The time has come, friends. Last summer, Capital Metro announced it would move buses off Congress Avenue. Starting in January, and increasing around SXSW, Cap Metro started diverting bus routes from Congress to Lavaca Street (northbound) and Guadalupe Street (southbound).
On June 3, all buses — with the exception of the MetroAirport Route 100 — will be redirected in order to accommodate the X Games. These changes become permanent on June 8.
According to a press release, the route change will speed up service in the wake of the new dedicated downtown bus lanes, as well as create universal stops at Fourth, Eighth and 12th streets along both Lavaca and Guadalupe. With this change, Cap Metro predicts riders can more easily navigate transfers between Local, Express and MetroRapid routes. It also hopes that moving the routes will stop the frequent disruptions caused by events on Congress Avenue. The bus schedule, it should be noted, will remain the same.
The timing of the route change may seem surprising, especially considering it moves a major bus line during the middle of a cultural debate about public transit. However, plans for the reroute have been in effect since 2010 as part of a decade-long initiative entitled, "Service Plan 2020."
Current routes being rerouted include:
1 Metric/South Congress
2 Rosewood
3 Burnet/Manchaca
4 Montopolis
5 Woodrow/South Fifth
6 East 12th
10 South First/Red River
19 Bull Creek
21 Exposition
22 Chicon
30 Barton Springs
37 Colony Park/Windsor Park
122 Four Points Limited
127 Dove Springs Flyer
142 Metric Flyer
483 Night Owl Riverside
485 Night Owl Cameron
486 Night Owl South Congress
990 Manor/Elgin Express
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For more information and to download a copy of the routing changes, head to Cap Metro's OffCongress website.
