Starting Aug. 21, Round Rock will have new options for travel in and around town as well as new options to get to destinations in Austin. This new service was approved by City Council at its March 23 meeting, and approved by the Capital Metro Board of Directors on March 27.
“We are excited to welcome Capital Metro to Round Rock,” Mayor Alan McGraw said. “Partnering with Capital Metro allows our residents the ability to move in and around Round Rock, especially those that really depend on assistance with transportation. It also gives our daily commuter into Austin another alternative to reach other Austin stations and to get downtown – and to get off IH 35.”
The City completed a Transit Master Plan in 2015, which provides a blueprint for improving local mobility and regional connectivity over the next 10 years. After hosting several community input meetings and receiving feedback via social media and online surveys, the Transportation Services Department developed routes consistent with community needs.
“We always want to better serve our customers by strengthening service whenever we have the opportunity to do so,” Director of Transportation Services Gary Hudder said. “These new routes will go a long way toward providing better service to our residents, and fast and reliable bus connection between Round Rock and Austin.”
New Routes 50 and 51 will operate from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Route 52 offers limited-stop service, providing a fast and reliable bus connection between major employers and regional transit hubs, and will operate Monday through Friday limited hours. Route 980 express will utilize the Mopac managed lanes to downtown Austin, Monday through Friday limited hours.
Fares are consistent with CapMetro’s system and will be honored seamlessly from Round Rock to Austin.
“This marks an important step for Capital Metro, the City of Round Rock and the entire Central Texas region,” said Wade Cooper, chairman of the Capital Metro board of directors. “With housing costs pushing residents outside of our service area, cooperative agreements like this are a big step towards addressing congestion. I applaud Round Rock for their leadership on this critical issue.”
Capital Metro is working with other cities outside its service area to provide much-needed transportation service to some of the fastest growing areas in the country, including Georgetown, Pflugerville, Hutto and Buda.
No new property taxes are being levied to pay for this additional transit service. The City will fund $500,000 and the Federal Transit Administration $400,000 toward the $873,000 contract. While the agreement is for five years, the City is considering the first year a trial run to determine if there is adequate demand.
Find more information on the City’s transit program here.
