Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas

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METRO
Locale	Houston, Texas
Transit type	Bus, Light Rail
Began operation	1979
No. of lines	101 (2/27/07)
Daily ridership	98,518,251 yearly [1]
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) operates bus, light rail, future commuter rail, and METROLift (paratransit) service in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. METRO also operates bus service to two cities in Fort Bend County.

[edit] History

The Texas State Legislature authorized the creation of local transit authorities in 1973. In 1978, Houston-area voters created METRO and approved a one-cent sales tax to support its operations. METRO opened for business in January 1979. In 25 years, the Authority has transformed a broken bus fleet into a regional multimodal transportation system. ^[2]

The agency began operation in 1979, taking over the bus service run by the City of Houston known as HouTran. METRO's service area encompasses 1,285 square miles (3328 km²) and also serves portions of an eight-county region with its vanpool service; the agency employs about 3,800 people.

[edit] HOV system

I-10 HOV lane hovering over the I-10 mainlanes in Downtown Houston.

METRO has been known for pioneering the use of express buses in HOV lanes. This was part of the reversible HOV lane concept that began in 1979 with the completion of the North Freeway (I-45) Contraflow Lane. This concept used the inside freeway lane of the "opposite" direction separated by traffic pylons and is closed to all vehicles except buses and vanpools. After a head-on collision involving a car and a bus occurred in 1980, the concept became permanent, as a result, the reversible HOV lane system was built over the years since.

The HOV lanes are separated from the rest of traffic with concrete barriers, run between Downtown Houston (inbound A.M. and outbound P.M.) and the suburbs and are found on the Katy Freeway, Gulf Freeway, North Freeway, Southwest Freeway, Eastex Freeway, and Northwest Freeway.

Since METRO Express buses use them during rush hour, most routes lead to the Park and Ride lots and use "secret" HOV lane exits (often elevated T-intersections) that lead to the lots (also used by vehicles as well) without having to exit the freeway to street intersections. The HOV system will soon get an overhaul in the event of major freeway construction to take place in Houston and may have HOV lanes in both directions with the concept of HOT (Toll) lanes introduced.

[edit] METRO Bus

A METRO bus driving through the University of Houston campus on Cullen Boulevard

METRO has a very expansive, and heavily used bus system. Local bus service usually runs on city streets, stopping at every other corner along its entire route. METRO's bus service is the most used bus system in Texas and the Southwest.^[3] METRO's bus service also includes the HOV/Park and Ride System. Park and Ride stations are placed along side the freeways and used heavily during peak times.

[edit] Fares

In the fall of 2006, METRO revealed plans to rework its fare system. The new system will involve pre-paid fare cards, called Q Cards, that must be recharged at METRO stores. Transfers will be electronically added to the card each time it is used. Frequent users will enjoy "Rider Rewards" which offer five free rides for every fifty paid trips. Senior citizens 65 and over will continue to receive a discounted rate as will disabled patrons. Senior citizens over 70 may ride for free.

[edit] Routes

METRO's bus routes are numbered according to this:

• Local bus routes - 1-98
• Express bus routes - 100s
• Commuter bus routes - 200s

METRO also provides shuttle service including the Texas Medical Center and Downtown Houston.

METRO's express and commuter buses have often been compared to airplanes.^{[citation needed]}There are reclining seats, small individual lights, as well as small air conditioning vents for each seat.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Park and Ride

METRO operates 27 different Park and Ride locations ^[4]. The buses used for these are built like Greyhound buses and are very comfortable for the rider. The Park and Ride locations are:

West locations

• Kingsland Park and Ride
• Addicks Park and Ride
• Mission Bend Park and Ride
• Westchase Park and Ride
• Gessner Park and Ride

Southwest locations

• Westwood Park and Ride
• West Bellfort Park and Ride
• Missouri City Park and Ride
• West Loop Park and Ride
• Hillcroft Park and Ride - will be home to a future light rail station.

Northwest locations

• Pinemont Park and Ride
• West Little York Park and Ride
• Northwest Park and Ride - will be served by the Cypress Commuter Rail Line by 2015.
• Cypress Park and Ride - recently opened in August 2007. This Park and Ride will be home to a future commuter rail station.

Northeast locations

• Eastex Park and Ride
• Townsen Park and Ride
• Kingwood Park and Ride

North locations

• North Shepherd Park and Ride
• Seton Lake Park and Ride
• Kuykendahl Park and Ride
• Spring Park and Ride

South locations

• Fannin South Park and Ride - served by the Red Line. Also will be served by the Southwest Commuter Rail Line by 2015.

Southeast locations

• Monroe Park and Ride
• Fuqua Park and Ride
• Southpoint Park and Ride
• Bay Area Park and Ride - will be served by the Galveston Commuter Rail Line.

East locations

• Maxey Park and Ride

Park and Ride Expansion

There are plans for future park and ride stations throughout the Houston Metropolitan Area. These locations are said to be:

• Grand Parkway Park and Ride - this will serve the booming west Katy area. It will be built adjacent to the Grand Mall in Katy (which will begin construction in 2008).

• Pearland Park and Ride - this will serve the booming south Houston suburbs of Pearland and Manvel.

[edit] METRO Lift

A typical METRO Lift vehicle

METRO Lift provides transportation needs for people with a disability, who cannot board, or ride from a regular METRO bus, even if that bus happens to be wheelchair accessible. The METRO Lift buses use a wheelchair lift, four-door sedans and/or minivans to provide service.

[edit] METRORail

Main article: METRORail

METRO's light rail service is known as METRO Rail. Frank Wilson is the current president.

METRO offers a trip planner on its web site that provides information for public transit in the region it serves. It is multi-modal, combining schedule information for buses and rail. Riders enter their intended origin and destination, along with optional time, date, and other information, and the trip planner displays itineraries showing the stops, departure and arrival times, and times to get from the origin to the destination.

Today, the average daily weekday ridership is 45,000 ^[6]. Notable records in ridership have occurred on the following dates:^[7]

• February 1, 2004: 64,005 passengers rode METRO during Super Bowl XXXVIII
• February 23, 2004: 54,193 passenger boardings were recorded, the highest weekday at the time
• February 27, 2007: 56,388 passengers were recorded the day of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

On November 9, 2007, METRO surpassed its 40 million boardings mark, something it did not expect to happen until 2020 ^[8].

[edit] METRO Light Rail lines

METRO currently operates one light rail line, called the Red Line. Four other lines are to be complete by the 2012. Three of the four lines were previously going to be bus-rapid transit, but due to high ridership possibilities, the decision was made to make them all light rail.

• METRO's first light rail line is the 7.5 mile (12.1 km) light rail line located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is the second major light rail service in Texas following the DART system. The arrival of METRO light rail comes approximately sixty years after the previous streetcar system was shut down, which left Houston as the largest city in the United States without a rail system (since 1990 when the Blue Line opened in Los Angeles).

[edit] Rolling stock

Houston operates a fleet of 18 Siemens-built Avanto light-rail vehicles. Each 96 foot long, double articulated vehicle has 4 low platform doors per side and has a capacity of 72 seated and 148 standing passengers.^[9][10]

[edit] Expansion

This is a map the five light-rail lines that will be completed between the years 2010-2012. This map does not include Phase III of Metro Solutions. The solid purple lines are the HOV system, and the purple and black dashes are the commuter rail system.

Additional rail will be laid as approved by a 52% yes to 48% no margin in the November 2003 election. Critics have alleged the existence of a conflict of interest in the planned expansion. Major contractors including Siemens AG, which constructs the train vehicles, contributed substantial amounts of money to the Political Action Committee promoting the expansion referendum. Supporters of an expanded rail system in Houston have leveled similar charges against opponents of the referendum, noting that suburban development interests largely bankrolled the PAC opposing the referendum.

In June of 2005, METRO announced a revised plan for expansion of the METRORail system. The plan included four new corridors, consisting of both light rail and bus rapid transit. The bus rapid transit lines would have later been converted into light rail when ridership warranted the conversion.

On October 18, 2007, the plan was revised to allow for the possibility of more federal funding. METRO decided to go ahead and have all the lines consist of light rail from the start ^[11].

The planned expansions are within the city of Houston and will eventually reach the two major Houston airports, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport. METRO is planning service to suburbs in Houston, as well as other parts of Houston. Alternatives Analysis and Draft Environmental Impact Analysis studies are currently underway on four extensions, but only one extension — the University Line — is planned to be opened by 2012.

METRO Red Line train leaving the UH-Downtown Station.

METRO is also planning a commuter rail system in conjunction with the light rail system, pending feasibility of the plan. In addition, METRO wants to link up with a planned Commuter Rail line traveling from Fort Bend County to just south of Reliant Stadium, which would use an existing Union Pacific railroad, as well as an additional line branching out along the U.S. Highway 290 corridor to Cypress. In total, the plan currently would add 29 miles (47 km) of light rail and 28 miles (45 km) of commuter rail.

The passed voter referendum included:^[12]

• Additional 64.8 miles of light rail
• Commuter rail service (28 miles)
• Increased access to activity centers
• Rail service to both airports
• More than 50 new rail stations
• 50% increase in bus service

All lines and services are planned to be up and running by 2025.

[edit] Red Line extension (2011)

Phase 2 of the METRO Solutions calls for a 0.5-mile (0.8 km) northward extension from the University of Houston–Downtown to a new planned intermodal facility, which will be located in the Burnett Street vicinity. The extension is tentatively scheduled to open in 2012.

• METRO Intermodal Station

[edit] North/Blue Line (2011)

The North/Blue Line is a 5.16 miles (8 km) light rail line from the existing University of Houston–Downtown Station to the Northline Transit Center. Phase III calls for this line to be extended to IAH.

Here is a list of stations starting from Downtown that are proposed for the line:

• METRO Intermodal Station
• Quitman
• Catherine
• Moody
• Graceland
• Northline Mall

[edit] East End/Brown Line (2011)

The East End/Brown Line is will be 4 miles (6 km) long extending east from downtown Houston to the Magnolia Transit Center.

The following are a list of stations proposed for the East End Line from Downtown to the Magnolia Transit Center. It should be noted that the East End runs with the Southeast Line through Downtown Houston:

• Theater District
• Capitol/Main
• Ballpark
• Dowling/East End
• York (first station that is split from the Southeast Line)
• Lockwood
• Norwood
• Magnolia Transit Center

[edit] Southeast/Green Line (2011)

The Southeast/Green Line extends 6.8 miles (11 km) from downtown Houston within the vicinity of the Main Street line and continue southeast and terminate around Palm Center at MLK and Griggs street.

The following is a list of stations proposed for the Southeast Line from Downtown to the Palm Center:^[13]

• Milam (Capitol)/Louisiana (Rusk)
• Fannin (Capitol)/Main (Rusk)
• Austin (Capitol)/Caroline (Rusk)
• Chenevert (Capitol)/Jackson (Rusk)
• North Hutchins (Capitol)/South Hutchins (Rusk)
• Leeland (first station split from East End/Brown Line)
• University of Houston (Scott at Elgin; shared with University Line)
• University of Houston (Scott at Wheeler)
• University of Houston (Wheeler at Calhoun)
• MacGregor Park
• Palm Center

[edit] University/Orange Line (2012)

The University/Orange Line is an 10-mile (16.1 km) light rail line that is a component of Phase 2 of the METRO Solutions referendum that voters approved in 2003. Even though the stations are still being determined, the line will extend from either the University of Houston or the Eastwood Transit Center to the Hillcroft Transit Center, passing through the Upper Kirby District and Greenway Plaza and follow the Richmond/Wheeler and Westpark corridors. Transfers from the University Line to the Red Line will occur at the Wheeler Station. The line is tentatively scheduled to open in 2012.

The following are proposed stops on the University Line proposed to open in 2012.^[14]

• Hillcroft Transit Center
• South Rice
• Newcastle
• Weslayan
• Cummins
• Greenway West (Greenway Plaza)
• Greenway East (Greenway Plaza)
• Kirby
• Shepherd
• Dunlavy
• Montrose (University of St. Thomas)
• Wheeler Station
• Almeda
• Dowling
• Texas Southern University (Ennis)
• Burkett
• Tierwester
• University of Houston (Alabama at Scott)
• University of Houston (Scott at Elgin; shared with Southeast Line)
• University of Houston (Elgin at UH Entrance 7)
• Eastwood Transit Center

[edit] Uptown/Pink Line (2011)

The Uptown/Pink Line will extend from south of US 59 at the Hillcroft Transit Center through the Uptown/Galleria area to the Northwest Transit Center for a total distance of 4.4 miles (7 km). Future planning of the route includes a 1.1 miles (2 km) extension to Northwest Mall. The following stations are those that have been proposed for the METRORail Uptown Line set to open in 2011.

