Capital Metro coronavirus response includes free fares

Update (March 30): Capital Metro bus and rail service will be free for passengers in April. According to the transportation authority’s website, it instituted new procedures to promote social distancing, not to increase ridership. Riders are instructed to use transit for essential trips only during the local Stay Home-Work Safe shelter-in-place period, issued last week in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Capital Metro made the move to enable proper social distancing, especially between riders and drivers and at entrances and exits.

Capital Metro has also made the following schedule and route changes.

• Beginning Monday, March 30, most MetroExpress routes suspended service temporarily.
• MetroRail is on a Monday-Friday daytime schedule, with no Late-Night Friday or weekend service. The new Route 455 Leander Shuttle will supplement reduced weekend MetroRail service for Leander, operating Saturdays between the Leander and Lakeline stations.
• Some MetroFlyer routes are operating reduced versions of their weekday schedules.
• Night Owl routes are not operating.
• On-demand Pickup service operates weekdays between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• MetroAccess service operates with service boundaries mirroring our adjusted schedules.
• UT Shuttle service is not not operate while the shelter-in-place order is in effect.

See Capital Metro’s website for more details about service changes related to COVID-19.

Published March 17:

One of Austin’s responses to the spread of the novel coronavirus is to encourage as many people as possible, in public and private sectors, to do their jobs from home. But for some workers, that’s not possible—nor is taking a private vehicle to and from work.

Capital Metro, which operates the region’s bus lines and MetroRail, has had to respond to the pandemic like any other businesses, doing what it can to keep workers and passengers as safe as possible.

To that end, the transportation authority announced Tuesday that it will be changing its schedules and other services temporarily. Schedule changes begin Wednesday and will not be updated on its online Trip Planner or the CapMetro App immediately.

MetroAccess service will operate with service boundaries mirroring adjusted schedules.

Major schedule changes

• Some route changes will affect weekends and nights primarily.
• Most MetroBus and MetroRapid services will operate their normal Sunday schedules. For detailed route information, CapMetro’s Schedules and Maps page has more details.
• MetroRail will operate its Monday-Friday daytime schedule, with no Saturday service and no Late-Night trips on Friday.
• Some MetroFlyer and MetroExpress routes will operate reduced versions of their weekday schedules.
• The on-demand pickup service will operate between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• Check for other modified schedules on the Capital Metro site.

Routes that will remain the same

Some routes’ schedules will remain unmodified for now. They are:

• Route 214 Northwest Feeder
• Route 228 VA Clinic
• All Round Rock routes
• Route 491 Allandale
• Route 492 Delwood
• Route 493 Eastview
• Route 990 Manor/Elgin Express

UT shuttles

CapMetro’s University of Texas shuttle buses are not running in conjunction with spring break.