Capital area rural transportation system
Capital area rural transportation system
Written by Patrick Brendel Friday, 10 October 2008
The Capital Area Rural Transportation System is a public agency that provides transportation services to the rural portions of a nine-county region in Central Texas, similar to how Capital Metro serves people inside the city of Austin, CARTS General Manager David Marsh said.
Georgetown and Taylor residents can utilize CARTS' curb-to-curb service to travel around town or between different cities in the region. Those wanting a ride can call CARTS to schedule pick-up and drop-off times. The CARTS vehicle will pick customers up from their homes, take them to their destinations and bring them back home. A 24-hour advance notice is recommended when scheduling rides.
Local bus service in Georgetown and Taylor operates from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Buses to Austin, Round Rock and Temple run on scheduled days during the week, generally leaving in the morning and returning in the early afternoon.
One-way fares are $2 for a trip wholly within town, $4 for trips within a county and $6 for inter-county travel. Persons who are disabled or more than 60 years old are eligible to receive a 50 percent fare discount.
The agency plans to build facilities in both Georgetown and Taylor for inter-city buses operated by CARTS or private companies like Greyhound. Marsh anticipates breaking ground on the Georgetown facility, 3620 S. Austin Ave., in early October and completing the project by Sept. 1, 2009. The city of Georgetown and CARTS have worked together to create an intra-city bus network (like CARTS operates in San Marcos), but the city council put off funding for the project until at least next year, Marsh said.
CARTS would like for the Taylor facility to serve Amtrak passengers also. Currently, the city of Taylor is in negotiations with Union Pacific to purchase a site for the facility, Marsh said. A timetable for that project is not available.
"The ultimate purpose is for people to be able to travel to any city in our nine-county district and back in the same day," Marsh said.
The agency does not provide public service to Hutto because Hutto is considered a part of the "urbanized area" of Austin and is, therefore, outside of CARTS' district and not eligible for federal funds for CARTS programs.
Round Rock also is an "urbanized area," Marsh said. However, CARTS does operate in Round Rock because the city makes payments to CARTS to compensate for the missing federal funds. Marsh said area transportation organizations are working together to get around the jurisdictional issues. On Sept. 25, the Regional Transportation Coordinating Council held the first public meeting on the issue.
CARTS also contracts with third parties like Medicaid and Mental Health and Mental Retardation centers to provide medical transportation for clients.
The agency, established in 1978, operates on a $5 million annual budget; is funded with state and federal dollars; serves about 549,000 people in Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Travis and Williamson counties and makes about 350,000 trips per year, Marsh said.
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