CapMetro proposes June 2025 service changes; riders urge equity and accessibility fixes

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff presented proposed June 2025 service changes at a public hearing on Wednesday, March 12, in the Rosa Parks Boardroom in Austin and heard public comments pressing the agency to address equity in northeast neighborhoods and wheelchair-access safety in the Rundberg area.

Jordan McGee, a senior planner in CapMetro's planning department, told the board the June changes are primarily “minor and routine adjustments” to align service with school and university calendars and to improve reliability. McGee said the bulk of the changes would take effect Sunday, June 1, with University of Texas shuttle routes transitioning at the end of the spring term on Thursday, June 5. He said community engagement on the proposal began Feb. 24 and that staff will summarize feedback before the board considers action on March 24.

“Service changes provide us an opportunity to adjust our services to meet the needs of our customers, and efficiently use our resources,” McGee said.

McGee described the process as governed by board-approved service standards and guidelines and said the June package focuses on short-term adjustments such as schedule tweaks, layover locations and stop changes that staff expect will not “substantially impact the customer's trip.” He also said CapMetro is coordinating with regional partners and preparing a longer-range Transit Plan 2035 that could yield larger service scenarios and phased recommendations after adoption in late 2025.

Two members of the public addressed the board during the hearing. Zenobia Joseph raised Title VI concerns and disputed what she described as inequitable service in northeast Austin. Joseph cited a Project Connect 2014 locally preferred alternative study and said the study projects a large share of jobs moving to the north corridor by 2035; she asked whether CapMetro would improve service “in the Northeast Area north of U.S. Highway 183.” Joseph said the system “is inequitable” and criticized a mid-block stop on North Lamar that she said should not have been opened, referencing a prior pedestrian-safety review she said examined the corridor.

“I am in opposition of the service changes because the you say 1 thing, do another,” Joseph said, adding she wanted CapMetro to restore Northeast–Northwest connectivity and to address what she described as opportunity costs to African American and minority residents in northeast Austin.

A second speaker, Deborah Miller, identified herself as a rider who uses a wheelchair and told the board she has “had a lot of trouble” boarding and alighting in the Rundberg area when buses change direction. Miller urged CapMetro to consider altering a local transit center or routing so buses would not require riders in wheelchairs to cross the street to transfer. She also said she had received a notice from the Federal Transit Administration about a recall affecting a commuter vehicle she called “the flyer.”

“It’s very, very dangerous,” Miller said of the current boarding configuration in Rundberg.

No board members asked questions during the hearing, and the chair closed public comment and adjourned the hearing at 12:13 p.m. There was no vote or formal action at the March 12 hearing; McGee said the board would consider the proposed service changes at an upcoming meeting on March 24.

Key details from the presentation and public remarks will be summarized by staff and included in outreach and marketing materials if the board approves the changes. The public comment record from the hearing will be part of that staff review, CapMetro said during the presentation.