Sep 16, 2026 Cap Metro

[I.Call to Order]

[00:00:03]

AND THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US TODAY WITH CAT METRO.

I AM PAIGE JEALOUS AND I SERVE AS THE VICE CHAIR OF THE CAT METRO BOARD.

AND I'M HAPPY TO STEP IN TODAY TO LEAD THESE PUBLIC HEARINGS WHILE CHAIR TAVION IS OUT.

TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH AND WE ARE IN THE ROSA PARKS BALLROOM AT BOARDROOM AT 2019 EAST FIFTH STREET.

THE TIME IS NOW 12:02 PM TODAY WE

[II.1.Public Hearing regarding proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Budge]

THE FIRST RELATED TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET, THE SECOND RELATED TO FARES, AND THE THIRD RELATED TO THE PROPOSED JANUARY, 2027 SERVICE CHANGE.

ALL THREE OF THESE ITEMS WILL BE ON THE AGENDA FOR A BOARD VOTE AT THE SEPTEMBER FULL BOARD MEETING TO BE HELD ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH.

WE WILL TAKE TIME INDIVIDUALLY CALLING THE ITEM, RECEIVING A PRESENTATION FROM STAFF AND THEN HEARING PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE ITEM BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT TOPIC AND REPEATING.

EACH SPEAKER WILL RECEIVE THREE MINUTES AND PEOPLE MAY SPEAK DURING MULTIPLE TOPICS.

WE WILL START WITH THE BUDGET, THEN FARES, AND THEN THE SERVICE CHANGE.

I UNDERSTAND MR. KEVIN CONLIN IS PRESENTING THE FIRST.

YEAH.

GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR ELLIS, BOARD MEMBERS PRESIDENT AND CEO WATKINS.

MY NAME IS KEVIN CONLIN AND I SERVE AS CAP METRO CFO.

I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR FISCAL YEAR 2027 BUDGET FOR A PUBLIC HEARING.

SO I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS, SENIOR LEADERSHIP, CAP METRO STAFF, AND OUR WONDERFUL BUDGET TEAM FOR PUTTING THIS BUDGET TOGETHER AND ALL THE DIRECTION THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE BOARD AS WELL.

THE PROPOSED BUDGET TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU AS A BOARD HAVE SET FOR THE AGENCY AND MAKES INVESTMENTS BASED ON YOUR STRATEGIC, YOUR GUIDANCE AND STRATEGIC PLAN AS WELL.

WE'VE COMPLETED OUR PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR THE BUDGET PROCESS.

IN ADDITION, WE'VE POSTED, WE'VE POSTED A VIRTUAL WEBINAR ON NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.

THAT WEBINAR IS PRESENTED BOTH IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH AND HAS POSTED ON ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS.

WE ALSO HAVE A DETAILED BUDGET DOCUMENT ONLINE ON THE CAP METRO WEBSITE, WHICH THE BOARD WAS PROVIDED A LINK TO.

SO GETTING INTO THE BUDGET, THIS IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE AGENCY'S TOTAL BUDGET SHOWING THE AGENCY'S TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES IN THE CENTER COLUMN OF 701, $701.5 MILLION IN THIS TO PROVIDE TRANSIT WHILE ALSO ADDING NEW CUSTOMER SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS, BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING FOR THE REGION'S GROWTH.

THE BUDGET'S STRUCTURALLY SOUND AND BALANCED AND WE DO HAVE ENOUGH REVENUE SOURCES TO DEPICTED ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE CHART AS WELL.

UM, TO COMPLETE THE FISCAL YEAR 2027 BUDGET ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE IS A PROJECTION OF OUR RESERVE AND COMMITMENT BALANCES AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2027, WHICH TOTAL $328.5 MILLION.

AND I'M PLEASED TO SAY THAT WE'RE PROJECTING TO MEET ALL OF OUR RESERVE REQUIREMENTS WITH NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.

AND AS I BRIEFED THE BOARD AND THE BOARD COMMITTEES OVER THE LAST THREE MONTHS, WE'RE IN GOOD FINANCIAL POSITION AND OPTIMISTIC FOR THE NEXT YEAR, BUT WE REMAIN GUARDED DUE TO REVENUE STRESS FROM FISCAL YEARS 24 AND 25, THE CURRENT ENERGY CRISIS FACILITY NEEDS AND OTHER PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON.

WE'RE EXCITED TO CONTINUE WITH INITIATIVES TO TAKE CARE OF OUR CUSTOMERS IN THE UPCOMING YEAR.

THE FIRST PROJECT THAT WE'LL HIGHLIGHT IS $27.3 MILLION COMMITMENT OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR BUS STOP IMPROVEMENTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.

THE SECOND WOULD BE OUR PICKUP SERVICE.

WE'VE DEDICATED $15.1 MILLION IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET FOR NEIGHBORHOOD ON DEMAND TRANSIT SERVICE.

IN PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE FOR OUR RAIL SYSTEM, WE HAVE 4 45 $0.7 MILLION OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS FOR DOUBLE TRACKING.

FROM MANION STREET TO EAST THAMES TO PLAZA SALTILLO STATION, AND THEN OF COURSE ALMOST $17 MILLION DEDICATED FOR OUR NEW NORTH BURNETT UPTOWN RAIL STATION FOR A FACILITY MASTER PLAN.

WE HAVE JUST OVER $195 MILLION PLANNED OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR TWO FACILITIES.

IT'S OUR NORTH AND OUR SOUTH BASE DEMAND RESPONSE FACILITIES.

MOVING ON TO THE LAST SIDE SLIDE.

SO PROJECT CONNECT IS OUR COMPREHENSIVE TRANSIT PLAN FOR THE REGION THAT'LL EXPAND OUR CAPACITY CAP.

METRO HAS AN ONGOING COMMITMENT TO THE PLAN WITH THE OPERATIONS OF THE CAP METRO RAPID LINES EXPO CENTER IN PLEASANT VALLEY.

WE DO HAVE A $30 MILLION CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROGRAM FOR NEXT YEAR AS WELL.

AND THAT'S GONNA CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION FOR THE BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO OPEN IT UP FOR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD AND TO THE PUBLIC.

THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS BEFORE WE TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT? I'M NOT SEEING THAT THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO PUBLIC COMMENT.

I BELIEVE WE HAVE ENOVIA JOSEPH SIGNED UP.

IS SHE ONLINE?

[00:05:02]

DO YOU REMEMBER THE NEXT PERSON? OKAY.

WE HAVE EVA AZAR.

HI.

MAKE SURE THAT MICROPHONE'S ON.

THANK YOU.

APPRECIATE IT.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

UH, VICE CHAIR BOARD MEMBERS, UM, CO WATKINS.

UM, MY NAME IS VE AZAR.

I SERVE AS THE CHAIR OF THE PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

UM, I'M SPEAKING HERE PARTIALLY, UH, SENDING RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE ALREADY SHARED WITH YOU AND APPROVED BY THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE LAST WEEK.

UM, AND ALSO A LITTLE BIT FROM ON MY OWN BEHALF AS WELL AS A TRANSIT RIDER AND AS AN ADVOCATE.

UM, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK ON THE BUDGET ITEM, I JUST WANNA MENTION AGAIN, STARTING WITH THANK YOU TO THE STAFF FOR COMING AND PRESENTING TO THE CSC, REALLY BEING ENGAGED WITH US AND ANSWERING ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS, MAKING SURE THAT YOU KNOW, FOLKS WHO ARE LOOKING AT THIS WORK DAY IN DAY IN THE OUTER, KIND OF ON BOARD WORKING THROUGH IN THE ADVOCACY SPACE.

SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT THE CS, UM, THE CAP METRO STAFF HAS DONE AND THE CO YOUR GUIDANCE ON THAT AS WELL AND YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS.

AS WE START THE CONVERSATION, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FAIR ITEM AS WELL.

I KNOW IT'S VERY INTEGRATED.

UM, BUT BEFORE THAT, I THINK JUST ON THE BUDGET, THERE'S TWO BIG THINGS THAT I WANNA MENTION, PARTICULARLY FOR THIS COMMITTEE.

YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN EXCITING TO SEE THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY PROGRAM AT CAP METRO.

A LOT OF GOOD WORK HAS BEEN DONE, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY JUST, UH, WANNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON MOVING FORWARD.

WE CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT SORT OF THREE TEAM SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE SET UP IS REALLY STRENGTHENED.

WE'RE ENSURING THAT WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AMBASSADORS AND OUR COMMUNITY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS, YOU KNOW, INTEGRATED INTO THE TEAM AND HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED TO CONTINUE EXPANDING IT.

I KNOW PUBLIC SAFETY HAS BEEN A BIG CONCERN, UM, IN OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.

IT'S NOT JUST RELATED TO OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM OR CAP METRO.

AND I REALLY WANNA, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THANK THE WORK THAT CAP METRO ACTUALLY ALREADY HAS DONE TO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE AND SORT OF GETTING AHEAD OF IT AND SETTING UP SOME OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE.

BUT ALONG WITH THAT, REALLY THIS THREE TIER SYSTEM IS AN AMAZING IDEA.

I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S GUIDE FORWARD.

THE OTHER THING, AGAIN, BIG TO CAP METRO ON DOING A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURAL UPDATES.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST SEEING THE AMAZING WORK THAT'S GONE INTO THE NEW RAPID SYSTEMS AND THEIR FREQUENCY, BUT ALSO JUST GENERALLY ON SHELTER AND BUS STOP INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT OUR ENTIRE SYSTEM.

THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF GREAT IMPROVEMENT, INCLUDING HONESTLY THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY THAT CAP METRO HAS BUILT IN BY HAVING A DASHBOARD WHERE ANY CUSTOMER, ANY RESIDENT CAN GO AND SEE WHAT IS AVAILABLE AT EVERY GIVEN STOP.

AND I THINK THAT'S AN AMAZING DEGREE OF TRANSPARENCY.

BUT IN ADDITION, LIKE LOOKING AT THE WORK FORWARD, WE HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, MORE WORK CAN BE DONE ON MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE BETTER TRANSIT STOP INFRASTRUCTURE AND SHELTERS IN DIFFERENT, UM, SPOTS AS WELL, INCLUDING, AND THIS IS A HARD CONVERSATION.

THE CSC ITSELF WAS TUSSLING WITH THIS.

HOW DO WE LOOK AT MAYBE UPGRADING THE 8 0 1 SHELTERS AS WELL, EVEN THOUGH THOSE ARE IN PERFECT CONDITION AND STILL VERY USABLE.

BUT THE SHELTERS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE FOR THE NEW RAPIDS ARE TRULY WORLD CLASS AND I THINK HAVE BEEN DESIGNED WITH GREAT ENGAGEMENT FROM THE COMMUNITY.

SO IF WE CAN HAVE UPGRADES OF THOSE REALLY COMMONLY USED SHELTERS ALONG THAT LINE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

UM, AGAIN, BIG KUDOS TO THE CAP METRO TEAM FOR DOING A LOT OF WORK ON CLEANLINESS AND TRASH COLLECTION.

AGAIN, THIS ISSUE SORT OF IS GOES BEYOND CAP METRO, BUT OUR BUS STOPS HAVE BEEN HEAVILY IMPACTED BY STUFF GOING ON IN OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.

HOPEFULLY THAT WORK CAN CONTINUE LOOKING AT HOW DO WE SORT OF MAKE SURE THAT TRASH RECEPTACLES ARE, YOU KNOW, EMPTIED OUT PERIODICALLY AND WE'RE CLEANING OUR, UM, SHELTERS.

THAT'S BEEN A BIG ENGAGEMENT.

AND AGAIN, I KNOW THAT'S A LITTLE COMPLICATED BECAUSE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND WE'RE LOOKING AT PRIVATE PARTNERS AND THE CITY AND OTHERS TO SEE WHAT LOOKS LIKE AROUND THE STOPS, NOT JUST A STOP RELATED ISSUE, BUT OF COURSE IT IMPACTS THE WRITERS.

AND LASTLY, THIS I ALREADY KNOW IS ON THE BOOKS AND CAP MENTORS IS WORKING ON THIS ALREADY.

SO REALLY THIS IS JUST MORE OF A, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU, BUT ALSO THAT WE, WE CONTINUE THIS WORK IS INTEGRATING THE DIGITAL PLATFORMS FOR LOOKING AT THE UMO APP, BUT ALSO TRANSIT APP, LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT PAYMENT AND, UH, REALTIME INFORMATION IS ALL INTEGRATED.

SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

I BELIEVE MS. ANOVIA JOSEPH IS HERE.

WE ARE ON ITEM ONE ON THE PROPOSED BUDGET IF YOU'D LIKE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK.

THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, ZENOBIA, JOSEPH, JOSEPH, I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WERE LAYING ALL THOSE OUT TOGETHER OR IF THEY WERE ALL TOGETHER SO I THEY'LL BE ALL SEPARATE.

OKAY.

I CAN HANDLE THAT .

THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, I'M ZIA JOSEPH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS.

UH, MY COMMENTS ARE RELATED TO ALL THE ITEMS, BUT SPECIFICALLY TO PROVIDE THE HISTORY FOR THE MEMBERS THAT ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH HOW LONG I'VE BEEN TESTIFYING

[00:10:01]

YOU'LL SEE JANUARY 23RD, 2017 IS WHEN CARRIE BUTCHER WAS THE COUNCIL AND SHE ACTUALLY RESPONDED TO ME ON THE RECORD.

AND I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE SPECIFICALLY, YOU'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT YOUR SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS LATER, THE FAIR AND YOUR BUDGET, AND ALL OF THAT GOES TOGETHER.

AND SO I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE BOTTOM LITTLE INSET IS ACTUALLY WHEN I PROVIDED 574 PETITION SIGNATURES THAT WERE COLLECTED IN 10 DAYS FOR ROUTES 3 83 AND 3 92, THERE'S NOT BEEN ANY IMPROVEMENT AND THERE'S NOTHING IN THE BUDGET THAT RELATES TO THAT.

NEXT SLIDE, AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO THE DECISION THAT YOU CONTINUE TO MAKE, I WANT YOU TO REMIND, REMIND YOURSELVES THAT IT IS DISCONNECTED NORTHEAST OF US, 180 3.

AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE YOU ARE ABLE TO USE THE AUTOMATIC PASSENGER COUNTERS.

SO EVERY TIME A MINORITY TRANSFERS, YOU'RE COUNTING AS TWICE, SOMETIMES THREE TIMES, AND THE NETWORK IS NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL AUSTIN.

NEXT SLIDE.

I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO INVEST IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN AS OPPOSED TO JUST WORDSMITHING THESE DOCUMENTS.

AND SO YOU HAVE SAID THAT YOU'VE EXPANDED TRANSIT CONNECTIVITY, YOU'VE MENTIONED THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH THE REGION AND NONE OF THAT IS TRUE.

THOSE ARE FALSEHOODS.

AND SO YOU GOT THE CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT, YOU HAVE MONIES FOR THAT.

THERE'S STILL NOTHING IN THE BUDGET THAT ADDRESSES THE DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES NORTHEAST OF US, 180 3.

NEXT SLIDE.

I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT BACK IN 2010, YOU ACTUALLY FOCUSED ON TRANSIT DEPENDENT POPULATIONS.

NOW YOU FOCUS ON RIDERSHIP.

RIDERSHIP AND COVERAGE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.

RIDERSHIP IS WHEN YOU CHOOSE THE POPULATION THAT YOU WANT TO SERVE AND THE TRANSIT DEPENDENT RIDER ARE NOT TO BE COMPARED TO EACH OTHER.

IT WAS JULY 25TH, 2016 WHEN JAR WALKER ACTUALLY BRIEFED THIS BOARD AND TOLD YOU THAT, BUT YET IN YOUR LAST MEETING YOU WILL RECALL SHARMILA AND MUJI TELLING YOU ABOUT 90% OF THE RIDERSHIP COMES FROM THE BUSES.

THAT IS DISINGENUOUS.

AND IT IS ALSO A FALSEHOOD TO CONFLATE THOSE TWO.

I WANT YOU TO SEE THAT YOU NEED TO INVEST IN THOSE TRASH CANS THAT YOU HAVE OUT HERE WITH MUNOZ BRAND NEW.

BUT THIS IS WHAT IS OVER AT NORTHEAST AUSTIN, THE HIGH SCHOOL, OLD REAGAN HIGH SCHOOL THIS MORNING.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME AND JUST REMIND YOU THAT YOUR SYSTEM IS DISCRIMINATORY.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

IS THERE ANYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM THAT DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK BUT WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS US? IT DOES NOT APPEAR SO.

ALL RIGHT.

THE NEXT ONE'S

[II.2.Public Hearing regarding proposed Fare Increases, Reduced Fare Program Expansion, Equifare Program Retirement and Ticket Vending Machine Retirement at Bus Transfer Locations]

AND WE HAVE MR. CONLAND BACK.

GOOD AFTERNOON AND AGAIN BOARD MEMBERS.

UM, I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR OUR PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR FOR PROPOSED 2027 AND 2029 FAIR INCREASES, OUR REDUCED FAIR PROGRAM EXPANSION AND OUR EQU AIR PROGRAM AND TICKET VENDING MACHINE RETIREMENTS.

I'D LIKE TO BEGIN WITH EMPHASIZING THAT THOUGHTFULNESS HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THIS PROPOSAL.

I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE BOARD FOR ITS GUIDANCE THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS AND OUR LEADERSHIP AND AFFAIRS TEAMS FOR DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HELP MINIMIZE THE IMPACT ON OUR LOWER INCOME CUSTOMERS WHILE MAINTAINING CAP METRO'S LONG-TERM FINANCIAL STABILITY.

SINCE 2015 WITHOUT RAISING FARES, CAP METRO HAS LAUNCHED NEW RAPID SERVICES IN EAST AUSTIN WITH PLEASANT VALLEY AND EXPO CENTER ROUTES.

WE'VE ALSO ORIGINATED AND EXPANDED OUR PICKUP ZONES ACROSS THE REGIONS WITH 12 ZONES FROM LAND DID OF SPRINGS AND LAGO VISTA DEMEANOR.

WE'VE ESTABLISHED A DEDICATED POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH 25 SWORN OFFICER POSITIONS.

IN GROWING 26 PUBLIC SAFETY AMBASSADORS AND FOR COMMUNITY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS, WE'VE INCREASED FREQUENCY ON KEY ROUTES, UM, CREATING A HIGH FREQUENCY NETWORK THAT CONNECTS PEOPLE WITHIN THE REGION DURING THAT SAME PERIOD.

OPERATING COSTS AND CAPITAL COSTS HAVE INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY DUE TO INFLATION AND RISING COSTS FOR LABOR, FUEL, MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY, AND OTHER CRITICAL SERVICES.

WHILE CAP METRO SERVICE HAS GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY, FARES HAVE REMAINED UNCHANGED FOR OVER A DECADE TO MAINTAIN THE AGENCY'S FINANCIAL HEALTH AND CONTINUE INVESTING IN RELIABLE TRANSIT AND INFRASTRUCTURE CAP.

METRO IS PROPOSING A GRADUAL PHASE FAIR ADJUSTMENT.

WITHOUT PERIODIC FAIR INCREASES, THE AGENCY WOULD FACE INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT

[00:15:01]

CAP METRO IS PROPOSING TO IMPLEMENT THE FAIR INCREASE IN TWO PHASES, ALLOWING RIDERS TO GRADUALLY ADJUST TO THE PROPOSED FAIR CHANGES WHILE HELPING CAP METRO ADDRESS THE RISING COSTS OVER TIME.

CAP METRO IS ALSO PROPOSING UPDATES TO THE REDUCED FARE PROGRAM DESIGNED TO SIMPLIFY ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF THE FAIR INCREASES ON LOWER INCOME CUSTOMERS.

THIS IS A TABLE OF OUR PROPOSED FAIR INCREASE FARES ARE PROPOSED INCREASE OF COURSE IN JANUARY OF 27 AND JANUARY OF 29 IN TWO PHASES ACROSS LOCAL PICKUP EXPRESS RAIL AND ACCESS SERVICES.

FAIR CAPPING WOULD CONTINUE ACROSS LOCAL PICKUP AND COMMUTER WITH FARES CAP BOTH ON A DAILY AND A MONTHLY BASIS.

IN THE FIRST COLUMN ARE CURRENT FARES FOR ALL OVER MODES WITH THE PROPOSED JANUARY 27 CHANGES IN THE SECOND COLUMN AND THEN THE PROPOSED JANUARY 29 CHANGES IN THE FINAL COLUMN.

THERE ARE ALSO UPDATES TO THE REDUCED FARE PROGRAM, WHICH I MENTIONED.

THESE CHANGES WOULD NOT AFFECT OUR CURRENT, OUR CURRENT PARTICIPANTS, WHICH WOULD BE SENIORS RIDERS WITH DISABILITIES, MEDICARE RECIPIENTS, AND ACTIVE IN RESERVE MILITARY.

THEY WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THEIR 50% DISCOUNT.

ELIGIBILITY FOR THE REDUCED FAIR PROGRAM WOULD EXPAND TO INCLUDE VETERANS IN HOUSEHOLDS AT OR BELOW THE 150% FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.

LASTLY, OUR EQU FARE PROGRAM WOULD BE COMBINED INTO THE REDUCED FAIR PROGRAM AND CURRENT FERRIC PARTICIPANTS WOULD AUTOMATICALLY BE ENROLLED AND ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE HIGHER 50% DISCOUNT OVER THE 20% DISCOUNT WHICH THEY'RE CURRENTLY GETTING.

THESE CHANGES WOULD PROVIDE A DEEPER DISCOUNT TO MORE CUSTOMERS AND SIMPLIFY THE DISCOUNT FAIR STRUCTURE AS WELL.

DO ME A FAVOR, IF YOU CAN GET THE SLIDE CHEYENNE.

WITH THESE PROPOSED CHANGES, CAP METRO DID ENGAGE IN THREE TITLE SIX FAIR EQUITY ANALYSIS STUDIES.

THE FIRST WAS FOR THE TWO STEP FAIR INCREASE IN 2027 AND 2029 WITH THE TITLE SIX APPLICABLE TO FIX ROUTE SERVICES ONLY.

SECOND ONE WAS FOR THE REDUCED FARE PROGRAM EXPANSION AND EQU PROGRAM RETIREMENT, AND FINALLY FOR THE RETIREMENT OF T VMS AT BUS STATIONS AND THEN SELECT RAIL STATIONS, MAKING SURE THAT WE RETAIN AT LEAST ONE TVM AT EACH TRAIN STATION.

AND WITH ALL THREE STUDIES, UM, THERE WAS FOUND NO DISPARATE IMPACT ON MINORITY CUSTOMERS OR DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN FOR OUR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS ACROSS ALL THREE.

SO WAITING LONGER CREATES INSTABILITY AS I MENTIONED, AND IT COULD CAUSE NEGATIVE IMPACTS TO OUR SERVICES OR LARGER INCREASES IN THE FUTURE.

REGULAR FAIR ADJUSTMENTS HELP MAINTAIN SERVICE LEVELS WHILE ENABLING CONTINUED INVESTMENTS TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE OUR TRANSIT PLAN 2035, AND OF COURSE DELIVERING ON PROJECT CONNECT.

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, BEING THOUGHTFUL IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE PROPOSAL CAB METRO'S 2027 FAIR INCREASES WOULD REMAIN EVEN AFTER THE INCREASE.

OUR FARES WOULD REMAIN AMONG THE LOWEST OF COMPARABLE TRANSIT AGENCIES NATIONWIDE.

AND OF COURSE, THE INCREASE IS IMPLEMENTED GRADUALLY TO GIVE OUR CUSTOMERS TIME TO ADJUST, UM, UPDATES TO THE REDUCED FAIR PROGRAM WOULD HELP MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF FAIR INCREASES ON OUR LOWER INCOME CUSTOMERS.

AND THEN JUST TO WRAP UP, UM, WE ARE OF COURSE ASKING THE BOARD TO ADOPT OUR, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE PROPOSALS ON SEPTEMBER 28TH.

WE WILL HAVE CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS ONGOING FROM OCTOBER ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE SCHEDULED IMPLEMENTATION WITH THE JANUARY 10TH, 2027 SERVICE CHANGE.

AND FINALLY, I'D JUST LIKE TO THANK THE BOARD FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THEIR GUIDANCE WITH THIS TOPIC AND TURN IT OVER FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD AND THEN OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING TO THE PUBLIC AS WELL.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

MR. CONLIN.

DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? BOARD MEMBER OF VELA? THANK YOU.

UH, CHAIR.

UM, THE, COULD YOU DESCRIBE THE EQU FAIR PROGRAM? WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DID WE HAVE AND WHAT ARE WE MOVING TO, UH, WITH, UH, THE EXPANDED REDUCED FAIR PROGRAM? RIGHT.

SO THE EQU FAIR PROGRAM WAS BASED ON EITHER BEING A PARTICIPANT IN A SERVICE PROGRAM OR AN INCOME ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT, WHICH GAVE A 20% DISCOUNT.

AND WOULD, AND SORRY TO STOP YOU, BUT WOULD THAT BE LIKE A, A SNAP OR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT? UH, OKAY, GOT IT.

RIGHT.

AND ACTUALLY ON OUR WEBSITE, ON THE APPLICATION PAGE IS A

[00:20:01]

THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD BE INVOLVED WITH MM-HMM .

AND QUALIFY FOR EQU FAIR.

NOW THAT PROGRAM HAS, HAS KIND OF BEEN CONFUSING.

IT OFFERS A 20% DISCOUNT.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO ENSURE, UM, YOU KNOW, A MORE SIMPLIFIED APPROACH AND ACTUALLY A BETTER DISCOUNT FOR THOSE FOLKS AS WELL.

UM, YOU MEAN, AND JUST TO STOP YOU AGAIN, I'M SORRY, 20% DISCOUNT WOULD'VE BEEN LIKE A DOLLAR FAIR INSTEAD OF A DOLLAR 25, IS THAT RIGHT? RIGHT, RIGHT.

SO WE'RE GOING TO A 50% DISCOUNT.

AND JUST FOR SOME HISTORY TOO, EQU FAIR HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.

WE ACTUALLY ONLY HAVE ABOUT 600 PARTICIPANTS WITHIN THE PROGRAM.

GOT IT.

SO, AND IT WAS A EFFORT TO REALLY KIND OF TARGET THAT, UH, DISCOUNTED FARE, BUT IT HAS NOT HAD ANY KIND OF WIDESPREAD, UH, ACCEPTANCE, UH, WIDESPREAD ENROLLMENT I SHOULD SAY, HUH? CORRECT.

AND THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY I LED WITH BEING THOUGHTFUL AS PART OF THE PROCESS.

YOU KNOW, WHEN WE ENGAGE THE BOARD WITH THIS FAIR INCREASE AS WELL, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE TAKING CARE OF THOSE LOWER INCOME CUSTOMERS WITH THE EXPANSION OF OUR REDUCED FARE PROGRAM.

AND COULD YOU DISCUSS THAT A LITTLE BIT? THE REDUCED FARE PROGRAM? WHAT IS THE NEW SCOPE OF THE PROGRAM? THE NEW SCOPE OF THE PROGRAM IS CURRENT PARTICIPANTS ARE STILL WITHIN THE PROGRAM.

OF COURSE, IT'S A 50% DISCOUNT, NOT A 20% DISCOUNT, AND THEN WE'RE OPENING IT UP ALSO TO VETERANS.

WE HAD BEFORE, YOU KNOW, ACTIVE AND, UM, RESERVE COMPONENTS OF THAT WHERE WE'RE OPENING IT UP TO ALL VETERANS ALSO MM-HMM .

AND WE'RE ACTUALLY INTRODUCING AN INCOME BASE ON THAT.

SO IT WOULD BE HOUSEHOLDS THAT, UM, FALL AT OR BELOW THE A HUNDRED, 150% POVERTY LEVEL.

MM-HMM .

AND DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH OF AN INCREASE, LIKE THE 150% POVERTY LEVEL VERSUS LET'S SAY A SNAP ELIGIBILITY, HOW MUCH BIGGER OF A UNIVERSE ARE WE CAPTURING THERE? I, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I, I THINK, I MEAN IT'S IN THE TITLE SIX STUDY, I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE, WE WILL CAPTURE, I KNOW WE WERE GOING TO, WE'RE GOING TO CAPTURE A LOT MORE OF THE POPULATION WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA WITH THAT INCOME THRESHOLD THAT DID NOT EXIST BEFORE THIS.

MM-HMM .

THAT AGAIN, JUST MY SENSE WOULD BE THAT 150% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINE WOULD CAPTURE PROBABLY A GOOD CHUNK OF OUR RIDERSHIP.

HUH? IT WOULD CAPTURE A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OUR RIDERSHIP FOR THE REGION.

GOT IT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS BEFORE WE TAKE OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS? IT DOES NOT APPEAR, SO I BELIEVE THE FIRST SPEAKER IS SUSAN PANTEL.

HAS SUSAN JOINED US? MS. PANTEL, CAN YOU HEAR US OKAY? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU.

YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.

I APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE COMBINING THE REDUCED PAYER PROGRAM WITH THE EQU FAIR PROGRAM SO THAT CUSTOMERS HAVE THE 50% REDUCTION, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU'RE REDUCING THE ELIGIBILITY OF THE EQU FAIR PROGRAM FROM 200% OF THE POVERTY LEVEL TO 150% OF THE POVERTY LEVEL.

AND THAT'S ABSOLUTELY THE WRONG DIRECTION.

MANY, MANY PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING NOW TO PAY FOR BASIC ESSENTIALS AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS ARE BEING CUT.

YOU'RE RAISING THE FAIRES.

THIS IS NOT A TIME TO REDUCE THE ELIGIBILITY.

NEW YORK CITY JUST INCREASED THEIR ELIGIBILITY FROM 150% TO 200% OF THE POVERTY LEVEL.

150% OF THE POVERTY LEVEL FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR IS $49,500.

200% OF THE POVERTY LEVEL IS 66,000 FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR, THAT'S STILL QUITE LOW FOR TRYING TO LIVE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

I'M ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT THE METRO ACCESS CUSTOMERS.

I READ ALL OF THE ONLINE COMMENTS FROM CUSTOMERS AND I DID NOT SEE ANY COMMENTS FROM METRO ACCESS CUSTOMERS ABOUT WHETHER THEY'RE ABLE TO, UH, PAY THE HIGHER FARES.

I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO A QUESTIONNAIRE, A SURVEY OF THE METRO ACCESS CUSTOMERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN PAY FOR THE FARES BECAUSE FOR MOST OF THOSE CUSTOMERS, THEY HAVE NO OTHER WAY TO GET AROUND AND THEY'RE RELYING ON METRO ACCESS, UM, TO GET AROUND.

AND ALSO MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE, UH, LOWER INCOME.

FINALLY, I'M CONCERNED THAT YOU ARE PLANNING TO RAISE FAIRS EVERY TWO YEARS.

I DON'T THINK THAT'S A GOOD DIRECTION, A GOOD PLAN.

YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVES, UH, TO, TO SUPPORT THE SYSTEM FINANCIALLY RATHER THAN RELYING ON THE CUSTOMERS.

BECAUSE IF YOU KEEP RAISING FAIRS OVER TIME, YOU'RE GOING

[00:25:01]

IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WITH THIS FAIR INCREASE THAT YOU, THAT YOU HAVE A BIG TENT SO THAT EVERYBODY WHO NEEDS TO USE THE SERVICE IS ABLE TO USE THE SERVICE.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

THE NEXT SPEAKER IS JAMES SMITH.

IS JAMES WITH US? YES.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

WE CAN HEAR YOU.

GO AHEAD.

YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.

UH, I'D LIKE TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO, TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE PROPOSED FAIR INCREASE, WHICH WOULD MEET ITS HIGHEST RATE IN 2029 AT $2 FOR A SINGLE RIDE, A 75 CENT INCREASE OVER THE CURRENT RATE OF A DOLLAR 25 PER RIDE USING THE LOCAL RATE.

UH, THIS IS THREE TIMES GREATER THAN ANY PREVIOUS FAIR HIKE IN CAP METRO HISTORY, WHICH HAS CONSISTENTLY SEEN 25 CENT FAIR INCREASES SINCE THE FIRST HIKE IN 2008.

THIS FAIR INCREASE IS BEING INTRODUCED AT A TIME OF GREAT ECONOMIC ANXIETY FOR THE WORKING CLASS OF THIS CITY AS THEY CONTEND WITH RISING GAS AND GROCERY PRICES AMIDST WAGE STAGNATION.

EFFECTIVELY, PEOPLE CAN AFFORD LESS PER DOLLAR THAN THEY COULD AT THIS SAME TIME LAST YEAR, YET THE BOARD BELIEVES THIS IS THE TIME TO ADD TO THE BURDEN OF THOSE RESIDENTS WHO STRUGGLE THE GREATEST BECAUSE IT IS WORTH MENTIONING THAT THIS FAIR INCREASE DOES NOT AFFECT THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPER MAKING SIX FIGURES A YEAR.

NOR DOES IT AFFECT ANY MEMBER OF THE BOARD SITTING HERE TODAY.

THIS FAIR INCREASE AFFECTS THE SINGLE MOTHER WORKING TWO JOBS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE CITY FROM WHERE SHE LIVES MAKING CLOSE TO A MINIMUM WAGE THAT HASN'T INCREASED IN ALMOST TWO DECADES, WHO CANNOT AFFORD A VEHICLE OF HER OWN.

AND IT AFFECTS THE DESPERATE UNHOUSED, STRUGGLING TO HOLD ONTO OR FIND A JOB THAT MIGHT PULL THEM OUT OF A SITUATION THE CITY IS ALREADY TOO HAPPY TO LEAVE THEM IN.

UH, THE BOARD WILL ARGUE THAT THIS FAIR INCREASE IS NECESSARY FOR THE BUSES TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE.

AND I ARGUE THAT THIS CITY WITH ITS ALREADY EXTREME TRAFFIC DIFFICULTIES CANNOT AFFORD THE BUSES NOT TO OPERATE AND THAT THE RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN CANNOT AFFORD SUCH A DEMANDING FAIR INCREASE.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS PEYTON ROLLAND.

IS PEYTON HERE CHAIR? SHE'S NOT HERE.

OKAY.

WE HAVE AVE AZAR AND THEN NEXT UP WILL BE ENOVIA JOSEPH, I, I THINK THE MIC'S NOT ON.

AGAIN, THANK YOU VICE CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBERS FOR GIVING ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.

AGAIN, MY NAME IS VE HARRIS, SERVICE CHAIR OF THE PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

THE, JUST TO LET FOLKS KNOW, THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAP METRO IS FORMED OF PRETTY MUCH ALL TRANSIT ADVOCATES.

A LOT OF US ARE RIDERS OR USING ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION.

WE HAD A VERY HEFTY CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS ITEM AND I'M GONNA START BY SAYING THERE'S NEVER GONNA BE A GOOD TIME FOR A FAIR INCREASE.

WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, WE WERE SUPPORTIVE OF THE OVERALL ACTION THAT CAP METRO IS PROPOSING AT THIS TIME BECAUSE OF COURSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR SYSTEM REMAINS RELIABLE, THAT WE HAVE THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES NECESSARY TO HAVE A ROBUST SYSTEM THAT REACHES DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY.

ALONG WITH THAT, I'LL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS COME UP IN THE PRESENTATION IN SEVERAL COMMENTS AS WELL.

I REALLY HAVE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, GIVE APPRECIATION TO OUR CAP MENTOR STAFF FOR WORKING ON DEVELOPING THE REDUCED FARE STRUCTURE.

THE ACTUALLY SUBSIDIZED, UM, COST FOR CERTAIN RIDER SUCH AS THE UNHOUSED FOLKS AND THEN THE EQU FAIR PROGRAM.

SO FOR SEVERAL PAST YEARS AND UH, CAP MENTOR HAS WORKED WITH US AND MANY OTHER FOLKS TO REALLY SET OUT SYSTEMS THAT WOULD ACTUALLY HELP BUFFER COST INCREASES FOR REALLY LOW INCOME RENTERS.

WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A 150%, UM, UM, FOR OF, OF OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LIMIT, IT'S ROUGHLY TO BETWEEN 36% MFI AND LOWER STARTS VARYING BECAUSE OF DIFFERENT HOUSING SIZES.

BUT ESSENTIALLY WE DO HAVE SOME SYSTEMS BUILT IN FOR REALLY CAPTURING LOW INCOME FOLKS SO THAT THEY'RE NOT IMPACTED.

THE OTHER THING THAT'S BEEN REALLY IMPACTFUL IN THE POSITIVE SENSE HAS BEEN FAIR CAPPING THAT CAP METRO HAS INSTITUTED.

SO THAT MEANS IF YOU ARE A FREQUENT RIDER, WHETHER DAILY OR MONTHLY, UM, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE IS AT SOME POINT YOU'RE GONNA HIT YOUR FAIR CAP AND THE FAIR WILL NOT GO ABOVE THAT.

SO IN SOME WAYS, NOT ONLY IS THIS BUFFERING LOW INCOME RIDERS, BUT FREQUENT RIDERS AS WELL.

SO IF YOU'RE SOMEONE WHO MIGHT NOT MAKE THE INCOME ELIGIBILITY, YOU'RE HIGHER THAN THAT, BUT YOU USE THE SYSTEM DAILY OR MONTHLY IN, IN A ROBUST WAY, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE CAPTURED WITHIN THAT.

SO ALL THAT SAID, I THINK WE'RE SUPPORTIVE OF THIS AT THIS TIME WITH THE CAVEAT THAT HOPEFULLY CAB METRO WILL CONTINUE ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THIS.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.

GREAT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

DID WE HAVE MS. JOSEPH WITH US?

[00:30:05]

WELCOME.

