Capital MetroRapid

Capital MetroRapid

Overview
Owner	Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Locale	Austin, Texas, U.S.
Transit type	Bus service
Number of lines	2
Number of stations	43
Chief executive	Linda Watson
Headquarters	Austin
Website	http://www.capmetro.org/metrorapid
Operation
Began operation	January 26, 2014
System map 801 Legend Tech Ridge Chinatown Masterson Rundberg North Lamar Crestview Brentwood Triangle Hyde Park UT Dean Keeton UT West Mall Museum Capitol Austin History Center Republic Square Auditorium Shores Soco Oltorf Saint Edward's South Congress Little Texas Pleasant Hill Southpark Meadows 803 Legend Domain UT Research Campus Crossroads Ohlen Northcross Justin Allandale North Loop Sunshine Rosedale West 38th UT Dean Keeton UT West Mall Museum Capitol Austin History Center Republic Square Seaholm Barton Springs Lamar Square Oltorf West Bluebonnet Brodie Oaks Westgate

Capital MetroRapid is an bus rapid transit service in Austin, Texas that is owned and operated by the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It currently consists of two routes which run north-south.

Service on the first route, MetroRapid North Lamar/South Congress (Route 801), began on January 26, 2014. It replaced existing bus Routes 1L 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). 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.

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 38th 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 operates from 5 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, with both lines operating high-frequency service of 12-15 minutes during the day. On Saturdays, it operates from 6 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Weeknight and weekend daytime headways consist of every 20 minutes, and on weekend nights, every half-hour.

Criticism

The premium fare structure recommended by a consultant causes problems for the agency. It does not collect as much money back from the fare increase as was originally expected. Other BRT systems in Texas such as San Antonio and El Paso intentionally price their BRT system for local fare.

The agency experiences additional MetroRapid problems. People cannot easily get a connecting local route at the Domain MetroRapid station. Nearest local routes are located well away on Burnet road. Customers using the 801 to the North Lamar Transit Center must walk to the local buses, they do not connect to the terminals--or covered shelters.

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 Park and Ride	900 Center Ridge Drive	MetroBus 1, 135, 243, 275, 392, 935 CARTS	northern terminus Serves Tech Ridge Retail Center
Chinatown	North Lamar Boulevard and Kramer Lane	MetroBus 275
Masterson	North Lamar and Masterson Pass	MetroBus 275
Rundberg	North Lamar and West Rundberg Lane	MetroBus 1, 142, 240, 275, 325, 481	Serves Rundberg/Lamar Shopping Center
North Lamar Transit Center	7911 Research Boulevard	MetroBus 1, 240, 275, 300, 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
Crestview	6920 North Lamar Boulevard	MetroRail Red Line at Crestview Station MetroBus 1, 300, 350, 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, 320, 481	Serves Texas Department of Public Safety office
Triangle Park and Ride	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
Hyde Park	Guadalupe at West Thirty-ninth Streets (northbound) Guadalupe at West Thirty-eight-and-a-half Streets (southbound)	MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 481, 990	Serves Austin State Hospital
UT/Dean Keeton	Guadalupe and West Dean Keeton Streets (northbound) Guadalupe and West Twenty-sixth Streets (southbound)	MetroBus 1, 3, 5, 19, 21, 22, 103, 410, 481, 803, 982, 983, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 640 (FA), 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, 5, 19, 410, 481, 803, 982, 983, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 640 (FA)	Serves University of Texas at Austin, The Drag
Museum	Lavaca and West Seventeenth Streets (northbound) Guadalupe and Seventeenth (southbound)	MetroBus 1, 3, 5, 18, 19, 481, 803, 982, 983, 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, 5, 18, 19, 103, 110, 481, 803, 982, 983, 985, 987, 990	Serves Downtown Austin, the Texas State Capitol complex, ACC Rio Grande campus, Travis County courthouse
Austin History Museum	Lavaca and West Eighth Streets (northbound) Guadalupe and Eighth (southbound)	MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 19, 20, 30, 37, 103, 110, 111, 127, 142, 171, 481, 485, 803, 935, 982, 983, 985, 987, 990	Originally called "Wooldridge Square" Serves Downtown, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 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, 21, 22, 30, 37, 110, 111, 127, 142, 171, 483, 484, 486, 803, 935, 982, 983, 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.
Auditorium Shores	West Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road	MetroBus 1, 5, 7, 10, 20, 30, 110, 142, 483, 486, 935, 985, 987	Serves Auditorium Shores, Long Center, Palmer Events Center
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, 331, 486
St. Edward's	South Congress Avenue and Woodward Street (northbound) South Congress Avenue and Lightsey Road (southbound)	MetroBus 1, 228, 486	Serves St. Edward's University
South Congress Transit Center	301 West Ben White Boulevard	MetroBus 1, 30, 228, 300
Little Texas	South Congress Avenue and Little Texas Lane	MetroBus 1, 486
Pleasant Hill	6601 Circle S Road at East William Cannon Drive (northbound) 6610 South Congress Avenue at Eberhart Lane(southbound)	MetroBus 1, 201, 333, 486
Southpark Meadows	Turk and Cullen Lanes	MetroBus 3, 10, 201	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	none	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, 325
Northcross	Burnet Road and St. Joseph Boulevard (northbound) Burnet Road and West Anderson Lane (southbound)	MetroBus 3, 5, 323, 325	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	MetroBus 3, 320, 491
North Loop	Burnet Road and North Loop Boulevard	MetroBus 3
Sunshine	Sunshine Drive and North Lamar Boulevard		MetroBus 5
Rosedale	North Lamar and West Fortieth Street	MetroBus 3, 338	Serves Central Market, Heart Hospital of Austin, Seton Medical Center
West 38th	West Thirty-eighth Street and West Avenue	MetroBus 3, 19, 21, 22, 491, 982, 983, 987
UT/Dean Keeton	Guadalupe and West Dean Keeton Streets (northbound) Guadalupe and West Twenty-sixth Streets (southbound)	MetroBus 1, 3, 5, 19, 21, 22, 103, 410, 481, 801, 982, 983, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 640 (FA), 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, 5, 19, 410, 481, 801, 982, 983, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 640 (FA)	Serves University of Texas at Austin, The Drag
Museum	Lavaca and West Seventeenth Streets (northbound) Guadalupe and Seventeenth (southbound)	MetroBus 1, 3, 5, 18, 19, 481, 801, 982, 983, 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, 5, 18, 19, 103, 110, 481, 801, 982, 983, 985, 987, 990	Serves Downtown Austin, Texas State Capitol complex, ACC Rio Grande campus, Travis County courthouse
Austin History Museum	Lavaca and West Eighth Streets (northbound) Guadalupe and Eighth (southbound)	MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 19, 20, 30, 37, 103, 110, 111, 127, 142, 171, 481, 485, 801, 935, 982, 983, 985, 987, 990	Originally called "Wooldridge Square" Serves Downtown, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 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, 21, 22, 30, 37, 110, 111, 127, 142, 171, 483, 484, 486, 801, 935, 982, 983, 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) Guadalupe and West Cesar Chavez Streets (southbound)*	MetroBus 3, 111, 171	*southbound temporary stop due to construction Serves Lady Bird Lake and is 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, 338, 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, 338, 484
Oltorf West	South Lamar and West Oltorf Street (northbound) South Lamar and Oxford Avenue (southbound)	MetroBus 3, 331, 338, 484
Bluebonnet	South Lamar and Bluebonnet Lane	MetroBus 3, 331, 338, 484
Brodie Oaks	South Lamar and West Ben White Boulevards (northbound) South Lamar and Brodie Oaks	MetroBus 338
Westgate	Western Trails Boulevard and Sagebrush Trail	MetroBus 5, 30, 238, 311, 331, 338	southern terminus Serves Westgate Mall

External links

• Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority