ACC extends contract for Capital Metro to service Cypress Creek campus

The Austin Community College board of trustees approved Oct. 1 an extension to the contract between the college district and Capital Metro for transportation service for the Cypress Creek campus.

ACC will pay Capital Metro $19,224.97 for service between January 2013 and January 2014, said Ben Ferrell, executive vice president of finance and administration for ACC.

Students will be able to use the Green Pass Program to use the Cypress Creek stop on the Lago Vista flex Route 214 from Lago Vista to Lakeline Mall and the Lakeline MetroRail stop, according to Capital Metro's bus system.

The Green Pass Program is covered by the college's student sustainability fee, which is $1 per credit hour. The average cost per semester for students is $8, according to the ACC website. The program allows students, faculty and staff to ride Capital Metro transportation at no additional cost.

However, the board is expected to review the terms of the Green Pass Program in the upcoming months to find the most cost-efficient way to meet the transportation needs for the college, said Alexis Patterson Hayes, senior public information coordinator for ACC.

ACC President and CEO Richard Rhodes said ACC has been in discussion with Capital Metro about a longer-term relationship and what that cost would be.

"The Green Pass has been so successful that the cost to the college continues to escalate, and so our student sustainability fee is not going to cover the cost of the Green Pass alone at the rate that it's increasing usage," Rhodes said. "So it's been an extremely successful program in that we have more ridership."