New CapMetro MetroRapid lines officially start service on Sunday
The Brief
Two new MetroRapid bus lines will start service this weekend.
800 Pleasant Valley and 837 Expo Center will start taking passengers on Sunday, Feb. 23.
CapMetro says that these routes will enhance transit connectivity to areas east of I-35.
AUSTIN, Texas - CapMetro says its two newest MetroRapid lines will officially go into service this weekend.
What we know
The 800 Pleasant Valley Line and the 837 Expo Center Line will start taking passengers on Sunday, Feb. 23.
CapMetro says that these routes will enhance transit connectivity to areas east of I-35, with buses arriving every 20-to-30-minutes.
Rapid Route 800 will run from Berkman/Mueller to the temporary end of the line at Vertex/Slaughter Lane in southeast Austin.
The line will end at the Goodnight Ranch Park & Ride once construction is completed, says CapMetro.
Rapid Route 800 will connect commuters to destinations such as:
Mueller
The Springdale Shopping Center
ACC Eastview
Austin Lighthouse for the Blind
Dove Springs
Easton Park
Goodnight Ranch
CapMetro says that Route 800 will eventually connect to the new Austin Light Rail and Green Line commuter rail.
Rapid Route 837 will provide service from the temporary start of the line at Loyola Lane/Decker Lane in northeast Austin to Republic Square.
The line will start at the Expo Center Park & Ride once construction is completed.
Rapid Route 837 connects customers to medical, university, residential and commercial areas, including:
Downtown CapMetro routes
Red Line at Downton Station
Rapid 801 and 803
Mueller
UT Campus
Decker
Route 837 will eventually connect to the new Austin Light Rail.
The backstory
CapMetro started testing these lines in January.
The new lines are part of Project Connect and an effort to improve mobility in East Austin and Southeast Austin.
Project Connect MetroRapid Lines coming to East Austin next year
Lawsuit filed against City of Austin seeks to stop funds being collected for Project Connect
CapMetro proposes new rapid lines for 2025
CapMetro says they broke ground on the new lines in the winter of 2021-22.
Transit Forward told FOX 7 Austin's Tan Radford in December that there have been two MetroRapid lines operating in Central Austin for nearly 10 years.
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.
Dig deeper
The transit agency is also updating its payment systems, sunsetting its existing CapMetro app and AMP cards.
Riders can switch now to the Umo app, available on iPhone and Android, or choose to get the new CapMetro reloadable fare card. CapMetro says you cannot use both, you have to choose one or the other.
Those who still have AMP, 31-day, 7-day or stored value cards can swap their existing cards now at the Transit Store at 1705 Guadalupe Street.
The CapMetro app and AMP cards will cease working on March 1 and all plastic cards will be retired on April 1.
For more information on the changes, click here.
The Source
Information in this report comes from CapMetro and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin.
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