Tag Archives: Metro

The city’s vision for I-45

Posted on April 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I like the way this is shaping up. The city of Houston is prepared to ask for major changes in state plans to rebuild Interstate 45 that potentially could scale back the planned widening of the freeway and put a … Continue reading →

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Goodbye, Greenlink

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Another version of Metro’s downtown trolley system is shut down due to coronavirus, and likely won’t come back, at least not in that format. Downtown Houston’s free shuttle may have hauled its last passenger, a victim of the central district’s … Continue reading →

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Metro will get some stimulus money

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Transit agencies in southeastern Texas are set to receive more than $300 million to stem revenue losses linked to COVID-19, federal officials announced Thursday, most of it coming to Houston. As part of the first round of Congress-approved stimulus … Continue reading →

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Is it finally going to be Infrastructure Week?

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: Lawmakers have been talking about striking a deal to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure for years. It might take a pandemic to finally get them to do it, and Texas officials are already … Continue reading →

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Metro slows its roll on system improvements

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. Houston-area transit officials will wait out a little more of the coronavirus crisis before soliciting bids on five of the first projects in their $7 billion construction bonanza for bus and rail upgrades. “Moving this by a … Continue reading →

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Metro suspends fare collections

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Among other things. Transit in Houston will be free starting Monday and passengers will use the rear door to board and exit buses to limit exposure to drivers and other riders, Metropolitan Transit Authority officials announced Friday. The changes are … Continue reading →

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Improved bus corridors are coming

Posted on March 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds promising. Metropolitan Transit Authority is set to upgrade a pair of Houston bus routes, hoping that raising the quality of bus service will prove the key to increasing transit use. The 54 Scott and the 56 Montrose/Airline routes will … Continue reading →

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How should we police the police?

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This article raises a number of interesting questions. A quarter of the 60-plus law enforcement agencies operating in Harris County have refused to sign agreements to help local prosecutors track problem cops. Under those agreements, all signed since District Attorney … Continue reading →

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Metro’s robot security guards

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a character from a dystopian action movie, I promise. Robot security guards are coming to a Houston-area transit center, park and ride lot and rail station in the coming months, after the Metropolitan Transit Authority board approved a $270,000 … Continue reading →

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Uptown BRT pushed back to July

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sigh. Opening day for Houston’s first bus rapid transit line has been pushed back to mid-summer as construction enters the final steps along most of the route before reaching a three-month testing period. Service is expected to start no earlier … Continue reading →

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No free fares

Posted on January 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

For the best, I’d say. Free fares appear to be a hard sell for Houston area transit officials, who said while they are open to exploring discounts, people boarding buses and trains will need to fork over $1.25 for the … Continue reading →

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Back to the no-fares question

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I remain skeptical, but we’ll see. As it stands right now, most of METRO’s operating funds don’t come from the fares. The transit agency gets most of its money from a one-cent sales tax, which caught the attention of Harris … Continue reading →

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Bus service in new places

Posted on December 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good first step, which I hope begets a second step. Harris County has extended bus service to Channelview, Cloverleaf and Sheldon, using $3.8 million in Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery money to jump-start the new routes. Service started … Continue reading →

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Uptown BRT line update

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s coming, it’s coming. Hold your horses. The new year will come with a new sight in Houston: Big gray buses bounding along a dedicated lane on Post Oak through Uptown. For the first few weeks, however, people will not … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: 2019 Metro referendum

Posted on December 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The one election of interest within Harris County that wasn’t mostly or entirely within Houston was the Metro referendum. Let’s have a look at how that vote went. Dist Yes No ==================== A 18,795 10,648 B 15,120 4,037 C 32,384 … Continue reading →

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Metro moves towards cashless fares (maybe)

Posted on November 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We started with this. The Metropolitan Transit Authority on Thursday will consider the first in a series of agreements to revamp its fare payment system that eventually could offer riders the option of using smartphones, credit cards and electronic wallets … Continue reading →

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2019 election results: Houston and Metro

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunately, we have to start with this: Results of Tuesday’s election could take until 2 a.m. Wednesday after the Texas Secretary of State issued a new regulation that upended plans by the Harris County Clerk’s Office to speed vote counting. … Continue reading →

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So what do we think final 2019 turnout will be?

