AUSTIN, Texas — To celebrate CapMetro's "billionth ride" since the organization was created in 1985, 10 lucky Austinites riding on Route 333 in South Austin Wednesday were awarded year-long passes for free.
CapMetro CEO and President Randy Clarke, Sen. Kirk Watson, Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza and Commissioner Jeff Travillion joined Capital Metro staff to hand out the free passes to the 10 winners.
Since its inception in 1985, Capital Metro has grown from 225 buses to more than 540. The organization said it provided fewer than 8 million rides in its first full year, but more than 31 million in 2019. The agency implemented the largest change to its bus network in June 2018, creating a system that is more frequent, reliable and better connected.
Capital Metro also handed out celebratory pins to thank its operators for their dedicated service of providing safe, reliable transit for all customers.
The billionth ride milestone is not the only example of the agency's growth, either.
Earlier this month, CapMetro announced Project Connect – which includes more MetroRail options and the construction of an underground tunnel housing a light rail system in the Downtown Austin area.
The tunnel is a portion of one of two proposed transit-ways designed to alleviate downtown traffic and prevent cars from getting stuck behind a transit vehicle, according to city documents.
The second proposal suggests dedicating a bus lane for CapMetro transit vehicles. According to City documents, this plan would reach capacity by 2040.
For more information on Project Connect, visit our article breaking down the plan here.
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