Posted: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 02:34 PM - 15,941 Readers

By: Sara Behunek

In an effort to boost ridership, Capital Metro Transit has made several changes to its bus routes, including eliminating underutilized rail connectors and re-routing others.

The Capital Metro board of directors approved the changes in a 7-0 vote April 27.

The alterations, which go into effect in August, would add approximately $2,000 to the annual budget, but that would be offset by about $41,000 in additional revenue from efficiencies, according to Capital Metro.

All but one of the suggestions presented by Capital Metro were adopted. The board did not approve re-routing the Airport Flyer, or route 100, to Riverside Drive from Seventh street to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in an effort to capture a larger market of potential passengers.

Board member Chris Riley, who spoke with a valet employee at The Courtyard by Marriott, 300 East Fourth Street, reported that the general consensus was that Capital Metro had not done a very good job of communicating with hotels about the Airport Flyer service, which would account for low usage. The board called on Capital Metro to renew educational efforts and plans to revisit the proposal at a later date.

For a map of the approved changes, click here.

Downtown rail connector buses

Three downtown routes—460, which runs along Congress Avenue; 461, on Guadalupe Street; and 462, on Riverside Drive—will be discontinued due to low ridership. These “dedicated rail connectors” were designed to take rail passengers exiting at the downtown station, on Fourth Street between Neches and Trinity Streets, on the final leg of their commute by bus.

An average of about 100 people per day use the downtown rail connectors, because most people who take the rail downtown walk or bike to their destination, said Misty Whited, Capital Metro spokeswoman. By comparison, the 465 MLK connector route carries more than 175 people per day on average.

Capital Metro has begun informal discussions with car2go or another car-sharing service to provide an alternative to rail connector passengers. Car2go has two car slips near the downtown station.

MLK/Downtown Rail Connector 464

Route 464, which runs along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and through downtown, will no longer run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. because of low ridership.

The bus is designed to take rail passengers exiting at the MLK Jr. station, on Alexander Avenue and MLK Boulevard, to major destinations like the State Office Complex, the state Capitol, The University of Texas and the University Medical Center Brackenridge.

ER Enfield Road 622/MLK  18

Bus routes ER, or 622, and 18 will merge to create a complete east-to-west service.

Route 18, running along Sixth street, downtown and through the UT campus, though only when the university is in full session, will now run non-stop. Major destinations along this route include the Frank Erwin Center, UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Capital Metro’s MLK Jr. rail station and the Techni Center.

The ER route, which has experienced low ridership, circles Lake Austin Boulevard and goes along Enfield Road to the University of Texas.

Kramer/ Domain 466

Bus route 466, serving Kramer Station, Pickle Research Campus and The Domain, will be realigned from Mopac to Burnet Road and Metric Street to reach Austin Community College Northridge, 11928 Stonehollow Drive, and provide a more direct route for riders.

Parkfield 240

Bus route 240, stopping at IBM Corp., The Domain and the North Lamar Transit Center, among others, will no longer make a loop onto Braker Street and Kramer Lane while traveling along Burnet Road. The route will no longer go directly by Kramer Station

Burleson 228

Bus route 228, servicing St. Edwards University, will take a detour while on Burleson Street to service Smith School Road and McKinney Falls Parkway.

Bull Creek 19

Bus route 19, which stops at Northcross Mall, Seton Medical Center, Anderson High School and the downtown and Capitol districts, will add Sunday service. It will no longer run along Jackson and 40th Streets or on Jefferson, Harris or 24th streets. Instead, the bus will be re-routed to E. 38th Street and Guadalupe Street to reach a more populated area.