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s take the numbers we have so far and try to hone in a bit more exactly on what to expect tomorrow, shall we? I’m going to go back a little farther into the past and establish some patterns. 2019 … Continue reading →

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Metro Wi-Fi

Posted on October 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. Metro riders now can access free Wi-Fi on select buses and trains through a pilot program funded by Microsoft, the transit agency announced Monday. Buses on Route 54, which passes by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: For the Metro bond

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

All of the candidate endorsements have been done by the Chron, but there remain the endorsements for ballot propositions. Which is to say, the Metro referendum and the constitutional amendments. I’ll address the latter tomorrow, but for now here’s the … Continue reading →

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30 day finance reports: Metro referendum

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There may be some opposition to the Metro referendum, but so far no one’s putting their money where their mouths are on that. Supporters of a $3.5 billion transit bond election less than four weeks away have a sizable — … Continue reading →

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Someone is opposing the Metro referendum

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose it was too optimistic to hope that the Metro referendum would not get any organized opposition. Opponents of Metro’s $3.5 billion bond referendum have formed a political action committee to lead a grass-roots campaign to curtail what they … Continue reading →

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KHOU/HPM poll: Turner 37, Buzbee 20, King 10

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We must be getting into the serious part of Houston Election Season, because we have our first public poll of the Mayor’s race. Mayor Sylvester Turner leads trial lawyer and businessman Tony Buzbee by 17 points, according to a KHOU/Houston … Continue reading →

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Interview with Carrin Patman

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve talked a lot about the METRO Next referendum on the 2019 ballot. The referendum, the first time METRO has gone to the voters to ask for bonding authority since 2003, is intended to fund a significant expansion of transit … Continue reading →

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Campaigning for the Metro bond

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Our campaign finance laws can be a bit weird. Transit officials spent the past 18 months developing a plan to add $7.5 billion in new bus lines, rebuilt transit centers and rail expansion. They have nine weeks to sell it … Continue reading →

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Checking in on the Mayor’s race

Posted on September 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the Mayor’s race? Yeah, that. “The candidates have been running for months but were focused on fundraising and defining their message,” said Nancy Sims, a Houston political analyst. “Labor Day is when people tune into the election.” The stretch-run … Continue reading →

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City moves forward on Vision Zero

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Tuesday adopted a plan that aims to end traffic fatalities and serious traffic injuries in Houston by 2030. The “Vision Zero Houston” plan is considered a significant step in the city’s mobility strategy and will … Continue reading →

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Metro referendum is set

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Metropolitan Transit Authority board members voted Tuesday to ask voters in November for permission to borrow up to $3.5 billion, without raising taxes. The money would cover the first phase of what local leaders expect to be … Continue reading →

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Still tweaking the Metro referendum

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Extending one rail line to Hobby Airport instead of two has generated some savings in the projected cost, which can then allow for other things to be done. The expected price of extending the Green Line and Purple Line light … Continue reading →

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Meet MetroRapid

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the new, official name for the Uptown BRT line. Station names along the Post Oak dedicated bus lanes will have a familiar ring for riders, transit and Uptown officials decided, as they inch toward opening the region’s first foray … Continue reading →

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Another manifesto against I-45 expansion

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They’re fun to read, and my heart is with them, but we all know how this works. The I-45 project is likely to do irreversible damage to our city’s finances and ecology. It will reduce the city’s tax base by … Continue reading →

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Metro and the Mayor’s race

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This went pretty much as one would expect. Delivering his fourth State of Mobility speech to Transportation Advocacy Group-Houston Chapter, Mayor Sylvester Turner echoed previous years, noting the region needs more options than solo driving if it is to handle … Continue reading →

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In defense of the I-45 expansion

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Jeff Balke rises in opposition to the anti-I-45-expansion clamor. We have seen comments on social media and rantings about how our city should be more bike friendly and pedestrian safe. How we need commuter rail, better bus service and rapid … Continue reading →

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What if we didn’t expand I-45?

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an awful lot of money that comes with a ton of negative effects and which, if the I-10 expansion is any guide, will have short-lived positive effects. So maybe we should just, like, not do it? A massive remake … Continue reading →

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