CapMetro Celebrates 40 Years of Connecting Central Texas
The transit agency reflects on four decades of serving the community and prepares for the future
AUSTIN, TX — CapMetro is celebrating a major milestone of 40 years connecting Central Texans through safe, reliable, and accessible public transportation. To commemorate this historic milestone, the City of Austin, Travis County, and the State of Texas have all issued proclamations marking July 1, 2025, as “CapMetro Day.”
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Since its founding in 1985, CapMetro has grown from a small, local service to a regionwide network that now supports more than 70,000 weekday trips across buses, rail, vanpools, and microtransit services.
“For forty years, CapMetro has helped build a more connected and inclusive Central Texas,” said Dottie Watkins, CapMetro President and CEO. “Our mission remains focused on increasing mobility, providing equitable access, and delivering high-quality transit that keeps pace with the region’s growth. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and excited about the future opportunities for our community.”
From Launch to Legacy
Austin voters approved an initiative that created CapMetro in January 1985, and it launched service later that year with local, express and paratransit routes. In its first decade, the agency introduced UT Shuttle service, 100 new buses, and a vanpool program, while becoming one of the first transit systems in the country to achieve 100% wheelchair accessibility.
In the decades since, CapMetro has added commuter rail between Leander and Downtown Austin, launched Central Texas’ first bus rapid transit lines, and introduced neighborhood circulators called Pickup.
Shaping the Future with Project Connect and Transit Plan 2035
CapMetro continues to shape the future of regional transit through two major initiatives, Transit Plan 2035 and Project Connect, which includes operating the future new light rail lines, adding expanded bus rapid transit lines, and improving commuter rail.
As part of Project Connect, the agency has already delivered a new commuter rail station to Q2 Stadium, made infrastructure improvements to parts of the Red Line to improve service reliability, and introduced two new Rapid lines, Routes 800 and 837, bringing more service to East Austin.
Building on the foundation of Project Connect, the agency is also developing Transit Plan 2035, which outlines a blueprint for the future of public transportation in Central Texas. The final plan will outline strategies for an upgraded transit network to best meet the needs of the community over the next five to ten years. CapMetro staff will propose options to the community this Fall before the finalized plan reaches the Board of Directors for approval by the end of 2025.
As the agency looks to the future, CapMetro remains focused on innovation and sustainability. From upgrading our Bikeshare fleet with all-electric bikes to building a new light rail, CapMetro is committed to enhancements that will better serve the community for the next 40 years and beyond.
“Our 40th anniversary is more than a celebration of the past,” said Watkins. “It’s a chance to reaffirm our promise to the people of Central Texas that we will keep delivering smarter, greener, and more accessible ways to get where you need to go.”
To explore CapMetro’s 40-year history, visit: https://www.capmetro.org/about/40years
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ABOUT CAPMETRO
CapMetro connects people, jobs, and communities by providing Central Texans with safe, high-quality, and sustainable transportation alternatives. The agency provides over 83,000 daily trips on its buses, trains, paratransit, and vanpool vehicles and serves a population of more than 1.2 million in its 543-square-mile service area. The region’s transportation leader, CapMetro has invested in transit services like its High-Frequency Network, which moves more people, more reliably. CapMetro is committed to increasing regional mobility and, through Project Connect, will transform how people travel throughout Central Texas. Visit capmetro.org for more information.