Here's when CapMetro's new rapid bus lines debut this year
AUSTIN (KXAN) — All aboard: CapMetro will debut its newest rapid bus lines later this month as part of the Project Connect mass transit system's expansion work.
The two new MetroRapid lines are the 800 Pleasant Valley and 837 Expo Center lines. Riders will be able to begin taking those routes on Feb. 23, CapMetro officials confirmed in a Monday release.
PAST COVERAGE: CapMetro gears up for new Pickup, MetroRapid bus services in 2025
Both the 800 and 837 lines focus on expanded transit access east of Interstate 35. The 800 Pleasant Valley line will transport riders between the Mueller neighborhood and Goodnight Ranch in southeast Austin, while the 837 Expo Center will operate between northeast Austin and downtown.
Initially, the 800 Pleasant Valley line will stop at a temporary station at Vertex before its final expansion into the Goodnight Ranch Park & Ride. A similar temporary station endpoint is poised for the 837 Expo Centerline, which will debut with a temporary station at Decker before an end point at the Expo Center Park & Ride.
In December, CapMetro officials said work was underway on both lines' park and rides, with end-of-line charging infrastructure planned for electric buses. Both the Expo Center and Pleasant Valley lines will launch operations with diesel vehicles before incorporating a 'strategic use of battery electric buses' as available, December CapMetro documents noted.
The lines' full system rollouts are expected in 2026, CapMetro officials said Monday.
This isn't the first of CapMetro's Project Connect enhancements to debut in 2025. Area transit leaders celebrated the introduction of the Decker Pickup Zone in late January, an on-demand service helping provide connection points to area schools, grocers, businesses, recreation sites, and other amenities.
The Decker Pickup Zone marked the 12th in the CapMetro system, providing transport between the Decker Lane and Daffan Lane areas east of U.S. Hwy. 183. The CapMetro Pickup service runs as a curb-to-curb shared shuttle service, offering on-demand service within the service zone and connecting riders to other transit stops linking to the larger CapMetro system.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘It makes sense': Austin changes inspection requirements for food trucks
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Rod Ferriol spent a good portion of his Monday prepping food for his South Austin food truck, Los Galanes Birria. 'I can't complain. This isn't work for me,' Ferriol said. 'This is fun for me.' Ferriol said he opened his Mexican street food truck around a year and a half ago after his kids were grown and left home. While he cooked for family and friends his whole life, this is his first time doing it professionally. And even though he's having fun, he said it's not always easy having a new business. 'Like anything here in Austin that's food-related, there's a lot of competition, especially when you just do Mexican [food],' he said. Ferriol said every day counts in this industry. That's why he and other food truck owners think it's a misuse of time when they're required to shut down and transport their vehicles for health and safety inspections to a north Austin city facility every year. Ferriol said these trips have caused him to lose valuable time at his food truck park. 'Doing the inspections on site — for me, it makes sense,' he said. As of last Thursday, traveling for inspections is no longer a requirement. The Austin City Council approved on consent a new ordinance that allows inspectors to conduct inspections at the food truck's location. This was something the city has been looking into since March 2024. A survey found that 92% of food truck owners agreed that on-site permitting inspections would be preferred, according to city documents. 'Food trucks are an important part of our culinary diversity,' District 6 Council Member Krista Laine said on the dais. 'I'm so grateful it'll be easier for our local business and food truck owners to get inspections.' While food truck owners no longer need to travel to the north Austin facility to have the inspection, the on-site inspections will cost more. On-site permits will cost $740, and the re-inspection fee is $230. That is compared to $212 and $109, respectively, if done at the city facility. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Drive
20 hours ago
- The Drive
Building This Flatbed Oldsmobile Bravada Work Truck Took 500 Hours. It Shows
The latest car news, reviews, and features. The second-gen Oldsmobile Bravada was built on the Chevy S10 platform, but it was never a pickup truck. Instead, it was a badge-engineered Blazer with a slightly fancier interior. You wouldn't know that by looking at this work rig built by First Choice Fabrication in Colorado, though. Every detail on it is so well-crafted that you'd think it was a factory job, from the chopped single cab to the beautiful flat bed and steel front bumper. Of course, that's what you get when you invest roughly 500 hours in a build. First Choice Fabrication owner Loren Byers explains that it was a 'personal shop project' with no budget, and the skirted flatbed alone starts at $10,000. It's hard to even guess what the rest of the work would cost because there are so many intentional touches. My personal favorite is the big Oldsmobile logo that's worked into the headache rack, but I'm also big into the branded mud flaps. Heck, I even like the teeth on the front brush guard. First Choice Fabrication Given the extensive amount of work it took to convert the SUV to a pickup, you might wonder why he didn't start with a regular S10 pickup. 'I wasn't even planning on building it when I bought it,' Byers told me over the phone. 'Essentially, I bought it as a paperweight to park in front of my garage door at night for safety. I drove it all the way home at 80 mph, the thing had 105,000 miles on it, and it was absolutely perfectly clean except for a smashed back end.' The gap between the rear door and the roof was apparently big enough to fit your hand in. 'Water was just going to dump in there, so it started as, 'Let's just seal it up so it's not getting water in the cab. We're still going to use it as a door blocker.' Then it became a single cab, and then I said, 'I might as well build a bed for it and use it.' And then it just spiraled way out of control,' Byers added. First Choice Fabrication I love how almost every upgrade here has made the Bravada a better workhorse. The flat bed is awesome to look at, obviously, but check out the storage boxes on the sides, not to mention all the tie downs on the deck of the bed itself. Auxiliary LEDs make late-night repairs out in the field a whole lot easier, and those tow hooks would surely come in handy for pulling out stuck equipment. The truck still has a stock 4.3-liter V6 for now, but it's on its last leg. 'Unfortunately, 800 miles after I finished the project—I mean, absolutely done—the motor decided to take a crap,' Byers said. 'It was knocking and ticking and not running anymore.' The fix he has planned is simple: swap in a 5.3-liter V8 next month. That ought to really put those new BFGoodrich all-terrains to use. While you could use a small, maneuverable truck like this in lots of applications, Byers says its main job is running to the steel yard and powder-coat shop. He has a drop-in metal rack that runs from the front bumper to the back of the bed, so he can carry long materials without a trailer. Like I said before, everything here was done on purpose and for a purpose. If only every other truck were built like that. Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@
Motor 1
20 hours ago
- Motor 1
The Kia Tasman Pickup Might Spawn a Toyota 4Runner SUV Rival
Kia introduced the Tasman, its first truck, last October for markets like Asia and Australia. However, the company might already have bigger plans to expand the model's appeal. In an interview with CarSales , Kia Australia's Chief Ride and Handling Engineer, Graeme Gambold, said that an SUV based on the Tasman pickup could be just three years away. Dean Norbiato, the automaker's regional general manager of marketing, added that if the Tasman was a success, it could "open many doors." Photo by: Kia However, details remain scarce about such a long-rumored model. The Tasman is a body-on-frame truck , which Kia claims can ford water up to 31.5 inches deep, and it is available with a locking differential for added off-road ruggedness. The Tasman is designed to compete with other mid-size trucks, such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. An SUV version would give Kia an interesting Toyota 4Runner rival. Rugged SUVs remain popular, especially in places that demand robust vehicles. Using the truck's rugged platform for an SUV is a smart opportunity that could broaden the brand's appeal to potentially new customers. Photo by: Toyota Despite America's love of trucks and SUVs, Kia confirmed in April that it has no plans to bring the Tasman to the US . That likely kills any chance of the United States ever getting the SUV variant if the automaker decides to make one. It's a truck that Kia designed for emerging markets, Korea, and Australia. However, Kia does plan to launch a different truck in the United States, but it'll be all-electric and ride on a new platform. We don't know when it'll arrive, but Kia believes it'll be able to sell 90,000 of them once production gets rolling, which could be as soon as next year. Here's More Kia News: Some Kia EV9 Trims Are Way Cheaper for 2026 2026 Kia Carnival Is Still the Cheapest Minivan on Sale Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Source: Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
