27 Jun Zippin’ All Over Town on Cap Metro

Ordinarily, I get around town by bicycle rather than by bus. Though ideologically a great fan of city bus and rail, I've always preferred the door-to-door, 24-7 convenience of cycling. Recently, though, I had a mad fling with Cap Metro. For several weeks, I was virtually a daily rider, zipping all over town and suburb to places where I never knew the bus went. I became fascinated with the Cap Metro system map; with the user-friendly website; with the convenient information services I learned I could access by mobile phone. And so, I fell head over heels in love with the Austin city bus.

It started this past spring, when my two-week visit to Austin ended up stretching into a three-month work-stay extravaganza! Since I'd only planned for a short visit, I'd opted to leave my bicycle in Florida (where I currently live). I figured I could manage OK for two weeks without a bicycle. It turned out that for a person used to pedaling just about everywhere, doing without a bicycle made life very complicated and cumbersome. Fortunately a permie friend lent me a bicycle. Still, as my visit stretched beyond the scheduled length, and I got involved in projects scattered all over town, I found it expedient to add the bus to my transportation mix.

It's not that I'd never ridden Cap Metro before. In severe weather, I had occasionally hopped the bus — mainly the major routes, like the workhorse "South Austin to North Lamar" run. And during the years I lived in Austin, the Airport Flyer was my preferred mode of transport to the airport. I mean, you can't beat a $1 ride to the airport! I'd ride my bike downtown, slap it on the bike rack on the #101, and be at the airport 15 minutes later. For a dollar. But until this past spring, I'd only been an occasional rider of Cap Metro.

Here are a few of the great things I learned about the Austin city bus during my time as a steady rider:

– A day pass is $2. And that "day" isn't dawn to midnight; it is 24 hours from whenever you purchase the pass. From my friend's place on the edge of town, I would ride the bus downtown at night, maybe take in a show, spend the night at another friend's house in town, run errands early the next morning, and ride "home" to the edge of town, all on one pass. If you were to drive from Oak Hill to the Domain to Round Rock to Manor, how much would it cost you in gas? Probably more than $2, right? On the bus, I could, and did, enjoy such cut-rate transportation odysseys.

– At some bus stops, there are signs with bar codes like the one pictured here. Using a free app on your cellphone, you can scan the barcode and you'll get key info such as the next three departure times.

– Or you can send a text message to DADNAB and get the same kind of info. – The website, www.capmetro.org, is looking mighty zippy too, with all the maps and timetables you need.

– And of course, the old faithful Cap Metro telephone number 512-474-1200 will put you in touch with a live human who will give you the info you need.

– Cap Metro has these amazing crosstown routes that girdle Austin from east to west, connecting all those north-south routes I was more familiar with.

– Some routes, like my beloved #37 (which runs from downtown through northeast central Austin and all the way out to where the leafy oak canopy starts to open up and give way to a more wide-open, savanna-like terrain, out by the Expo Center) run til after midnight and resume service before 4 a.m.!

– The bus can be CHILLY! If the heat makes you wilt, you will love riding the air-conditioned bus. And if you get cold easily like me, just remember to bring a light jacket or sweater.

– Lots of folks these days are using the bicycle-and-bus combination. I lost count of the number of times that I had to wait for a later bus because the two spaces on the bike rack were already filled. Rather than be annoyed, I was generally ecstatic: More humans are using the bike racks, hallelujah!

– Riding the bus is a great way to see slices of many different lives, and meet new people. Actually, that was something I already knew, from riding public transport in other cities and countries. But it was good to be reminded! I have returned (for now) to my seaside home in Florida. Mostly I get around by bicycle, but the other day, I took the city bus for the first time. And picked up a route map, which is quite extensive and fascinating …