Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Austin officials proclaim Sept. 29–Oct. 5 as Week Without Driving
Summary
City Council Member Paige Ellis led a City Hall event to declare Sept. 29–Oct. 5, 2025, as Week Without Driving in Austin, urging residents to try non-driving trips and highlighting transit equity, safety, and regional partnerships.
Council Member Paige Ellis, chair of the Mobility Committee and a board member of CapMetro, proclaimed Sept. 29–Oct. 5, 2025, as "Week Without Driving" at a City Hall event promoting alternatives to single‑occupancy car trips.
The proclamation and remarks at the event sought to highlight transportation equity and safety, encouraging Austinites to try walking, bicycling, rolling, or transit for a day or more to better understand barriers that people who do not drive face. "Week without driving is a reminder that safe, accessible, and reliable transportation simply has to work for everybody," Ellis said as she read the proclamation.
The Nut Graf: Organizers and elected officials framed the week as both an educational exercise and a call to sustain investments in non‑car mobility, citing the city’s 2020 active mobility bond and community partnerships. Supporters said the event aims to build empathy for people who cannot or choose not to drive and to spotlight gaps in sidewalks, bikeways and transit stops.
Among speakers, State Representative John Busey, who represents House District 136, emphasized the economic and dignity reasons for investing in public transit. "This isn't just about the economy. It's about dignity," Busey said, adding that transit connects Texans to jobs, schools and health care and that "we all deserve freedom of mobility, and together, we will build an Austin that works for everyone." Busey also warned that past legislative efforts had sought to curtail local funding mechanisms for rail and transit, and he praised local unity in opposing those measures.
Diego Martinez Moncado of Safe Streets described the week as an opportunity to "step into the shoes of the many people in our community who live every day without access to a personal car," and urged that "safety should never depend on whether you own a car." Kate Harrington of MoveAbility described transportation demand management as a way to give people more realistic travel choices and said the effort aligns with employers' and regional goals. Ashika Ganguly of Transit Forward noted her group's work to pass and steward Project Connect and framed the week as a chance to recommit to implementation.
Speakers referenced a range of supporting facts and programs during the event: Ellis cited the city's $460,000,000 active mobility bond passed in 2020 as part of ongoing investments in trails, bike lanes and bus stops; the proclamation quoted an estimate that annual vehicle ownership costs average about $12,297 a year (attributed in the remarks to AAA); and Transit Forward referenced Project Connect as a ballot‑approved program the organization helped pass and now seeks to implement.
The event closed with a group photograph and a brief note that the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) had supplied copies of Week Without Driving by Anna Zivartz for participants. Organizers encouraged residents to participate for a day or more to test the city's non‑driving infrastructure and to inform future planning.
Ending: No formal council action, motion, or vote was recorded in the transcript of this event. The gathering functioned as a ceremonial proclamation and public launch for the Week Without Driving campaign.
