New Cedar Park transit plan in need of funding

From statesman, February 2, 2009...

About a decade ago, Cedar Park residents decided to try to spur development with a portion of the city's sales tax that was going to public transportation, so they voted to sever ties with Capital Metro.

The move helped lead to new businesses, jobs, a population boom that doubled the city's size to more than 52,000 residents — and eventually a demand for, well, public transportation.

Now city officials are looking for ways to pay for a proposed transit system that would shuttle residents around town during peak hours and stop at one of Capital Metro's park-and-ride lots, where they could get transit service to Austin.

Read more...

Cap Metro Cancels Shuttle Services

From Austin Chronicle, July 25, 2008...

Amidst a historic upsurge in public enthusiasm for taking transit, Capital Metro is ... ending its shuttle service to special events. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Austinites trying to reach crowded events like the recent July Fourth fireworks celebration at Auditorium Shores have lost the benefit of Capital Metro shuttles.

The decision slashes shuttles to more than a dozen popular community events; in future months, those will include the Austin City Limits Festival, Halloween on Sixth Street, UT football games, and the Trail of Lights. Unless private charter companies seamlessly step in to replace all of the free shuttle services with new pay-to-ride shuttle service – a dubious prospect – everyone on Austin roads will suffer from increased traffic congestion during big events.

Read more...