WE'RE ON THE FAIR INCREASE ITEM.

THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR.

THANK YOU.

MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, I'M ZIA JOSEPH.

THE STAFF'S JUST GONNA PULL UP THE SAME PRESENTATION.

I JUST WANNA PREFACE BY REMINDING YOU THAT ON SOCCER GAME DAYS IT'S OVERCROWDED AND PEOPLE ARE NOT PAYING THE FAIR.

THOSE ARE WHITE CHOICE RIDERS WHO CAN AFFORD TO PAY, BUT YET WHEN YOU INCREASE THE FAIR, A DOLLAR 25 FOR EACH OF THE BRIDES, I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT'S A SERVICE DAY.

YOU'RE NOT TRANSPARENTLY LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT THAT STOPS AT 4:00 AM AND SO YOU ARE MAKING THE PEOPLE WHO ARE POOREST PAY THE MOST.

AND I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE SAME IS HAPPENING AS IT RELATES TO THE FAIR INCREASE.

I WOULD ASK YOU TO TABLE THE ITEM AND TO NOT ACTUALLY GO FORWARD WITH IT.

THESE CONCERNS OF MINE ARE SPECIFICALLY CONCERNS THAT THE TEXAS COMPTROLLER'S CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT.

IT'S CID@CPA.TEXAS.GOV.

AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE WE ALL SHOP AND AS YOU'LL SEE, YOU'VE INCREASED YOUR BUDGET, THE REVENUE $426 MILLION.

YET IF THE STAFF WILL GO BACK AND SHOW YOU THOSE, THE SLIDE YOU'LL SEE THERE'S NOT EVEN TRASH CANS AT THE STOPS ANYMORE.

AND LAST MONDAY AT MIDDLE FISHVILLE AND RUNDBERG STAFF IS STILL THERE, POWER WASHING THE CONCRETE, BUT NOW THEY'RE PICKING UP THE TRASH OFF THE GROUND.

AND SO WHAT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT YOU GET THE FUNDING, BUT THE POOR PEOPLE ARE THE ONES THAT YOU RELY ON THE TRANSIT DEPENDENT RIDERS TO GET THE FEDERAL FUNDING AND THEN YOU PROVIDE AMENITIES $64 MILLION FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

YOU HEARD ME SAY EARLIER, AND I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE HOW EGREGIOUS THIS IS OVER AT WHITE HORSE BY ALLENDALE, HEB.

IT'S NOT ON THE SCREEN.

I CAN SPEAK WITHOUT IT.

I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THERE WAS ONE PEDESTRIAN CRASH, BUT IT'S $12 MILLION FOR THAT SEGMENT BY BURNETT MIDDLE SCHOOL.

AND BURNETT MIDDLE SCHOOL DIDN'T EVEN WANT THE MINORITIES FROM DOBY.

DOBY HAS ABOUT 80 SOMETHING PERCENT HISPANIC, ONLY 3% WHITE.

THE CONVERSE IS TRUE OVER AT ALLENDALE.

THOSE PEOPLE DIDN'T WANT THE MINORITIES OVER THERE, BUT YET THAT'S WHERE THE INVESTMENT IS.

AND SO I'M INCENSED $64 MILLION ZERO CHEETO VELA FOR NORTH LAMAR BETWEEN NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER AND BREAKER LANE, WHERE 75 PEOPLE WERE HIT IN A THREE MILE STRETCH AND STILL THERE'S DISINVESTMENT.

IT'S IN THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN ON PAGE 37 WHERE THE CITY ADMITTED IT, IT IS DISCRIMINATORY.

MY COMMENTS, AS THEY ALWAYS ARE, ARE IN THE CONTEXT OF TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, AND NATIONAL ORIGIN.

YOU ALL ARE JUST ENGAGED IN WILLFUL BLINDNESS.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME AND SHAME ON YOU.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

DO WE HAVE ANYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM THAT DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO SIGN UP THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? I DON'T BELIEVE SO.

FOR OUR FINAL PUBLIC HEARING TODAY,

[II.3.Public hearing regarding proposed January 2027 Service Changes]

WELCOME.

THANKS.

GREAT.

GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR ELLIS, MEMBERS OF THE CAP METRO BOARD AND PRESIDENT AND CEO DOTIE WATKINS.

I'M JORDAN MCGEE WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND TODAY I'LL BE PRESENTING THE PROPOSED JANUARY 20, 27 SERVICE CHANGES, WHICH INCLUDE MINOR FREQUENCY AND SCHEDULE ADJUSTMENTS INTENDED TO IMPROVE DAY-TO-DAY RELIABILITY AND BETTER ALIGNED SCHEDULED SERVICE WITH AVAILABLE OPERATING RESOURCES.

SERVICE CHANGES ALLOW CAP METRO TO RESPOND TO CUSTOMER NEEDS, OPERATING CONDITIONS AND CHANGES IN TRAVEL PATTERNS WHILE USING OUR RESOURCES RESPONSIBLY.

THIS PROCESS IS GUIDED

[00:35:01]

SERVICE CHANGES TYPICALLY OCCUR IN JANUARY, JUNE AND AUGUST TO ALIGN WITH LOCAL SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY CALENDARS.

SERVICE PLANNING IS CONTINUOUS WHERE BETWEEN SERVICE CHANGES, WE MONITOR DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS AND FEEDBACK AND WORK WITH CUSTOMERS, OPERATORS, COMMUNITIES, MEMBER CITIES AND REGIONAL PARTNERS TO IDENTIFY FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS.

FOR THE JANUARY, 2027 SERVICE CHANGES, THE CENTRAL OBJECTIVE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SCHEDULE C AND RELY ON IS A SERVICE THAT ARRIVES.

AS SUCH, STAFF COMPLETED A DETAILED SYSTEM-WIDE ASSESSMENT OF HOW AND WHEN CUSTOMERS ARE USING THE NETWORK BY ROUTE AND BY TIME PERIOD, AS WELL AS ANY CONDITIONS AFFECTING OUR ABILITY TO DELIVER SCHEDULED SERVICE RELIABLY.

WE LOOKED FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE SMALL CHANGES AMONG THE SYSTEM THAT COULD EASE PRESSURE ON OUR RESOURCES AND THESE MINOR DATA INFORMED ADJUSTMENTS FOCUSED ON LOWER DEMAND PERIODS CAN THEN HELP CREATE OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE CAPACITY FOR VEHICLE AVAILABILITY, PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE, VEHICLE REPAIRS, AND SCHEDULE RECOVERY.

THE INTENDED OUTCOME OF THESE FREQUENCY ADJUSTMENTS IS MORE DEPENDABLE SERVICE AND SCHEDULES THAT CAP METRO CAN MORE CONSISTENTLY OPERATE WHILE PRESERVING ACCESS WHERE CUSTOMERS NEED IT THE MOST.

AND BASED ON THE SYSTEM WIDE REVIEW STAFF PROPOSE MINOR WEEKDAY FREQUENCY ADJUSTMENTS TO RAPID 8 0 3 BURNETT SOUTH LAMAR, ROUTE 3 37 CANAAN COLONY PARK AND CAT METRO RAIL.

THE PROPOSAL ALSO INCLUDES A SMALL PICKUP EAST A TX ZONE EXPANSION AND SELECT MINOR BUS SCHEDULE ADJUSTMENTS.

THESE FOCUS CHANGES ARE INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL RELIABILITY AND OPERATING BENEFITS WHILE PRESERVING IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS AND SERVICE ON KEY CORRIDORS.

AND UNDER CAP METRO'S BOARD ADOPTED TITLE SIX POLICIES.

THE PROPOSED CHANGES DID NOT MEET THE THRESHOLD FOR A MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE AND THEREFORE DO NOT REQUIRE A SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS STILL.

