CapMetro Bus is the bus public transit service of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro) of Austin, Texas and serves Austin and the surrounding areas. MetroBus services include 82 standard routes and 15 high-frequency bus routes . It has several categories of routes: Local, Flyer and Limited, Feeder, Crosstown, Special services and UT Shuttles. CapMetro also operates an express bus service, MetroExpress, and a bus rapid transit service, CapMetro Rapid, in addition to the agency's commuter rail service, CapMetro Rail. In , the bus system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
History At the agency's inception, CapMetro originally operated a series of "paired" route service where two different routes that pass through downtown are served by the same buses, allowing riders to transfer between certain routes without leaving the bus. Since 2008, this practice has been eliminated and after a number of route pair reassignments, the agency merged the paired routes under single route numbers (for example, the 1 North Lamar and 13 South Congress were originally paired as they were the two busiest routes in the system, but they have since been merged as 1 North Lamar/South Congress).
Meanwhile, most local routes carried two digits before CapMetro assigned a third digit for routes that do not serve downtown in 2000 (for example, 25 Ohlen became 325). Flyer routes were renumbered altogether to match their local stop counterparts (for example, 65 Manchaca Flyer became 103), while express routes that operated during commute times only contained letters (for example, NEX Northeast Express was renamed 990 Manor/Elgin Express; but was originally 70 Northeast Express).
Vehicles
The majority of the current bus fleet consists of vehicles produced by two manufacturers, Gillig and New Flyer, with only relatively small generational design variations, most visibly in the use of flip-dot destination displays on older series versus LED displays on newer buses. A few smaller series of buses were acquired from other manufacturers, notably Optima (used preferentially on MetroRail shuttles) and MCI (used on express services). Older bus series produced by TMC and Blue Bird are no longer in service.
Standard routes Local MetroBus Local routes are intended to connect specific neighborhoods of Austin to Downtown Austin, with frequent stops. Since June 2014, north–south service within downtown Austin for all routes is provided via Lavaca Street northbound and Guadalupe Street southbound, with all routes serving at least one stop along both streets.
Prior to relocating routes to the Guadalupe/Lavaca corridor, many routes formerly utilized Brazos Street northbound and Colorado Street southbound before various construction projects took place. Since June 2014, the remaining lines no longer use Congress Avenue between 11th Street and Barton Springs Road. East-west service within downtown Austin for all routes is provided via 5th Street eastbound and 4th and 6th Streets westbound, so as to provide a connection along the Lavaca/Guadalupe corridor.
Some MetroBus routes are designated High-Frequency routes and operate with a headway of 15 minutes between buses weekdays, 20 minutes Saturdays. Routes :
MetroBus Local routes MetroBus Local High-Frequency routes Rt. Name Terminals Interlines Created Notes Ref. 1 North Lamar / South Congress Tech Ridge Park and Ride via North Lamar Transit Center E William Cannon at Bluff Springs via South Congress Transit Center — Originally 1 North Lamar, paired with 13; merged in Aug 2001 Jan 2006 split into 1L and 1M Renamed 1 Metric/South Congress (sometimes 1 North Lamar/ South Congress via Metric) in 2014, Lamar section became 275 Jun 3, 2018 rerouted on Lamar and name changed, replacing 275; old route via Metric covered by 325 — 2 Rosewood / Cesar Chavez Eastside Bus Plaza via Rosewood (clockwise) or Cesar Chavez (counterclockwise) Republic Square via Rosewood (counterclockwise) or Cesar Chavez (clockwise) — Paired with 10 until Feb 2000 Jun 3, 2018 Ledesma, Lott, Prock, and Sara section eliminated Merged with 17 on January 8, 2023 Extended along Shady Lane between Eastside Bus Plaza and Oak Springs at Springdale to become a circulator on August 16, 2026 — 3 Burnet / Manchaca Southpark Meadows Great Hills at Stonelake — Originally 3 Burnet, paired with 17 until Feb 2000 then with 12 Aug 2001, merged with 12 as 3 Burnet / Manchaca Feb 2002, extended north to the Arboretum over portions of 244 and 240 — 4 7th Street 5th at Campbell 7th at Shady — Paired with 18 until Aug 2008 Jun 3, 2018 service east of Shady on 7th, 183, and Vargas eliminated; renamed 4 7th Street Proposed MetroRapid 804 on remainder of the corridor 5 Woodrow / Lamar Techni Center Northcross Mall — Originally 5 Woodrow, paired with 26 until Aug 2008; merged with 16 to form 5 Woodrow/South 5th Jun 3, 2018, sections transferred to 105 and 