CapMetro Rapid

CapMetro Rapid is a bus rapid transit service in Austin, Texas, owned and operated by the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It consists of four routes in the system, which includes two original routes which run north-south served by stations designed by McKinney York Architects, and two more routes that went into operation as of March 2025.

History

The original Route 1 North Lamar/South Congress bus line – merged from the paired Route 1 North Lamar and Route 13 South Congress lines in 2001 – was the busiest line in the CapMetro system, with peak frequencies of 10 minutes headways Monday through Friday, with wider headways on the weekends. The 101 express line supplemented local service on the 1 line. In 2006, Route 1 was split in two as 1L and 1M, while maintaining high frequencies on the 1L/1M trunk line portion.
CapMetro debuted the first MetroRapid service, North Lamar/South Congress on January 26, 2014. It replaced existing CapMetro Bus Routes 1L/1M and the 101 Express, which traveled along the same corridor. Route 801 serves 29 stations between Tech Ridge in North Austin and Southpark Meadows via the University of Texas and Downtown Austin. It supplements local service on Route 1, which now has wider headways, resulting in overcrowded buses.
A second route, MetroRapid Burnet/South Lamar, serves a total of 28 stations between Domain (Austin, Texas)|The Domain] and Westgate. It began operation during August 2014, supplementing service along Route 3 Burnet/Manchaca, which remains in service but now at a slightly reduced frequency.
CapMetro expanded MetroRapid started service on February 23, 2025 with two more routes: The Pleasant Valley Line and the Expo Center Line. Route 800 runs from Barbara Jordan to Vertex & Slaughter primarily along Pleasant Valley Road, supplementing Routes 7, 300 and 350 on portions of the route. Route 837 runs from Republic Square to Loyola & Decker primarily along Manor Road and supplementing Routes 20 and 337 on most of the route.

Operation and Headways

CapMetro Rapid operates from 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturdays and Sundays from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
. On Saturdays, it operates from 6 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Routes 801 and 803 operate at a high frequency of 10 minutes during the day and 15 minutes at night Monday through Friday, and every 15-20 minutes on the weekends. Routes 800 and 837 operate a frequency of 20 minutes daytime and 30 minutes at night seven days a week.

List of CapMetro Rapid stations

Route 800 - Pleasant Valley

north to south

Stop	Intersection/ address	Connections	Notes
Barbara Jordan	Berkman Drive and Barbara Jordan Boulevard	MetroBus 10, 335, 300, 837 Pickup Northeast ATX	northern terminus Serves Dell Children's Medical Center
Simond	Berkman and Simond Avenue	MetroBus 335, 485, 837
Mueller Tower	Berkman and Tom Miller Street	MetroBus 335, 485, 837	Located near the preserved former control tower of the now-defunct Mueller Airport.
Airport Boulevard	Airport Boulevard and Manor Road	MetroBus 20, 135, 350, 485, 837*	Northbound stop on Manor, southbound stop on Airport. Southbound transfer stop within walking distance of Manor Westbound stop.
Oak Springs	Airport and Oak Springs Drive	MetroBus 2, 135, 350, 485Pickup East ATX	Northbound stop on Airport, southbound stop on Oak Springs
ACC Eastview	Webberville Road and Govalle Avenue	MetroBus 300 Pickup East ATX	Serves Austin Community College Eastview Campus and Eastside Early College High School.
7th Street	North Pleasant Valley Road and East Seventh Street	MetroBus 4, 135, 300 UT Shuttle 672 Pickup East ATX	Serves CapMetro Headquarters
Cesar Chavez	North Pleasant Valley and East Cesar Chavez Street	MetroBus 2, 4, 300, 490, 491 UT Shuttle 672
Roy E. Guererro	South Pleasant Valley and Lakeshore Boulevard	MetroBus 300 UT Shuttle 672	Serves Roy E. Guererro Colorado River Park and Krieg Field
Elmont	South Pleasant Valley and Elmont Drive	MetroBus 300 UT Shuttle 672
Riverside	South Pleasant Valley and East Riverside Drive	MetroBus 20, 228, 300, 483 UT Shuttle 671, 672
Sheringham	South Pleasant Valley and Sheringham Drive	MetroBus 228, 300, 483
Oltorf East	South Pleasant Valley and East Oltorf Street	MetroBus 228, 300, 310, 483	Northsound stop on Pleasant Valley, southbound stop on Oltorf
Oltorf at Burton	East Oltorf and Burton Drive	MetroBus 228, 300, 310, 483
Iriquois	Burleson Road and Iriquois Lane
Mission Hill	Burleson and Mission Hill Drive
Franklin Park	South Pleasant Valley and Franklin Park Drive	Pickup Dove Springs
Dove Springs	South Pleasant Valley and East Stassney Lane	MetroBus 7, 311, 486 Pickup Dove Springs
Village Square	South Pleasant Valley and Village Square Drive	MetroBus 7, 486 Pickup Dove Springs	Serves Mendez Middle School
Onion Creek	South Pleasant Valley and East William Cannon Drive	MetroBus 7, 333 Pickup Dove Springs
Easton Park	McKinney Falls Parkway and East William Cannon Drive
Vertex	East Slaughter Lane and Vertex Boulevard	MetroBus 318	southern terminus

Route 801 - North Lamar/South Congress

north to south

Stop	Intersection/ address	Connections	Notes
Tech Ridge	900 Center Ridge Drive	MetroBus 1, 135, 152, 243, 325, 392, 935 Pickup Dessau CARTS	northern terminus Serves Tech Ridge Retail Center. Park and Ride
Parmer	North Lamar Boulevard and Indian Mound Drive North Lamar Boulevard just north of Parmer Lane	Pickup Walnut Creek
Braker Southbound	North Lamar Boulevard and West Braker Lane	MetroBus 1, 392 Pickup Walnut Creek	Southbound only stop
Chinatown	North Lamar Boulevard and Kramer Lane	MetroBus 1
Masterson	North Lamar and Masterson Pass	MetroBus 1
Rundberg	North Lamar and West Rundberg Lane	MetroBus 1, 324, 325, 481	Serves Rundberg/Lamar Shopping Center
Fairfield	North Lamar and West Elliott Street North Lamar and Fairfield Drive	MetroBus 1, 481
North Lamar Transit Center	7911 Research Boulevard	MetroBus 1, 323, 350, 383, 481	MetroRapid stop is located on the North Lamar southbound service road north of U.S. 183 intersection, within walking distance of transit center; both northbound and southbound buses stop there.
Crestview	6920 North Lamar Boulevard	CapMetro Rail Red Line at Crestview station MetroBus 1, 7, 300, 350, 481	MetroRapid stop is located on North Lamar at Airport Boulevard or Justin Lane
Brentwood	North Lamar and West Koenig Lane	MetroBus 1, 337, 481	Serves Texas Department of Public Safety office
North Loop East	North Lamar and North Loop Boulevards	MetroBus 1, 481, 990
Triangle	4600 Guadalupe Street West	MetroBus 1, 481, 990 UT Shuttle 656, 681	MetroRapid stop is located on West Guadalupe at West Forty-seventh Streets Serves Texas [Health and Human Services Commission\|Texas Department of Health] and Texas School for the Blind. Park and Ride
Hyde Park	Guadalupe at West Thirty-ninth Streets Guadalupe at West Thirty-eight-and-a-half Streets	MetroBus 1, 335, 481, 990	Serves Austin State Hospital
31st Street	Guadalupe and West Thirty-first Streets	MetroBus 1, 3, 30, 481, 803
UT/Dean Keeton	Guadalupe and West Dean Keeton Streets Guadalupe and West Twenty-sixth Streets	MetroBus 1, 3, 20, 30, 105, 410, 481, 803, 982, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 640, 642, 661	Serves University of Texas at Austin
UT/West Mall	Guadalupe and West Mall walkway Guadalupe and West Twenty-third Streets	MetroBus 1, 3, 20, 30, 105, 410, 481, 803, 980, 981, 982, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 640, 642	Serves University of Texas at Austin, The Drag
Museum	Lavaca and West Seventeenth Streets Guadalupe and Seventeenth	MetroBus 1, 3, 18, 20, 30, 105, 481, 803, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 663	Serves Blanton Museum of Art and Bullock Texas State History Museum
Capitol	Lavaca and West Thirteenth Streets Guadalupe and West Twelfth Streets	MetroBus 1, 3, 20, 30, 103, 481, 803, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 663	Serves Downtown Austin, the Texas State Capitol complex, ACC Rio Grande campus, Travis County Courthouse
Austin History Center	Lavaca and West Eighth Streets Guadalupe and Eighth	MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 20, 30, 103, 105, 111, 142, 171, 481, 485, 803, 935, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 663	Originally called "Wooldridge Square" Serves Downtown, Austin History Center, CapMetro Transit Store, Congress Avenue Historic District and Sixth Street.
Republic Square	Lavaca and West Third Streets Guadalupe and West Fourth Streets	MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 20, 30, 105, 111, 142, 171, 483, 484, 486, 803, 837, 935, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990	Serves Downtown, City Hall (Austin, Texas)\|City Hall], Lady Bird Lake and Republic Square. Within walking distance of Austin Convention Center and Downtown CapMetro Rail station.
Vic Mathias/Auditorium Shores	West Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road	MetroBus 1, 7, 10, 20, 142, 483, 486, 935, 987	Originally called "Auditorium Shores" Serves Auditorium Shores, Long Center, Palmer Events Center, Bat colony
SoCo	South Congress Avenue and East Elizabeth Street South Congress Avenue and West Monroe Street	MetroBus 1, 486	Serves SoCo, Texas School for the Deaf
Oltorf	South Congress Avenue and East/West Oltorf Street	MetroBus 1, 300, 486
St. Edward's	South Congress Avenue and Woodward Street South Congress Avenue and Lightsey Road	MetroBus 1, 486	Serves St. Edward's University
South Congress Transit Center	301 West Ben White Boulevard	MetroBus 1, 310, 315
St. Elmo	South Congress Avenue and St. Elmo Road	MetroBus 1, 486
Little Texas	South Congress Avenue and Little Texas Lane	MetroBus 1, 311, 486
Pleasant Hill	South Congress Avenue at William Cannon Drive	MetroBus 1, 201, 333, 486
Slaughter	South Congress Avenue at Slaughter Lane	MetroBus 201
Southpark Meadows	Turk and Cullen Lanes	MetroBus 3, 10, 201, 318	southern terminus Serves Southpark Meadows Shopping Center

