On The Move

New and improved 24/7 public transit plan in the works for Austin

Updates are coming to Austin's transit system.

Austin's public transportation network is poised for a major upgrade. The Capital Metro board of directors unanimously approved a new Connections 2025 transit plan, which addresses the city's need for a 24/7 transit system.

Cap Metro spent a year conducting surveys with the public and refining the plan, which will triple the number of bus routes running every 15 minutes or better. The plan will guide Cap Metro's service over the next five years and also includes a framework for growth over the next decade. Its predecessor, Service Plan 2020, introduced facets such as the MetroRapid lines, transit priority lanes, and high frequency routes.

"Major investments to build a better bus network will kick off in 2018 and will continue paying off over the next 10 years. Austin desperately needs more mobility options, and this plan delivers the type of innovation and services people want," said Cap Metro president and CEO Linda Watson in a statement.

Goals include increasing the number of routes that run east-west, adding more options that connect outlying neighborhoods, growing the MetroExpress and MetroRapid services, and boosting bus frequency in major corridors.

Austin's new transportation network will include:

Four downtown circular routes
Four MetroRapid routes that run every 7-15 minutes
Eight MetroExpress routes
13 routes that run every 15 minutes
23 routes that run every 30 minutes
Six shuttles for the University of Texas campus

The current Cap Metro system costs $259 million a year, but the total is expected to increase $9 million in the first year of the Connections 2025 plan. Each phase of the Connections 2025 will require a public hearing and additional approval from the board of directors; the first round is scheduled to take place spring 2018.

transportation

Worker Bee News

Amazon wants to hire 1,000 seasonal employees in Austin for holiday

Photo by Wallstplaybook.com

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As the 2024 holiday shopping season approaches, Amazon is doing its annual round of holiday hiring, seeking to fill 250,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles across the U.S., including 18,000 positions in Texas — including 1,000 openings in Austin.

The bulk of the open positions in Texas are in Dallas-Fort Worth, but they're also hiring in Houston and San Antonio.

Seasonal Amazon jobs offer competitive pay, flexible schedules, and, as a release so eloquently puts it, "the opportunity to be part of the bustling retail industry during its busiest time of year." LOL. Many of these seasonal roles also come with the potential to transition into regular, full-time employment after the holidays.

The release does not specify which positions are open but one can assume packing and delivering boxes are involved.

Interested applicants can go to amazon.com/localjobs or text NEWJOB to 31432 to sign up for job alerts. Open roles are posted throughout the holiday season.

Pay and Benefits
All seasonal employees earn at least $18 per hour, and have access to comprehensive benefits like health care coverage from their first day of employment.

Approximately one-third of seasonal employees stay on year after year.

Seasonal employees who stay at the company can see an average pay increase of 15 percent over their first three years.

Amazon perks include career advancement opportunities; access to earned pay at any time; health, vision, and dental insurance from the first day on the job; a 401(k) with company match; and up to 20 weeks of paid pregnancy/parental leave for birth parents (six weeks for eligible supporting parents).

They also get Amazon Prime employee discount, and Amazon’s Resources for Living program, a free benefit offering mental health and financial services and support for employees, their families, and their households.