AUSTIN, Texas — Some Austin leaders are exploring the idea of implementing an on-demand transit system to help Austinites have better access to popular parks and recreation centers.
The Austin Parks and Recreation Board approved a recommendation to expand the CapMetro Pickup program to include city-wide services.
The program started in 2019 by allowing Central Texans to book rides that take them to places like grocery stores or appointments in their neighborhoods. However, destinations are limited to areas within a specific pickup zone.
“Expanding this citywide would allow equitably for people from all areas of the city of Austin to access, large public facilities,” board member Holly Reed said.
According to the draft proposal, currently, most public transit to Austin parks goes by fixed bus schedules. One transit advocate argues that’s not always the best option for the community.
“No fixed route transit is going to get us anywhere around town from where you are, to where you want to go,” said Larry Akers with Mobility Austin.
Akers said this new proposal would also help address the parking capacity issues at popular areas like Zilker Park.
“If you get people to the park without their cars, you don’t have to worry about parking the cars,” Akers said. “This was one of the main objections that came up with the Zilker vision plan. We need to provide capacity, but we don’t want to build garages … The only alternative is just not to get cars there.”
Akers also said he believes a system like this would be especially useful for elderly people and people with disabilities.
“We’re at an inflection point for public transit. And I think this is a way to bring that transit to everybody who needs it,” Akers said.
The approved recommendation will now go to the city council for consideration.