CapMetro must focus on equity, listening to community, board chair says
As Capital Metro looks to the future, it must be committed to equity and community engagement as it works to expand public transportation in Austin, the transit authority's board chair Jeff Travillion said Thursday.
CapMetro's approach to transit expansion must keep traditionally underserved populations in mind, Travillion said at a Thursday news conference.
“It is important for us to make sure that we provide an infrastructure so that (Austin) is not just a place that serves the wealthy. That we build the foundation that allows people to be transported through public transit, all of the places that they need to go,” said Travillion, who is also a Travis County commissioner. “How do we make this a more equitable place? How do we begin to invite people back that may have been pushed out in the past? It is important that we continue to work together but it is important that we build a foundation that people can believe in.”
Founded in 1985, CapMetro operates the Austin area's public transportation system, which includes bus and shuttle service as well as a commuter rail line. The agency has an annual operating budget of $318.6 million, has a service area of 542 square miles and had 16.9 million passenger boardings in 2021, according to the CapMetro's website.
More: CapMetro set for leadership change as CEO leaving for job in D.C.
CapMetro's outgoing president and CEO Randy Clarke said the agency's goals going forward should also be to recover bus ridership that declined during the pandemic and securing federal funding for Project Connect, a multibillion-dollar transportation infrastructure plan.
Clarke this week announced his departure for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C. Clarke has led CapMetro since March 2018 and plans to transition out of his role in June.
Travillion said Clarke’s replacement needs to have a strong security background and understand the relationship between local transit systems and the Federal Transit Administration. The new CEO will also need to be able to build and maintain confidence within the organization and with the community at large, he said.
More: Inflation, tunnel issues blamed for Project Connect's estimated $4.5 billion cost jump
Clarke said with Project Connect ramping up the design phase, this is a good time for a transition in leadership at CapMetro, which is one of the key partners in the plan, along with the city of Austin and Austin Transit Partnership.
“I actually don't see any impact on Project Connect at all (with my departure)” he said. “This is a partnership to build Project Connect up. It's not the Austin Transit Partnership’s job, it’s not CapMetro’s job, it’s not the city's job. All three partners are 100% tied together to build this up and they all have distinct responsibilities... All three parties are going to have to work very collaboratively to get this done.”
Clarke addressed the recently announced $4.5 billion increase in estimated costs for several key aspects of Project Connect. He said CapMetro’s job is to manage risk related to costs over the project’s decade plus lifespan, which will inevitably include a variety of economic conditions, including the period of inflation the U.S. is currently experiencing.
“(Project Connect) is community driven, so the community is really really engaged which is fantastic because they’ve taken ownership of the design of the process, and therefore some of the scope is changing,” he said. “Economies go up and down. We went from the hottest economy in the world to now everyone is immediately talking about a recession. And so prices move and fluctuate over longer periods of time.”
More: Leander voters approve continuing partnership with CapMetro
Clarke said CapMetro’s next leader should lean into its role with Austin Transit Partnership and the city and focus on pandemic recovery and upcoming expansion projects.
“CapMetro has to really do two things. It has to come out of the pandemic and really be all in on great service, rebuild the bus service, which we're doing,” he said.
Clarke said the agency should also continue to work on innovations including doubling down on public safety and new fare systems. Another big focus going forward will be pulling down federal funding to help with Project Connect among other things, he said.
“We're moving to the federal process incredibly well,” he said. “We're checking off all of the boxes to get through that federal process and then we have our funding model in place.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: CapMetro must focus on equity, listening to community, board chair says
