Cap Metro's brand new commuter rail is already losing riders. Now the transit authority is looking at a long list of options, all meant to get you on board.
Shortly before the 4:55 pulled out of downtown Austin heading for Leander, riders KVUE spoke to talked about Cap Metro studying the possibility of adding midday, Friday evenings or even Saturday routes in the near future.
"The last train where I pick it up in Leander it leaves at 8 o'clock, so if I leave later than that it would be convenient if there was one that ran a little bit later coming into Austin," said Angie Hurtado, who rides the Red Line.
"It works out great for me in the morning but sometimes I work doubles, especially on the weekends, so it would be nice if they had some trains going on the weekends," said Philip Schroeder, who rides the Red Line.
Next month, as the University of Texas and other schools get back in session and traffic becomes more congested, Cap Metro will kick off a $200,000 marketing effort to attract new riders.
"There may be people who have taken a look at where the stations are and thought I work X-number of blocks from the downtown station so it really doesn't look like it will work for me, maybe they don't realize there are different connector routes that will be waiting for you when you get to downtown that will zip you right to where you need to go," said Adam Shaivitz, the communications manager for Capital Metro.
Also in August, Cap Metro will make minor adjustments to its bus schedule that will make it more convenient to transfer from train to bus, even adding connector rail buses, like the ones used downtown, to the Kramer station so passengers can more easily access the Domain, IBM and the J.J. Pickle research center.
"I think what they could do is add more stops or add more frequency of trains, I think the route has kind of pigeon holed them into a difficult situation," said Logan Gentry, who rides the Red Line.
Cap Metro also is considering a van pool program with local employers who would pay a monthly fee to have vans parked at commuter stations which could drive people to work.
