What happened?
Austin Transit Partnership—the cities’ transit entity created to build and oversee Project Connect—approved a $193 million budget Sept. 18 for fiscal year 2024-25.
The agency is expected to receive an estimated $172 million in funding from taxpayers, a tax approved by voters in 2020, as well as $21 million in investments and other income.
ATP’s budget indicates that an estimated $116 million of the budget will be spent towards professional services and administrative costs, $78 million and $38 million respectively.
Each year, funding is also allocated to anti-displacement efforts, with $60 million outlined for FY 2024-25. The remaining funding will stay in the entity's reserve fund.
What's planned
In partnership with Capital Metro, ATP has put forward a little over $8 million for two new bus routes—Rapid Expo Center and Rapid Pleasant Valley—to enhance connectivity and improve the city’s overall transit system.
The Project Connect MetroRapid routes will feature two new park and rides on the east side, and are expected to begin serving commuters in early 2025.
The Federal Transit Administration granted ATP entry into project development in May 2024, which is expected to continue into 2025.
Over the past year, the agency has initiated the environmental impact review process, increasing the potential for additional federal funding once construction begins.
A draft of the environmental impact study is expected to be published by the end of this year.
For the upcoming fiscal year, there will be a focus on engineering efforts, which includes design development, stakeholder coordination, permitting, coordinating utility relocation, quality and safety management, and federal regulation compliance.
Find a copy of this year's budget proposal here.
Looking ahead
Beginning in the next fiscal year, the agency will need to allocate funding towards pre-construction costs. Subsequently, the next several years' budgets are expected to increase sharply.
