Capital Metro
Experiencing Record Numbers During SXSW
AUSTIN, Texas
(March 14, 2013) — Capital Metro is seeing record numbers during SXSW
Interactive and Film 2013, with projections estimated to surpass 2012 totals
heading into the music portion of the festival.
MetroRail ridership from March 8-12
has surpassed 2012 by nearly 7,000 boardings, with an approximate total of
20,000 trips to-date. Rail service has been extremely popular among festival
attendees traveling to downtown venues. In fact, on Monday, March 11, Capital
Metro operated an additional train beyond the final departure to carry 110
passengers still waiting on the platform.
All this week, MetroRail trains are
offering increased midday frequency, and Saturday trains will begin service at
10 a.m.
In anticipation of downtown
congestion, Capital Metro detoured many bus routes to Guadalupe and Lavaca
streets to facilitate mobility in the central corridor—a change taken from
experience during previous events, like F1. The agency has seen a nearly 29
percent reduction in driver reports of schedule delays thus far during SXSW from
2012 to 2013.
Although final ridership figures are
not available yet for local bus service, preliminary numbers show the service
has been very popular, with many buses at full capacity. In addition, Night Owl
service, which runs from midnight to 3 a.m. from the 6th
Street entertainment district, has been strong, with
extra buses added to accommodate the demand.
Additional SXSW
Stats:
- Capital Metro’s
SXSW 2013 transit info webpage, which includes detour, rail schedule, and
information in Spanish has received over 12,000 unique page views, projected to
nearly double by the end of the festival.
- In comparison to
2012, ticket sales at MetroRail stations are up 37
percent.
Going into the SXSW Music weekend,
the agency anticipates the most significant usage of MetroRail, local bus and
late night service.
All Capital Metro SXSW transit info
is available at http://www.capmetro.org/sxsw2013/.
###
MEDIA CONTACT
INFORMATION:
Francine Pares, (512) 389-7435,
(949) 244-4574 cell, francine.pares@capmetro.org