Austin MetroRail-A Solution for the Future

The population of Austin doubles almost every 20 years, and along with this influx of people comes traffic and sustainability concerns.  Currently, Austin finds itself the 25th-most congested city in the nation, the most congested city with 500,000 to 1 million residents, while the local government is dragging its heals to implement an efficient and adequate system to handle this congestion. The Texas state and local government need allocate additional funding and resources to expand and revamp the MetroRail system.  

A growing body of transportation research concludes that cities cannot concentrate on roads alone as a means of controlling traffic congestion and must work toward a combined approach of better transit such as light rail.  Not only will it reduce traffic congestion, but also by implementing and expanding light rail, there will be a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions, a huge environmental concern.  According to a recent study, there are additional benefits of implementing light rail in urban areas.  These benefits include an increase in assessed home values as well as a reduction in crime along a new light rail corridor. 

Currently, the Austin MetroRail system is facing some challenges when it comes to expansion and efficiency.  The MetroRail system of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CMTA) was officially launched on 22 March 2010, yet this current urban rail layout needs an overhaul.  The most congested areas of the city do not directly have rail accessibility. This is in part due to the city planning, and in part due to the limitations enacted by the local government.  In response to a recent government mandated expulsion of Capital Metro’s transit service from its Capitol stop, Dave Dobbs, Executive Director of The Texas Association for Public Transportation states that "destroying Austin's most vital downtown transit junction may send significant numbers of transit-riding state employees back to their cars and increase traffic on our roads.”

The funding for public transit has been continually decreasing, and laws are being passed that cripples the expansion of this system.  Although, it is important to note that some of this is the result of the federal government. This has emanated from the Bush administration's Department of Transportation and its agencies dealing with public transport, especially the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Railroad Administration. 

Ultimately, there needs to be public transportation progress in Austin.  More funding must be allocated to reshape and expand the MetroRail system to provide for more passengers at more locations.  Rail on it’s own is not a solution, but instead, it is part of an integrated mobility system to benefit the City of Austin.