CAP METRO ACKNOWLEDGES THAT MINOR FREQUENCY CHANGES, RESULTS IN CUSTOMER IMPACTS AND EVALUATED A WIDE RANGE OF OPTIONS WITH THESE IMPACTS.

CAREFULLY CONSIDERED THIS PRESENTATION WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF EACH OF THESE CHANGES IN ASSOCIATED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STARTING WITH ROUTE 3 37 CANAAN COLONY PARK.

THIS ROUTE PROVIDES CROSSTOWN SERVICE BETWEEN CENTRAL NORTH AUSTIN AND NORTHEAST AUSTIN THROUGH KIG LANE AND LOYOLA LANE, AS SHOWN IN THE MAP, INTRODUCED IN 2018 AS PART OF CAP REMAP.

THE ROUTE WAS DESIGNED TO EXPAND ACCESS TO DESTINATIONS IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN BY ENABLING CONNECTIONS TO MULTIPLE FREQUENT ROUTES SINCE THEN, RAPID 8 37 EXPO CENTER NOW OFFERS OVERLAPPING HIGH FREQUENCY SERVICE IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN, DIRECTLY CONNECTING RESIDENTS TO DOWNTOWN UT CAMPUS AND SEVERAL TRANSFER OPPORTUNITIES AND PICK DECKER SUPPORTS ON-DEMAND NEIGHBORHOOD TRAVEL IN COLONY PARK AS PART OF THE SYSTEM-WIDE REVIEW.

ROUTE 3 37 EMERGED AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A SMALL ADJUSTMENT BECAUSE OF ITS RIDERSHIP TRENDS.

THE ROUTE PERFORMED WELL AT ITS START, BUT POST PANDEMIC RECOVERY HAS BEEN CHALLENGING CONSISTENT WITH BROADER NATIONAL TRENDS REGARDING INCREASED REMOTE WORK AND MORE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERED TRAVEL.

ROUTE 3 37 HAS YET TO RETURN TO ITS PRE PANDEMIC RIDERSHIP LEVELS AND RIDERSHIP HAS CONTINUED TO DECREASE AS SHOWN ON THE GRAPH.

AND THE CHART ON THIS SLIDE SHOWS ITS RIDERS PER HOUR THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND THE DASH LINE REPRESENTS A BOARD APPROVED STANDARD FOR FREQUENT SERVICE AS SHOWN ROUTE 3 37 IS BELOW ITS WEEKDAY PRODUCTIVITY STANDARD FOR MUCH OF THE DAY.

THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE ROUTE LACKS VALUE, BUT DOES IDENTIFY PERIODS WHERE THE SERVICE SCHEDULED IS GREATER THAN THE CURRENT DEMAND.

UH, SO AS SUCH, WE CAN MAKE SMALL ADJUSTMENTS DURING THESE PERIODS RATHER THAN APPLYING A MORE SIGNIFICANT UM, REDUCTION.

SO WEEKDAY SERVICE IS PROPOSED TO RUN EVERY 20 MINUTES FROM 7:00 AM TO 6:30 PM AND EVERY 25 MINUTES FROM 6:30 PM TO 8:00 PM INSTEAD OF EVERY 15 AND 20 MINUTES RESPECTIVELY, EARLY MORNING, LATER EVENING AND WEEKDAY SERVICE WOULD NOT CHANGE.

AND THIS PROPOSAL RETAINS ALL DAY SERVICE, THE EXISTING SPAN OF SERVICE AND IMPORTANT CUSTOMER CONNECTIONS.

AND NEXT RAPID 8 0 3 BURNETT SOUTH LAMAR IS ONE IN CAT METRO'S ORIGINAL RAPID LINES LAUNCHED IN 2014.

IT SERVES AS A MAJOR NORTH SOUTH

[00:40:01]

RAPID 8 0 3 IS INCLUDED IN THIS PROPOSAL BECAUSE OF OUR SYSTEM WIDE REVIEW THAT IT IDENTIFIED AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A MODEST ADJUSTMENT WHILE MAINTAINING FREQUENT SERVICE ON ONE CAT.

METRO'S.

KEY CORRIDORS IN THE INTRODUCTION OF RAPID 8 0 3 AS SHOWN ON THE GRAPH, SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE FREQUENCY LEVEL OF SERVICE AND RIDERSHIP ALONG ITS RESPECTIVE CORRIDOR.

THE ROUTE PERFORM, UH, VERY STRONGLY BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND HAS YET TO RETURN TO ITS PRE PANDEMIC RIDERSHIP LEVELS AND RECOVERY HAS BEEN SLOW IN THE CHART ON THE SLIDE SHOWS ITS RIDER PER HOUR THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND THE DASH LINE REPRESENTS A BOARD APPROVED PRODUCTIVITY STANDARD FOR RAPID SERVICE AND SIMILARLY, UH, AS SHOWN RAPID EIGHT OH THREES BELOW ITS PRODUCTIVITY STANDARD FOR MOST OF THE DAY.

AND THIS CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY TO SLIGHTLY ADJUST THE SCHEDULE DURING THE PROPOSED PERIOD WHILE CONTINUING TO PROVIDE FREQUENT HIGH CAPACITY SERVICE STAFF PROPOSE CHANGING WEEKDAY FREQUENCY FROM EVERY 10 TO 11 MINUTES TO EVERY 12 TO 13 MINUTES FROM 7:00 AM TO 7:00 PM AND LOCAL ROUTE THREE WOULD CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UNDERLYING SERVICE ALONG MOST OF, UH, THE 8 0 3 CORRIDOR AND RAPID 8 0 1 WOULD CONTINUE TO SUPPORT CUSTOMERS ALONG ITS BUSIEST SHARED PORTIONS.

, THANK YOU AND KEPT METRO OPERATES A 32 MILE RED LINE FROM LEANDER TO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, SERVING LONGER DISTANCE TRIPS, CONNECTING RAPIDLY GROWING SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES WITH MAJOR EMPLOY EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT DESTINATIONS WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA.

DUE TO WITH LARGELY SINGLE TRACK CONFIGURATION AND SHARED OPERATIONS WITH FREIGHT, IT HAS LIMITED SCHEDULING FLEXIBILITY WHERE THE FREQUENCY VARY SIGNIFICANTLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY, RANGING FROM APPROXIMATELY EVERY 25 MINUTES TO OVER AN HOUR WITH HOURLY SERVICE DURING MIDDAY PERIODS AND NO MIDDAY TRIPS.

SERVING LEANDER FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY HAS REFLECTED THAT THIS VARIABILITY CAN CREATE CHALLENGES FOR CUSTOMERS IN UNDERSTANDING AND USING THE SCHEDULE AND TO SUPPORT FUTURE SERVICE EXPANSIONS AND RELIABILITY.

CAT METRO'S ACTIVELY INVESTING IN A VARIETY OF IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS DOUBLE TRACKING AND UPCOMING NEW STATION AND ONGOING UPGRADES TO ITS SYSTEMS. DURING CONSTRUCTION OF THESE PROJECTS, TEMPORARY SERVICE IMPACTS ARE EXPECTED RESULTING IN THE NEED FOR A MORE FLEXIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE SCHEDULE.

SO AS SUCH CAT METRO STAFF PROPOSED THAT CAT METRO RAIL OPERATE EVERY 37 MINUTES ON WEEKDAYS AS A MORE CONSISTENT CLEAR AND RELIABLE SCHEDULE FOR CUSTOMERS.

AND THIS WOULD REPLACE THE CURRENT PATTERN OF HIGHLY VARIABLE WEEKDAY HEADWAYS, WHICH RANGE FROM APPROXIMATELY EVERY 25 MINUTES TO OVER AN HOUR.

THE SERVICE HOURS WOULD REMAIN UNCHANGED, INCLUDING THE EXISTING MIDDAY FREIGHT WINDOW WHEN TRAINS DO NOT SERVE LEANDER.

AND THE PROPOSED SCHEDULE REFLECTS FEEDBACK TO BETTER STANDARDIZE AND IMPROVE RAIL FREQUENCIES, PROACTIVELY ACCOUNTS FOR FUTURE FUTURE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND PROVIDES ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE TIME TO SUPPORT RELIABILITY.

AND THE NEXT PROPOSED CHANGE IS A MINOR ADJUSTMENT TO THE PICKUP EAST A TX SERVICE ZONE, WHICH PROVIDES ON DEMAND SHARED RIDES WITHIN ITS DESIGNATED SERVICE AREA.

THE PROPOSAL WOULD MAKE A SMALL BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT TO INCLUDE KEPT METRO'S EXPANDED CAMPUS AT 31 UH, EAST FIFTH STREET.

AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS CHANGE IS TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER AND PUBLIC ACCESS TO PUBLIC MEETINGS HELD AT THE EXPANDED CAMPUS IN THE FUTURE SHOWN IN RED.

AND LASTLY, IN ADDITION TO THE FREQUENCY ADJUSTMENTS PRESENTED TODAY, STAFF ARE CONTINUING TO REFINE SELECT MINOR TRAVEL TIME AND STOP LOCATION ADJUSTMENTS.

THESE REFINEMENTS ARE INTENDED TO IMPROVE ON TIME PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY WHILE RESPONDING TO EVOLVING TRAFFIC CONDITIONS, CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY, DETOURS AND OPERATIONAL NEEDS.

FINALIZING THESE DETAILS LATER IN THE SERVICE CHANGE PROCESS ALLOWS STAFF TO USE THE MOST CURRENT OPERATING INFORMATION AND PUBLISH SCHEDULES THAT BETTER REFLECT THE ACTUAL TRAVEL CONDITIONS AND ADDITIONAL DETAILS WILL BE INCLUDED ON THE SERVICE CHANGE WEBPAGE ONCE FINALIZED.

AND OVERALL, THE JANUARY, 2027 SERVICE CHANGES INCLUDE A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN DESIGNED TO NOTIFY STAKEHOLDERS, GATHER FEEDBACK, AND PROVIDE MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC

[00:45:01]

ENGAGEMENT BEGAN ON AUGUST 24TH AND STAFF HAVE SOUGHT INPUT FROM CUSTOMERS, OPERATORS, ADVISORY COMMITTEES, MEMBERS, CITIES, REGIONAL PARTNERS, AND THE PUBLIC PUBLIC FEEDBACK HAS PRIMARILY EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIABLE AND CONSISTENT SERVICE.

AND SEVERAL COMMENTERS HAVE NOTED THAT DEPENDABLE AND RELI RELIABLE SCHEDULED SERVICE IS ESSENTIAL TO RETAINING EXISTING CUSTOMERS AND ATTRACTING NEW ONES.

RAF AGREE WITH THESE SENTIMENTS AND AS SUCH, THE PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGE PRIMARILY FOCUSES ON IMPROVING RELIABILITY AND DELIVER DELIVERABILITY OF SCHEDULED SERVICE THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.

STAFF WILL CONTINUE TO REVIEW PUBLIC FEEDBACK AND SUMMARIZE ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES BEFORE BRINGING THE THE PROPOSAL TO THE, THE BOARD FOR CONSIDERATION ON SEPTEMBER 28TH.

AND THESE ADJUSTMENTS ARE PART OF CAP METRO'S BROADER EFFORT TO MAINTAIN DEPENDABLE SERVICE THROUGHOUT CENTRAL TEXAS.

WHILE COORDINATING CLOSELY WITH OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS, CAP METRO CONTINUES TO WORK WITH MEMBER CITIES, CARTS, TDOT, AND OTHER PARTNERS ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

DETOURS AND POTENTIAL CUSTOMER IMPACTS, PARTICULARLY THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH I 35 CONSTRUCTION AND STAFF CONTINUE TO ENGAGE, UH, COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE SERVICE AREA AND NETWORK PERFORMANCE NEAR TERM OPERATING NEEDS AND LONGER TERM SERVICE PLANNING.

WITH THAT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY AND I'D LOVE TO HEAR ANY FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEDBACK FROM THE BOARD BEFORE WE HEAR FROM SPEAKERS? LET'S GO WITH BOARD MEMBER VELA.

UH, THANK YOU.

UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION JUST ON THE, ON THE 8 0 3, ARE WE SEEING SIMILAR RIDERSHIP CHANGES OR SIMILAR UH, RIDERSHIP TRENDS ON THE, ON THE THREE AS WELL AS THE 8 0 3 UH, ROUTE? SORRY, UH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

ROUTE THREE DOES HAVE SIMILAR RIDERSHIP TRENDS.

WE DO NOTICE THAT CUSTOMERS USE ROUTE THREE IN 8 0 3 IN DIFFERENT WAYS GIVEN THAT ROUTE THREE IS A UNDERLYING ROUTE WITH MORE LOCAL STOPS.

SO CUSTOMERS MAY TAKE THAT AT DIFFERENT TIMES OR DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT OVERALL SINCE THEY REFLECT THE BROADER CORRIDOR THEY TEND TO FOLLOW IN PATTERN.

SO, SO WE ARE SEEING THAT KIND OF ALONG WITH THAT DROP IN RIDERSHIP, THE POST PANDEMIC KIND OF NOT AS HIGH AS PRE PANDEMIC.

THE NUMBER THREE IS SEEING A SIMILAR PATTERN OF UH, RIDERSHIP, HUH? THAT'S CORRECT.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? IT DOES NOT APPEAR, SO I BELIEVE WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER WHICH IS MS. ENOVIA JOSEPH.

UM, I ALSO KNOW THERE'S A SPEAKER FROM A PREVIOUS ITEM THAT HAS LOGGED IN AND SO I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE TAKE THEM UP AFTER WE HEAR FROM MS. JOSEPH.

YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.

IT IS A PRESENTATION WITH CARRIE BUTCHER ON THE FIRST SLIDE.

SO THERE WERE TWO, IT'S THE SECOND ONE I GAVE HER.

THAT'S IT.

THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, I'M OPIA JOSEPH AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO THE JANUARY 20, 27 CHANGES.

I JUST WANNA REMIND YOU THAT WHAT YOU JUST HEARD IS MARKETING.

I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER IT IS INFREQUENT, UNRELIABLE, DISCONNECTED, AND THIS IS WHAT CARRIE BUTCHER TOLD ME ABOUT DISPARATE IMPACT 10 YEARS AGO PRACTICALLY.

AND I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS FEBRUARY 10TH, 2026 WHEN KURT LARSON CAME HERE FROM HOUSTON METRO AND IT WAS JULY 25TH, 2016 WHEN JAR WALKER CAME.

AND SO IN MY HAND, I'M HOLDING HUMAN TRANSIT, WHICH IS HIS BOOK AND I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT RIDERSHIP IS DIFFERENT FROM COVERAGE, BUT THIS BOARD CONTINUES TO TALK ABOUT RIDERSHIP, WHICH MEANS YOU'RE THINKING LIKE A BUSINESS, CHOOSING THE POPULATION YOU WANT TO SERVE.

WHITE MILLENNIALS, 25 TO 35 WHO TOOK THE SURVEYS AND EARNED $100,000.

NEXT SLIDE.

THIS IS WHAT THE REALITY IS ON THE GROUND.

YOU'VE NOT MADE ANY TWEAKS.

IT WAS MARCH 25TH, 2024 WHEN GOVEA TOLD YOU THAT EVERY TRIP COUNTS.