Beginning Feb. 23, Capital Metro will introduce two new MetroRapid service lines—Route 800 Pleasant Valley and Route 837 Expo Center—connecting parts of East Austin to destinations such as Dell Children’s Medical Center, the Austin Convention Center, The University of Texas at Austin and more.

The takeaway

Claimed to be “the most significant service changes CapMetro has completed in several years,” the two routes are a part of CapMetro’s Project Connect contributions to expand and improve the city’s transit network.

Route 800 will eventually connect to the light rail system.

“... We’re confident that today’s step forward will make a meaningful impact. By expanding our Rapid network to East Austin, we’re ensuring that more people have access to the opportunities that public transit unlocks,” CapMetro President and CEO Dottie Watkins said in a statement.




The details

These Pleasant Valley and Expo Center routes are the first CapMetro Rapid lines serving East Austin, providing service in high-traffic corridors with well-established bus routes and areas that are new to transit offerings.

Route 800 Pleasant Valley
  • Length: 15 miles and over 40 stations
  • Frequency: Every 20-30 minutes
  • Route Highlights: Will initially run from the Mueller area down to a temporary station at Vertex/Slaughter Lane in southeast Austin, with a future expansion to the upcoming Goodnight Ranch Park and Ride on East Slaughter Lane.
  • Key Destinations: Dell Children’s Medical Center, Austin Community College Eastview, Mendez Middle School, and Dove Springs Recreation Center
Route 837 Expo Center
  • Length: 12 miles and over 40 stations
  • Frequency: Every 20-30 minutes
  • Route Highlights: Line will run from Republic Square in downtown Austin to the Colony Park neighborhood, ending at the Expo Center. During initial service, the Expo Center Line’s temporary last stop will be at Decker Lane until construction on the Expo Center Park and Ride is complete.
  • Key Destinations: Austin Convention Center, The University of Texas, Dell Seton Medical Center, Mueller Development, LBJ High School, Travis County Exposition Center
A mix of $65.6 million in federal and $35.6 million in Project Connect funding, the new services and infrastructure is expected to be fully completed by 2026, which will see bus frequencies ramp up to every 10-15 minutes.


Director of Planning Roberto Gonzalez told board members during an update in Fall 2024 that though diesel buses will be used initially, these routes will soon incorporate electric buses.

Plans for the new routes also include the construction of two new park and ride stations in northeast and southeast Austin, which include the charging infrastructure needed to operate an electric bus fleet.

The Travis County Exposition Center park and ride offers 140 parking spaces, while the proposed facility at Goodnight Ranch would add another 65 spaces.



One more thing



Capital Metro approved an update to its fare payment system, recommending a tap-to-pay system that will go into effect beginning this March. Fares are not changing, only the way to pay for fares, staff said.

The CapMetro app will be discontinued. Riders now will use a new app, Umo Mobility, to pay for fares and the CapMetro Transit app for planning trips ahead of time—single-use fares can still be purchased on-site using cash or digital wallets.

The new payment system accepts debit and credit cards as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay.