CapMetro, ACC Strike Agreement for Free Rides

ACC Green Pass provides free transit trips for students & staff members

AUSTIN, Texas - CapMetro's board of directors today approved an interlocal agreement (ILA) with Austin Community College that will allow students, faculty and staff members to use CapMetro services at no charge. ACC's Green Pass will provide access to all agency services, including bus, train and paratransit.

For the past four years, ACC has sold the Green Pass for $25 per semester, requiring pass holders to pay $75 a year for access to CapMetro transit services. The new agreement restores the relationship to its state prior to September 2014, when ACC personnel were able to take advantage of CapMetro services with no extra charge.

The agreement also replaces ACC's commitment to pay CapMetro per ride taken by a Green Pass holder with a flat fee of $429,000 per year, providing the school and the agency with a stable funding deal. The ILA is for one year and includes options for four one-year renewals.

CapMetro serves nine of ACC's 11 operating campuses, with the exceptions being the locations in Elgin and Hays County. The newest location, ACC's San Gabriel campus in Leander, will begin offering classes in the fall semester and is served by both MetroRail and MetroExpress services. CapMetro recently finished construction on a pedestrian and bicycle pathway that connects the campus to Leander Station.

The CapMetro routes serving ACC campuses are:

Cypress Creek ( Route 214)
Eastview (Routes 2 & 300)
Highland (MetroRail and Routes 7, 324, 337 & 350)
Northridge (Routes 142 & 325)
Rio Grande (Routes 1, 3, 18, 19, 20, 30, 801, 803, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987 & 990)
Riverside (Routes 17, 310, 311 350)
Round Rock (Route 50)
San Gabriel ( MetroRail and Routes 985 & 987)
South Austin (Routes 3 & 311)

The board also heard from Vice President of Bus Operations Dottie Watkins, who presented the agency's fleet plan. The plan calls for the gradual replacement of diesel- and gasoline-powered buses and paratransit vehicles as new technologies emerge. It calls for the agency's diesel-powered transit buses to begin to be replaced by electric vehicles in Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023. CapMetro began this year to replace agency support vehicles with electric automobiles.

CapMetro will also place electric buses into regular service in August and September as part of a demonstration project. The vehicles will be provided by three manufacturers and operate throughout the CapMetro service area for a limited duration.