Route 803 - Burnet/South Lamar

north to south

Stop	Intersection/ address	Connections	Notes
Domain	Alterra Parkway and Esperanza Crossing	MetroBus 466	northern terminus Serves The Domain shopping center
Braker/Stadium	Burnet Road and Braker Lane	MetroBus 3, 383, 392	Serves Q2 Stadium
UT Research Campus	Road A at James Hart Trail Road A at Clyde Davis Trail	MetroBus 466	Serves J. J. Pickle Research Campus
Rutland	Burnet Road and Longhorn Road Burnet Road and Rutland Drive	MetroBus 3, 383,
Crossroads	Burnet Road and Polaris Avenue Burnet Road and Research Boulevard	MetroBus 3, 383
Ohlen	Burnet and Ohlen Roads Burnet Road and Penny Lane	MetroBus 3, 324
Northcross	Burnet Road and St. Joseph Boulevard Burnet Road and West Anderson Lane	MetroBus 3, 5, 30, 323, 324	Serves Northcross Shopping Center
Justin	Burnet Road and Justin Lane Burnet Road and Pegram Avenue	MetroBus 3
Allandale	Burnet Road and West Koenig Lane Burnet Road and Allandale Road	MetroBus 3, 337, 491
North Loop	Burnet Road and North Loop Boulevard	MetroBus 3, 345
Sunshine	Sunshine Drive and North Lamar Boulevard	MetroBus 5, 345
Rosedale	North Lamar and West Fortieth Street	MetroBus 5	Serves Central Market, Central Park Shopping Center, Heart Hospital of Austin, Seton Medical Center
West 38th	West Thirty-eighth Street and West Avenue	MetroBus 3, 30, 335, 491, 982, 987
31st Street	Guadalupe and West Thirty-first Streets	MetroBus 1, 3, 30, 481, 801
UT/Dean Keeton	Guadalupe and West Dean Keeton Streets Guadalupe and West Twenty-sixth Streets	MetroBus 1, 3, 20, 30, 105, 410, 481, 801, 982, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 640, 642, 661	Serves University of Texas at Austin
UT/West Mall	Guadalupe and West Mall walkway Guadalupe and West Twenty-third Streets	MetroBus 1, 3, 20, 30, 105, 410, 481, 801, 980, 981, 982, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 640, 642	Serves University of Texas at Austin, The Drag
Museum	Lavaca and West Seventeenth Streets Guadalupe and Seventeenth	MetroBus 1, 3, 18, 20, 30, 105, 481, 801, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 663	Serves Blanton Museum of Art and Bullock Texas State History Museum
Capitol	Lavaca and West Thirteenth Streets Guadalupe and West Twelfth Streets	MetroBus 1, 3, 20, 30, 103, 481, 801, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 663	Serves Downtown Austin, Texas State Capitol complex, ACC Rio Grande campus, Travis County courthouse
Austin History Center	Lavaca and West Eighth Streets Guadalupe and Eighth	MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 20, 30, 103, 105, 111, 142, 171, 481, 485, 801, 935, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990 UT Shuttle 663	Originally called "Wooldridge Square" Serves Downtown, Austin History Center, CapMetro Transit Center, Congress Avenue Historic District and Sixth Street.
Republic Square	Lavaca and West Third Streets Guadalupe and West Fourth Streets	MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 20, 30, 105, 111, 142, 171, 483, 484, 486, 801, 837, 935, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990	Serves Downtown, City Hall, Lady Bird Lake and Republic Square. Within walking distance of Austin Convention Center and Downtown MetroRail station.
Seaholm/Central Library	West Cesar Chavez and San Antonio Streets West Cesar Chavez and West Streets *	MetroBus 3, 111, 171, 980, 981, 985	Originally "Seaholm" southbound temporary stop due to construction Serves Lady Bird Lake and the Central Library. Within walking distance of Amtrak station
Barton Springs	South Lamar Boulevard and Butler Road South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Springs Road	MetroBus 3, 30, 484	Serves Auditorium Shores, Barton Springs, Long Center, Palmer Events Center, Zach Theatre and Zilker Park
Lamar Square	South Lamar and Lamar Square Drive	MetroBus 3, 484
Oltorf West	South Lamar and West Oltorf Street South Lamar and Oxford Avenue	MetroBus 3, 300, 484
Bluebonnet	South Lamar and Bluebonnet Lane	MetroBus 3, 300, 484
Broken Spoke	South Lamar and West Ben White Boulevards South Lamar and Brodie Oaks	MetroBus 300
Brodie Oaks	South Lamar and West Ben White Boulevards South Lamar and Brodie Oaks
Westgate Transit Center	2027 West Ben White Boulevard	MetroBus 30, 105, 300, 311, 315, 318	southern terminus Replaces original "Westgate" stop on Western Trails Boulevard near Westgate Mall

