Complaints, criticism in wake of rail's launch

Impact on city may not be as rosy as CapMetro has predicted

By Andrew Tolan

“Everything is bigger and better in Texas” is a motto that has been infused into the subconscious of all Texans. In the case of Austin’s new MetroRail, the bigger portion is not really an issue; it’s the functionality and impact on the city of Austin that has people questioning whether this $140 million Texas-sized rail is actually better than having no rail at all.

The oft-delayed MetroRail opened to Austin began paid service March 29 after a week of allowing people to ride for free. The first week of paid services saw nearly half the amount of riders board the 32-mile long rail, which is roughly 25 percent of the 2,000 passengers per day Capital Metro has projected during the commuter line’s initial period.

“The overall impact the rail has had on the city has been extremely negative,” said Fred Zipp, editor of the Austin American-Statesman. “In order to become cogent, [Capital Metro] will continue to cut bus services to the people who need it.”

A recent report by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission revealed an issue with the management of Capital Metro’s finances that, according to the commission, places its “long-term financial viability at risk.”

The sunset commission’s report said that “despite warnings from staff as early as 2006 that Capital Metro could reach a structural revenue deficit by 2011, the Board failed to take action to maintain a minimum reserve balance to avoid a possible deficit.”


In addition to the agency’s financial difficulties, many within the Austin community complain about the lack of locations or information that the rail has available and say that they have no intention of using the commuter line, possibly alienating an entire demographic of potential riders.

“Me or my friends have never used the rail,” UT marketing student Vanessa Bazan said. “I wouldn’t even know where to get on it, get a ticket or anything. I can‘t see ever using it because it goes nowhere that I would want to go.”

There are additional concerns about the physical stops themselves. There is no uniformity in the stops, with the impressive Downtown Station featuring large signs alerting consumers of the location, along with benches and a scenic view of Fourth Street, which even further exacerbates the blasé Highland Station that features no benches and few signs advertising a MetroRail stop near Highland Mall.

“I have been to Highland Mall a number of times and never even knew there was a MetroRail stop there, to be honest,” said UT business student Mat McHaney, who lives in Hyde Park. “It’s pretty easy to miss, and there aren’t really signs that let you know there is any sort of stop there.”

Capital Metro has also faced criticism from the sunset commission regarding the rail’s safety. The commission found that several bridges on the rail line are in need of major repair or replacement and “that, in the near future, 10 bridges need major repairs, and three must be replaced altogether.”


The rail, which is not open on the weekends, provides services from 5:25 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. to 7:42 p.m. on weekdays. The limited accessibility has raised concerns that the rail will be nothing more than mere eye candy for Austinites.

“People who live in the looping corridor of the rail are often complaining that the commute is taking longer on the MetroRail than the bus,” Zipp said. “I’m concerned that the rail will serve as nothing more than something to look at for people on the highway.”

It is often said that first impressions can mean everything. With concerns from myriad individuals and a major Texas commission, many have a negative initial impression about MetroRail. Though it is still early in the process of gathering a concrete idea about the impact of the rail, poor first impressions could be very detrimental to the future impact of the commuter line.