Frustrated Capital Metro riders ask for answers

This month, Capital Metro implemented the biggest service change in its history: changing 52 of its new bus routes and adding 10 routes. This week, FOX 7 Austin received several calls and e-mails from people who are struggling with these new changes. 

Ricky Gleason has been walking across the street from where he lives in East Austin to catch the bus for years. But what was once an easy stroll, is now a big inconvenience. 

"There's the elderly people here, handicapped people here, and I happen to be one of the people that's disabled and there's no bus to catch."

Gleason says his old bus stop location was at Jain and Gardner. The new one is on Shady Lane and East Cesar Chavez.

"I've had two back surgeries so I'm not walking that fast and it takes at least 45 minutes."

And depending on weather and the time of day, he says his trek home could take even longer. This week Fox 7 Austin received several phone calls and emails, people echoing the same concerns as Gleason. Including his neighbor, who doesn't have a vehicle and heavily depends on CapMetro.

Roberto Gonzalez works in the planning department at Capital Metro.

“In terms of the gentleman that you spoke to I'd be happy to see where he is, what he's trying to do," Gonzalez said. "If there's some needs that aren't being met, perhaps there's another service that we have around here that could meet his needs.You mentioned that he had a disability. I couldn't tell you whether or not he qualifies for MetroAccess (https://www.capmetro.org/metroaccess/), which is a service that we provide that helps people get in and around the community."

Gonzalez asked for Gleason's contact information so he can directly give him answers and says he's very eager to provide solutions. His team is working on removing bus stops that are no longer in use, to clear up confusion. Which is something Gleason was asking about Thursday afternoon.

FOX 7 asked Gonzalez what is the benefit of people like Gleason walking further to catch the bus?

"The overall goal of the service change was to make more frequent service throughout the entire community. That means more frequent, that means more connectivity and improvements on where you get to be. When it comes to the system, a number of routes were improved to every 15 minutes 7 days a week."

Gonzalez says in a recent meeting people in the Del Valle area requested an earlier pickup time so they could make it to work on time. Now there are plans in place for that request to be granted, starting in August. The next meeting is Monday at noon at the CapMetro headquarters.