Route 837 - Expo Center

north to south

Stop	Intersection/ address	Connections	Notes
Decker	Loyola and List of [Farm to Market Roads in Texas (3100–3199)#FM3177\|Decker Lane]s	MetroBus 233, 237, 337 Pickup Decker	northern terminus Serves Travis County Expo Center and Walter E. Long Park
Colony Park	Loyola Lane and Colony Loop	MetroBus 233, 237, 337 Pickup Decker
Johnny Morris	Loyola Lane and Johnny Norris Road	MetroBus 233, 237, 337, 339 Pickup Decker
Purple Sage	Crystalbrook and Purple Sage Drives	MetroBus 233, 237, 339 Pickup Decker
Johnny Morris	Loyola Lane and Johnny Norris Road	MetroBus 233, 237, 337, 339 Pickup Decker
Lyndon B. [Johnson High School (Austin, Texas)\|LBJ High School]	Pecan Brook and Tumbleweed Drives	MetroBus 20, 233, 239 Pickup Decker	Serves Lyndon B. Johnson High School
Delco Center	Pecan Brook Drive east of Manor Road	MetroBus 20, 233, 239 Pickup Decker	Serves Delco Activity Center Park and ride lot
Springdale Center	Manor Road and Susquehanna Lane	MetroBus 20, 233 Pickup Decker and Northeast ATX
University Hills	Manor Road and Northeast Drive	MetroBus 20 Pickup Northeast ATX
Manor at Rogge	Manor Road and Rogge Lane	MetroBus 20 Pickup Northeast ATX
51st/Manor	Manor Road and East Fifty-first Street	MetroBus 20, 300 Pickup Northeast ATX
Barbara Jordan	Berkman Drive and Barbara Jordan Boulevard	MetroBus 10, 335, 300, 485, 800 Pickup Northeast ATX	Serves Dell Children's Medical Center
Simond	Berkman and Simond Avenue	MetroBus 335, 485, 800
Mueller Tower	Berkman and Tom Miller Street	MetroBus 335, 485, 800	Located near the preserved former control tower of the now-defunct Mueller Airport.
Airport Boulevard	Airport Boulevard and Manor Road	MetroBus 20, 135, 350, 485, 800*	Northbound only stop on Manor; served both by 800 and 837.
Manor Westbound	Manor Road west of Airport Boulevard	MetroBus 20, 135, 350, 485, 800*	Southbound stop only Walking distance of southbound platform on Airport served by 800.
Alexander	Manor Road and Alexander Avenue	MetroBus 20
Cherrywood	Manor Road and Chestnut Avenue Manor and Cherrywood Roads	MetroBus 20, 322
Alexander	Manor Road and Alexander Avenue	MetroBus 10, 20, 171, 465
East Dean Keeton	East Dean Keeton Street and Robert Dedman Drive/Medical Arts Street East Dean Keeton Street and Hampton Road	Serves St. David's Hospital	-
UT Stadium	San Jacinto Boulevard and East Twenty-third Street	MetroBus 7, 10, 103, 111, 171, 465, 985 UT Shuttle 640, 642, 670, 671, 672	Serves Serves University of Texas at Austin with Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium on campus.
Medical Center	Trinity and East Seventeenth Streets San Jacinto and East Seventeenth	MetroBus 7, 10, 18, 103, 111, 142, 171, 935, 985	Serves Dell Seton Medical Center
Capitol/Waterloo Park	Trinity and East Twelfth Streets San Jacinto and East Tenth Street	MetroBus 2, 5, 7, 10, 103, 111, 142, 171, 935	Serves Downtown Austin, the Texas State Capitol complex and Waterloo Park.
8th Street	Trinity and East Eighth San Jacinto and East Eighth	MetroBus 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 103, 111, 142, 171, 935	Serves Downtown, Congress Avenue Historic District and Sixth Street.