The following is a list of light rail stations proposed for the Uptown Line. It should be noted that the Uptown Park station could possibly be a subway station^[15]:

• Post Oak Transit Center
• Richmond
• Alabama/The Galleria
• Westheimer (elevated)
• San Felipe
• Uptown Park (possible subway)
• Northwest Transit Center
• Northwest Mall

[edit] METRO Solutions

METRO Solutions is a large transportation and infrastructure plan that will be complete by 2020. METRO Solutions includes the following from METRO's website^[16]:

• Nearly 30 miles of Light Rail Transit - a ten-mile University line from the Uptown/ Galleria and Greenway Plaza areas to the University of Houston and Texas Southern University, and a one-half-mile extension of the existing Red Line north to a proposed Intermodal Facility; Also, the North, Southeast, Harrisburg and Uptown Lines will all be light rail^[17];
• 28 Miles of Commuter Rail Transit (CRT) - along US 290 from Cypress Park & Ride to Intermodal Facility and along US 90A from Missouri City to Fannin South Park & Ride/Rail Station;
• 40 Miles of Signature Bus Service/Suburban Bus Rapid Transit - Southeast Transit Center to Texas Medical Center, Uptown to US 90A CRT line, Gessner and State Highway 249/Tidwell;
• 10 New Transit Facilities - Northern Intermodal Facility serving different transit modes (Commuter Rail, Light Rail and BRT), five Transit Centers and four Park & Ride lots; and
• HOV/HOT Conversion - modify one-way, reversible High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes to two-way High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes.

[edit] Transit 2035 Plan

METRO Red Line train at Preston Station in Downtown Houston.

Though a slightly different from METRO Solutions (albeit a larger plan), the 2035 Plan for Houston is a joint project between METRO, TxDOT, and the Houston-Galveston Area Council (or H-GAC for short). It includes new bicycle routes, new bus routes, signature bus service, light rail expansion, and commuter rail expansion. The 2035 Plan also includes a new Intermodel Station, to be built in Downtown. The Intermodel Station, Houston's version of Union Station, will connect two commuter rail lines, two light rail lines, and multiple bus routes. It should be noted that not all of Houston's light rail lines connect to the Intermodel Station. ^[18]

[edit] Controversies

Since its inception, METRORail has been the source of several political controversies in Houston. During the 2003 expansion referendum, critics of the system, including Texans for True Mobility (TTM), questioned METRO's financial practices. METRO itself was criticized for spending public funds for "educational advertisements" about the proposed system, which were said to promote the referendum.^[19]

The main political action committee (PAC) supporting the bond was accused of having a conflict of interest due to the relationship between its main contributors and METRO. The PAC received over US$100,000 in contributions from contractor firms and equipment suppliers for METRORail who stood to gain financially from its expansion.^[19] This includes a US$50,000 donation from Siemens AG, a German engineering corporation, which has the contract to build METRORail's train cars.

The Houston Chronicle was also accused of a heavy bias in its coverage designed to promote METRORail. The newspaper became embroiled in controversy following the accidental posting of an internal memorandum on its website that urged the "specific objective" of making "rail a permanent part of the transit mix" in Houston through news, editorial, and op-ed columns.^[20] The memo included a "ground zero for November" proposal of attacking the finances of groups and individuals opposed to light rail, and specifically Rep. Tom DeLay and former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier.^[21]

[edit] Member cities

Core city

• Houston

Small cities

• Bellaire
• Bunker Hill Village
• El Lago
• Hedwig Village
• Hilshire Village
• Humble
• Hunters Creek Village
• Spring Valley
• Southside Place
• Katy
• Missouri City
• Piney Point Village
• Taylor Lake Village
• West University Place

[edit] See also

• List of rapid transit systems

[edit] External links

• METRO Official Page
• METRORail
• Metro Solutions
• Transit 2035 Plan

[edit] Other sites of interest

• Railfanning.org: Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas Profile
• Action America Houston Pages/Wham-Bam-Tram
• Run Over by Metro Houston Press

[edit] References