Palmer Events Center, Bat colony
SoCo South Congress Avenue and East Elizabeth Street (northbound)
South Congress Avenue and West Monroe Street (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 486 Serves SoCo, Texas School for the Deaf
Oltorf South Congress Avenue and East/West Oltorf Street MetroBus 1, 300, 486
St. Edward's South Congress Avenue and Woodward Street (northbound)
South Congress Avenue and Lightsey Road (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 486 Serves St. Edward's University
South Congress Transit Center 301 West Ben White Boulevard MetroBus 1, 310, 315
St. Elmo South Congress Avenue and St. Elmo Road MetroBus 1, 486
Little Texas South Congress Avenue and Little Texas Lane MetroBus 1, 486
Pleasant Hill South Congress Avenue at William Cannon Drive MetroBus 1, 201, 333, 486
Southpark Meadows Turk and Cullen Lanes MetroBus 3, 10, 201, 318 southern terminus
Serves Southpark Meadows Shopping Center

Route 803 - Burnet/South Lamar

north to south

Stop Intersection/
address		 Connections Notes
Domain Alterra Parkway and Esperanza Crossing MetroBus 466 northern terminus
Serves The Domain shopping center
UT Research Campus Road A at James Hart Trail (northbound)
Road A at Clyde Davis Trail		 MetroBus 466 Serves J. J. Pickle Research Campus
Crossroads Burnet Road and Polaris Avenue (northbound)
Burnet Road and Research Boulevard (southbound)		 MetroBus 3, 383
Ohlen Burnet and Ohlen Roads (northbound)
Burnet Road and Penny Lane (southbound)		 MetroBus 3, 324
Northcross Burnet Road and St. Joseph Boulevard (northbound)
Burnet Road and West Anderson Lane (southbound)		 MetroBus 3, 5, 323, 324 Serves Northcross Shopping Center
Justin Burnet Road and Justin Lane (northbound)
Burnet Road and Pegram Avenue		 MetroBus 3
Allandale Burnet Road and West Koenig Lane (northbound)
Burnet Road and Allandale Road (southbound)		 MetroBus 3, 337, 491
North Loop Burnet Road and North Loop Boulevard MetroBus 3, 345
Sunshine Sunshine Drive and North Lamar Boulevard MetroBus 5, 345
Rosedale North Lamar and West Fortieth Street MetroBus 5 Serves Central Market, Central Park Shopping Center, Heart Hospital of Austin, Seton Medical Center
West 38th West Thirty-eighth Street and West Avenue MetroBus 3, 19, 335, 491, 982, 987
31st Street Guadalupe and West Thirty-first Streets MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 481, 801
UT/Dean Keeton Guadalupe and West Dean Keeton Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and West Twenty-sixth Streets (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 410, 481, 801, 982, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 640 (FA), 642 (WC), 661 (FW)		 Serves University of Texas at Austin
UT/West Mall Guadalupe and West Mall walkway (northbound)
Guadalupe and West Twenty-third Streets (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 410, 481, 801, 980, 981, 982, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 640 (FA), 642 (WC)		 Serves University of Texas at Austin, The Drag
Museum Lavaca and West Seventeenth Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and Seventeenth (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 3, 18, 19, 20, 105, 481, 801, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 663 (LA)		 Serves Blanton Museum of Art and Bullock Texas State History Museum
Capitol Lavaca and West Thirteenth Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and West Twelfth Streets (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 20, 30, 103, 481, 801, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 663 (LA)		 Serves Downtown Austin, Texas State Capitol complex, ACC Rio Grande campus, Travis County courthouse
Austin History Center Lavaca and West Eighth Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and Eighth (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 19, 20, 30, 103, 105, 111, 142, 171, 481, 485, 801, 935, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990
UT Shuttle 663 (LA)		 Originally called "Wooldridge Square"
Serves Downtown, Austin History Center, Capital Metro Transit Center, Congress Avenue Historic District (walking distance) and Sixth Street.
Republic Square Lavaca and West Third Streets (northbound)
Guadalupe and West Fourth Streets (southbound)		 MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 17, 19, 20, 30, 105, 111, 142, 171, 483, 484, 486, 801, 935, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990 Serves Downtown, City Hall, Lady Bird Lake (Colorado River) and Republic Square. Within walking distance of Austin Convention Center and Downtown MetroRail station.
Seaholm West Cesar Chavez and San Antonio Streets (northbound)
West Cesar Chavez and West Streets (southbound)*		 MetroBus 3, 111, 171, 980, 981, 985 *southbound temporary stop due to construction
Serves Lady Bird Lake and the Central Library. Within walking distance of Amtrak station
Barton Springs South Lamar Boulevard and Butler Road (northbound)
South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Springs Road (southbound)		 MetroBus 3, 30, 484 Serves Auditorium Shores, Barton Springs, Long Center, Palmer Events Center, Zach Theatre and Zilker Park
Lamar Square South Lamar and Lamar Square Drive MetroBus 3, 484
Oltorf West South Lamar and West Oltorf Street (northbound)
South Lamar and Oxford Avenue (southbound)		 MetroBus 3, 300, 484
Bluebonnet South Lamar and Bluebonnet Lane MetroBus 3, 300, 484
Broken Spoke South Lamar and West Ben White Boulevards (northbound)
South Lamar and Brodie Oaks
Brodie Oaks South Lamar and West Ben White Boulevards (northbound)
South Lamar and Brodie Oaks
Westgate Transit Center 2027 West Ben White Boulevard MetroBus 30, 105, 300, 311, 315, 318 southern terminus
Replaces original "Westgate" stop on Western Trails Boulevard near Westgate Mall