Brush Square	Trinity and East Fourth San Jacinto and East Fourth	CapMetro Rail Red Line at Downtown Station	Serves Austin Convention Center.
Republic Square	West Fifth and Guadalupe Streets	MetroBus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 20, 30, 105, 111, 142, 171, 483, 484, 486, 801, 803, 935, 980, 981, 982, 985, 987, 990	southern terminus Serves Downtown, City Hall, Lady Bird Lake and Republic Square.

New stops

The 801 and 803 started to stop at 31st and Guadalupe during the summer of 2018. The usual MetroRapid red shelters were not installed until October.
Broken Spoke on route 803 and St. Elmo and Fairfield on route 801 were first shown as working stops on the maps issued in advance of the August 19th, 2018 CapMetro service changes. Rutland on route 803 and Parmer, North Loop East, and Slaughter on route 801 were first shown as working stops on the maps issued in advance of the January 6th, 2019 CapMetro service changes. However, Slaughter did not actually open until late 2019.
The southern terminus of route 803 was first shown as shifted to the newly-established Westgate Transit Center on the maps issued in advance of the June 2, 2019 CapMetro service changes.
In addition to the new stations, CapMetro has started installing new departure boards at many MetroRapid stations. These boards are made by Luminator Technology Group and use electronic ink to show the departures of the next several busses. The new boards have many advantages over the dot matrix boards that were installed with the original stations, such as showing departures for not only MetroRapid busses, but also local MetroBus routes that also serve that station. The dot matrix boards at the stations where the new E-ink boards were installed were turned off and are no longer used.

Future plans

Gold Line

The Gold Line is a planned bus rapid transit line that would operate from ACC Highland to the South Congress Transit Center park-and-ride, and will travel on Airport, Red River, San Jacinto/Trinity, 7th/8th, Neches/Red River, 4th, Riverside, and South Congress. Stations will be ACC Highland, Clarkson, Hancock, St. David's, UT East, Medical School, Capitol East, Trinity, Downtown Station, Republic Square, Auditorium Shores, SoCo, Oltorf, St. Edward's, and South Congress Transit Center. The Gold Line was changed to light rail in May 2020, citing a demographic that showed an increased projected ridership along the gold line that prompted its conversion to light rail. In July 2020, planning for the line was reverted to bus service to lower construction costs in response to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Criticism

The premium fare structure recommended by a consultant caused problems for the agency. It did not collect as much money back from the fare increase as was originally expected. Other BRT systems in Texas such as San Antonio and El Paso intentionally priced their BRT system for local fare. The MetroRapid bus fare was lowered to regular bus prices on January 8, 2017