AUSTIN, Texas — CapMetro is expanding its transit mobility with a new Pickup zone located in the Dove Springs neighborhood in southeast Austin.
The transit company refers to Pickup as a “neighborhood rideshare.” In Pickup zones, through the Pickup app or by calling the Pickup Service Center at 512-369-6200, residents can request a smaller CapMetro bus to pick them up and take them anywhere in that area.
The bus can even pick them up right at their front door – something longtime Dove Springs resident Mirna Rodriguez is grateful for.
“Families need this Pickup,” Rodriguez said. “I say thank you to Capital Metro, too, because it gives this opportunity to the community.”
Rodriguez has five kids, four of whom live at home and one who has special needs. She believes the new service will be a great help transporting her kids safely.
“I feel really happy for me but also for my community,” Rodriguez said.
CapMetro started Pickup in 2019 and now has 11 zones around the Austin area. But Austin leaders say this neighborhood is the perfect place to invest in more mobility.
“Dove Springs needed this badly,” said Ricardo Zavala, the founder of Dove Springs Proud.
Zavala says said this Pickup zone will help Dove Springs' large population of youth and seniors.
“Making sure that we can get them to the market, to the library, to the recreation center, to the new health facility that’s coming down the line – these are very critical that we can have a shuttle that comes to the door to pick up somebody who might be in a wheelchair or might be handicapped,” Zavala said.
CapMetro’s Pickup is one of the first funded projects part of Project Connect, the plan to expand transit options across Austin. The cost to ride a Pickup is the same as a Single Ride pass on a MetroBus, $1.25. Kids ride free, and with a reduced fare card, all rides are 60 cents.
The Pickup zones run weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and, at some zones, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A full map of the zones is available on CapMetro’s website.
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