CapMetro presents Transit Plan 2035 scenarios to Community Development Commission, highlights equity metrics and phased implementation

Capitol Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro) planners gave the Community Development Commission an extended briefing on Sept. 9 about the agency's Transit Plan 2035, summarizing public engagement, equity-focused analysis and a phased implementation approach tied to the coming Austin light-rail system.

Lawrence Dieter, a CapMetro planner who said he "help[s] lead the planning team," told commissioners the plan provides a roadmap for service changes over 0'to 5, 5'to 10 and 10-plus year horizons and will be implemented incrementally through CapMetro's regular service-change process rather than as a single-day overhaul. Dieter said the plan combines extensive empirical data (on-board surveys, location-based travel data) with more than 8,000 public-survey responses and multiple rounds of community engagement. He described a key analytic tool, the transit-propensity index, as "a tool that allows us to determine where there's high demand for transit" that explicitly includes equity factors such as low-income households and zero-vehicle households.

CapMetro presenters outlined short-term priorities that will accompany Rapid 803 and other rapid lines, modest route extensions and the opening of new station infrastructure such as the Broadmoor station near the Domain. Planners said the first five years will focus on cost-efficient changes and growing ridership while preparing for high-capacity rail. In later phases the plan recommends adding several high-frequency routes (service every 15 minutes or better), adding pickup zones in low-density senior and hard-to-serve areas, and potential regional expansions that would require interjurisdictional partnerships.

Commissioners pressed planners about passenger amenities and safety at stops. Emma Martinez, a CapMetro planner, described an amenity-enhancement process and a prioritization score that factors ridership and equity considerations "to put it in a list and start working towards implementing those items." Martinez said about 33% of CapMetro stops currently have shelters, a rate she described as higher than some agencies but one the agency wants to improve; she offered to provide commissioners a list of stops with and without shelters and their ridership. Commissioners also raised concerns about service reliability where lane reductions or construction reduce roadway capacity; planners said CapMetro coordinates with the city and TxDOT on transit-priority treatments and detours to preserve reliability where possible.

Planners described other operational changes under consideration for specific corridors (extensions and realignments in Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and central Austin; consolidation of some low-ridership routes; replacement of some commuter "flyer" services). For the University of Texas shuttle network, CapMetro said it is transitioning several routes into mainline services to provide consistent, higher-frequency service year-round and seven days a week.

Planners emphasized budget constraints: Dieter said CapMetro's primary funding source is sales tax revenue and that farebox and federal funds are a much smaller share, meaning recommended changes were constrained by financial feasibility. The agency plans to present a refined recommendation to its board in the fall and to continue service-change-level engagement before any implementation.

Ending: Commissioners asked for follow-up on shelter-amenity mapping and asked CapMetro to return for further briefings; staff said they can provide shelter inventories and continue coordination on transit priority treatments and stop amenities.