page_title: Austin, Texas
section_title: Public transportation
hierarchical_section_title: Austin, Texas / Transportation / Public transportation
caption_attribution_description: Austin Metrorail at Downtown Station, July 2010
context_page_description: Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most populous city in the United States, the fourth-most-populous city in Texas, and the second-most-populous state capital city. It was also the fastest growing large city in the United States in 2015 and 2016. It is the southernmost state capital in the contiguous United States.
  As of the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2019, estimate, Austin had a population of 978,908, up from 790,491 at the 2010 census. The city is the cultural and economic center of the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan statistical area, which had an estimated population of 2,227,083 as of July 1, 2019, nearly an 80% increase from the year 2000. Located in Central Texas within the greater Texas Hill Country, it is home to numerous lakes, rivers, and waterways, including Lady Bird Lake and Lake Travis on the Colorado River, Barton Springs, McKinney Falls, and Lake Walter E. Long.
  Residents of Austin are known as Austinites.
context_section_description: The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("Capital Metro") provides public transportation to the city, primarily by bus. Some heavily utilized routes feature bus rapid transit, with 60-foot (18 m) long, train-like, high-tech buses.
  Capital Metro opened a 32-mile (51 km) commuter rail system known as Capital MetroRail on March 22, 2010. The system operates on existing freight rail lines and serves downtown Austin, East Austin, North Central Austin, Northwest Austin, and Leander in its first phase. Future expansion could include a line to Manor and another to Round Rock. 
  Capital Metro has also explored building a light rail system to connect the MetroRail line to key destinations in Central Austin. On August 7, 2014, the Austin City Council unanimously voted to place a $600 million light rail bond proposal on the November 4, 2014 ballot; the ballot measure was voted down. Capital Metro returned in 2020 with a major transit expansion plan called Project Connect, which is set to be put before voters on the November 2020 ballot. At a total project cost of $10 billion, the Project Connect system plan proposes 3 new light rail lines, 1 new commuter rail line, several new MetroRapid lines, more park-and-rides, more express bus routes, and improvements to the existing local bus system and fare technology.
  Capital Area Rural Transportation System connects Austin with outlying suburbs.
  In Summer 2018, Capital Metro began testing autonomous electric shuttles on Downtown streets. The pilot program tested two driverless bus models from EasyMile and Navya on a route from the Austin Convention Center to the Austin Central Library. Capital Metro is also considering implementing full-size driverless buses, likely to be included on a 2020 transportation referendum.
caption: Capital MetroRail train at Downtown Station
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