New stops

The 801 and 803 started to stop at 31st and Guadalupe during the summer of 2018. The usual MetroRapid red shelters (with displays showing how soon the next buses will arrive) were not installed until October.

Broken Spoke on route 803 and St. Elmo and Fairfield on route 801 were first shown as working stops on the maps issued in advance of the August 19th, 2018 CapMetro service changes. Rutland on route 803 and Parmer, North Loop East, and Slaughter on route 801 were first shown as working stops on the maps issued in advance of the January 6th, 2019 CapMetro service changes. However, Slaughter did not actually open until late 2019.

The southern terminus of route 803 was first shown as shifted to the newly-established Westgate Transit Center (with attached park-and-ride parking lot) on the maps issued in advance of the June 2, 2019 CapMetro service changes.

In addition to the new stations, Capital Metro has started installing new departure boards at many MetroRapid stations. These boards are made by Luminator Technology Group and use electronic ink to show the departures of the next several busses. The new boards have many advantages over the dot matrix boards that were installed with the original stations, such as showing departures for not only MetroRapid busses, but also local MetroBus routes that also serve that station. The dot matrix boards at the stations where the new E-ink boards were installed were turned off and are no longer used.[11]

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References
  1. "ProjectConnect – Bus Rapid Transit: Connecting the Best of Austin". Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  2. "Randy Clarke, President/CEO". Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  3. "ProjectConnect – Bus Rapid Transit: Connecting the Best of Austin". Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  4. "What is Capital MetroRapid service?". Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  5. Aaron, Michael (26 January 2014). "Capital Metro rolls out MetroRapid, new fares". kxan.com. KXAN News. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  6. "Routes and Destinations". Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  7. "801 - N. Lamar/S. Congress schedule" (PDF). Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  8. "801 - Burnet/S. Lamar schedule" (PDF). Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  9. Dunbar, Wells (31 January 2014). "Is Capital Metro's New MetroRapid Service Leaving Bus Riders Behind?". kut.org. KUT News. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  10. "Capital Metro Premium Fare Reduction to Begin Next Month"
  11. "LUMINATOR - Capital Metro chooses Luminator Technology Group for new passenger information displays". www.luminator.com. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
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