Community leaders will accompany a group of students who have been involved in Capital Metro’s rail safety education efforts on a MetroRail “Safety Train” demonstration ride from Leander to Downtown Station. A coffee and hot chocolate reception and some remarks will take place in Leander before the Safety Train, and another reception, music, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at Downtown Station after the train arrives. We hope you can make it!

Ready to Roll

Become an APT Volunteer!

Volunteer Alert!

As you know, the Leander to Austin or the “Red Line” will be running starting next Monday.
We expect a lot of enthusiasm from riders and even onlookers on this historic day for Austin.
In order to grow our transit system - we need to support groups like the Alliance for Public Transportation who will have volunteers at the downtown and MLK Stations all week.

Can you help us by handing out pro-transit literature and asking people to complete a short questionnaire?

Our goal is to reach people who are seeing the value of having multi-modal transportation options by letting them know of APT’s mission.

Our strongest needs are here:

Monday the 27th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at both the Downtown Station and the MLK Station. Many people will be getting off at the MLK Station as there will be CapMetro shuttles going back and forth to the UT campus.

We still have a few slots available for the morning shifts at the downtown station. Those shifts start at 7:00 a.m. and go until 9 a.m.

Please Let Dave Foster know of your interest by e-mailing him at dfoster@cleanwater.org and which of the two stations you prefer to volunteer at. You will be there along with several other APT representatives so don’t worry about being alone out there.

Help us recruit more transit-friendly supporters!

CAR2GO

Friday, February 26, 2010, 9:52am CST

LIVESTRONG joins Austin Smart Car pilot program

Austin Business Journal

LIVESTRONG this week became the second U.S. employer to join a nationwide Smart Car pilot program called car2go.

Last November, the City of Austin signed up to be the first to test the carbon emissions reduction program, acquiring 200 electric Smart Cars that its 13,000 employees can use in or outside of work. Now staff with cyclist Lance Armstrong’s foundation can also borrow the mini vehicles.

Read more…

[via Austin Business Journal]

City of Austin

Mayor considering urban rail bond package

by STEVE ALBERTS / KVUE News

Posted on February 10, 2010 at 5:15 PM

Updated Wednesday, Feb 10 at 6:25 PM

******

The City of Austin is proposing an urban rail line in downtown.

“We have to do something,” said Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell. “What we have to do is everything. We need better roads, bike and trail facilities and better mass transit; and I personally think rail is the best option for mass transit.”

The bond package that the mayor’s office is considering proposing to the city council and the community would be in the range of $400 million. Roughly half of the bond package would be devoted to urban rail, and the other half would be devoted to roads and other transportation infrastructure. The cost of this bond proposal to the average Austin household would be just over $3 per month, or about $40 per year.

Read more…

[via KVUE]

Austin Strategic Mobility Plan

AUSTIN, Texas - The City of Austin today launched a new online survey
asking citizens about their transportation priorities to help guide how
future transportation dollars will be spent. The survey mirrors the
workshop exercises conducted at the six Austin Mobility Forums across
the city this week. 

The new survey can be found at
http://www.austinstrategicmobility.com/get-involved/survey/. Results
from the survey will be shared with the City Council as it considers
future mobility projects.

“We were fortunate to have hundreds of citizens participate in the
mobility forums. We would like to expand the opportunity for citizens to
comment with this new online survey,” said Rob Spillar, director of the
Austin Transportation Department. 

The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan will guide Austin’s near- and
long-term transportation investments for roads, bicycle and pedestrian
needs, transit and potential urban rail. The survey is designed to
capture citizens’ values to help shape that plan and identify the
transportation tools that should be part of Austin’s future mobility
system.

Austin’s traffic congestion challenges will only get worse with the
region’s rapid growth, said Spillar. More than 1,200 needed
transportation projects have been identified by citizens, technical
experts, city staff and other government agencies since last fall. The
City’s Strategic Mobility Plan is working to address traffic congestion
in the short-term and meet mobility needs over the long-term.

# # #

Karla Taylor Villalon

Public Information Manager

Austin Transportation Department

512.974.7246

Metro Rapid

CapMetro getting $24M for ‘bus that looks like a train’

Austin Business Journal

The U.S. Department of Transportation is giving Austin $24 million next year to construct a “bus that looks like a train” and turns traffic lights green.

The dollars announced today with the department’s 2011 budget highlights is the second federal installment funding the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s “MetroRapid” bus line. The local agency was approved for $13 million this fiscal year.

Read more…

[via Austin Business Journal]

City of Austin

Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 9:31am CST

Austin hosting transportation public forums

Austin Business Journal

The city of Austin is asking for public input on future transportation planning during four meetings early next month.

Officials have collected 1,200 citizen-suggested transportation projects and need help identifying priorities for improving mobility in the city either by bus, bike, rail, on foot, car of otherwise.

Read more…

[via Austin Business Journal]

CapMetro hits the rail in March, searches for permanent CEO

Austin Business Journal - by Jacob Dirr Staff Writer

View Larger

After much delay, drama and uncertainty, it appears Austin’s rail is back on track.

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Interim CEO Doug Allen on Monday got to tell his board and a roomful of attendees the delayed MetroRail line will open in March, just like he promised when replacing his under-performing boss last year.

Despite the good news, the board approved executive search firm Gilbert Tweed International to decide if Allen should be replaced with a different permanent CEO.

Read more…

[via Austin Business Journal]

City of Austin

AUSTIN

City Council may get rail rolling again

Council set to consider $1M engineering contract with goal of November 2010 bond referendum.

By Ben Wear
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, December 08, 2009

The City of Austin’s push toward a November 2010 passenger rail referendum could pick up speed Thursday, when the City Council will consider a $1 million contract to design a route and refine what has been a rough $600 million cost estimate.

The city already has hired consultant URS Corp. for $355,000 to develop an “alternatives analysis” of the possible line, as required by federal law. The council could vote by February on a recommended route, which might run from East Austin through downtown to the airport. That could be followed by a council decision in May or June on whether to hold a November bond referendum and a further council vote in August to nail down the exact ballot proposal.

Read more…

[via The Austin American-Statesman]