Project Connect MetroRapid Lines coming to East Austin next year

AUSTIN, Texas - The multi-billion-dollar Project Connect transit plan is set to roll out MetroRapid lines in East Austin next year.

"If you look at cap metros performance dashboard, they actually measure ridership. These are two of the three highest ridership lines that CapMetro has right now, people really like them. They get you where you need to go fast because they are set to where all the commuters go," says Executive Director of Transit Forward Bill McCamley.

Transit Forward says there have been two MetroRapid lines operating in Central Austin for nearly 10 years.

"The 801 and the 802 lines basically run north and south in central Austin, West Central Austin, those types of places. A lot of UT Austin students use those lines to get around that part of town," says McCamley.

In 2020, Austin voters approved Proposition A for the nearly $7.1 billion Project Connect Transit Plan. The MetroRapid lines are a part of the project, which has received support as well as push back.

"There are attempts out there, for instance, to get rid of Project Connect because they don't like light rail. I'm like OK, if you do that, then you not only get rid of that, you are getting rid of these new bus lines, you are getting rid of improvements to the Red Lines, you are getting rid of that new pick-up service in Dove Springs, you are getting rid of these bus lines," says McCamley.

According to the nonprofit, the two newest MetroRapid lines aim to benefit riders in East Austin with increased access to downtown, several East Austin destinations, and eventually the airport.

The two lines they are putting in go from Colony Park down to Mueller to downtown. Then another one goes from Mueller all the way down Pleasant Valley, down to Dove Springs.

Transit Forward says the buses will come every 10 to 15 minutes and the fare will remain $1.25.

"These MetroRapid systems are more like a train. You have got a lot more bus only lanes on some of these routes so that they have a way to get through heavily traveled places without traffic. You have set up bus stops, where they are a lot bigger," says McCamley.

The MetroRapid lines are set to start operating by March 2025.