315; service on Monterey Oaks, Staggerbrush, and Roadrunner discontinued; rerouted on Lamar to downtown replacing part of 338 Merged with 6 on January 8, 2023. Extended to Techni Center on June 7, 2026. — 7 Duval / Dove Springs E William Cannon at Bluff Springs Crestview station — Originally 7 Duval, paired with 27 until Aug 2008 when they merged Aug 2010, 7 extended north to current end replacing part of 339 Walnut Creek / Koenig (39 before February 2001) Jun 3, 2018, service on Peppertree Pkwy discontinued; service on Huntland, St. Johns, and Cameron transferred to 10 and 300 — 10 South First / Red River Southpark Meadows Rutherford Wal-Mart — Originally 10 South First, paired with 2 until Feb 2000 then 20 until Aug 2008 when 10 merged with 15 to form 10 South First/Red River Jun 3, 2018, service north of ACC Highland transferred to 324; parts of old route covered by 325 and 350 Red River section proposed to be covered by the Gold Line as part of Project Connect 18 ML King Exposition at Lake Austin Expo Center Park and Ride — Paired with 4 Montopolis until Aug 2008 MetroRapid 818 proposed for this corridor Extended to Expo Center over part of 237 Jun 2026 20 Riverside Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Dean Keeton at Speedway — Sometimes signed "20 Manor Road / Riverside" Originally 20 Manor Road / LBJ Portion split off as 120 by Aug 1996 Paired with 12 until Feb 2000; then 10 until Aug 2008 when it merged with 26 to form 20 Manor / Riverside Jun 3, 2018, rerouted directly and extended to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport replacing part of 350 and causing 100 to be discontinued. Portion of old route via Wickersham transferred to 310; service on Oltorf and Pleasant Valley covered by 300 Riverside section proposed to be covered by the Blue Line (CapMetro) as part of Project Connect MetroRapid 820 proposed on remainder of the corridor Jun 7, 2026, Manor Road section split off as 320 30 Barton Creek / Bull Creek Northcross Mall Westgate Transit Center via Barton Creek Square Mall — Paired with 28 until Feb 2000, when 28 was renumbered 328; 30 paired with 328 until Aug 2008 Jun 3, 2018, section to South Congress Transfer Center transferred to 315 Rerouted to Westgate Transit Center rather than Western Trails Boulevard in Jun 2019 Merged with 19 on January 8, 2023
Former Local routes Former Local High-Frequency routes Rt. Name Created Eliminated Notes Ref. 1L North Lamar / South Congress — Eliminated due to creation of 801; service along Lamar replaced by 275 — 1M Metric / South Congress — Renamed 1 due to creation of 801. — 6 East 12th — Merged with 5 — 8 Govalle — Rerouted over portion of 20 when 20 and 120 were split by fall 1996 Renamed 300 — 9 Enfield / Travis Heights — Paired with 14 when 11 eliminated Originally 9 Enfield; August 2008 it replaced 14 and name changed Eliminated due to low ridership; covered by: 21/22 on Exposition, 662 on Enfield, 1 on Congress, 331 on Oltorf, 300 extension on Ben White west of Woodward Service west of MoPac not on Enfield or Exposition not immediately replaced until restored by Pickup; service in Travis Heights neighborhood and on Burleson (from Oltorf to Ben White) not replaced — 11 Cherrywood — Paired with 14 until eliminated — 11 Stassney Renamed 111 — 12 Manchaca — Paired with 20 until Feb 2000 then 3 until 3 and 12 merged — 13 South Congress — Paired with 1 until merged with it — 14 Travis Heights — Paired with 11 until 11 eliminated then with 9 until 14 and 9 merged — 15 Red River — Paired with 16 until 15 merged with 10 — 16 South Fifth / Westgate — Paired with 15 until 16 merged with 5 — 17 Cesar Chavez — Merged with 2 — 19 Bull Creek — Replaced by 9 by 1985, but reinstated in 1986. Merged with 30 — 21 Exposition — Originally 21 Lake Austin, extended by 1985 and renamed. Extended in 1986 to replace 22 Between 1989 and 1991, the counterclockwise direction replaced by reintroduced 22 Signed 21 Exposition Loop; eliminated at the same time as 22 Parts replaced by 335; part covered by 17 and 18; portion on Exposition replaced by Pickup — 22 Chicon — Originally east of I-35 only; replaced in 1986 with 21 Reintroduced between 1989 and 1991, replacing 21 in the counterclockwise direction Signed 22 Chicon Loop; eliminated at the same time as 21 Parts replaced by 335; part covered by 17 and 18; portion on Exposition replaced by Pickup; remainder changed from 22 to 322 as it no longer went through downtown — 23 Wood Hollow — Merged with 19 — 23 Johnny Morris Renamed 323 — 24 Balcones — Merged with 9 and 19 — 25 Ohlen — Merged into 3 by 1985, but resplit in 1986. Paired with 3 until Jan 1997 on weekdays, and until Jan 1998 on Saturdays Renamed 325 — 26 Riverside — Paired with 5 until merged with 20 — 27 Dove Springs — Paired with 7 until merged with it 7 — 28 Ben White — Originally paired with 30 until 28 renamed 328 — 29 Barton Hills — Paired with 19 until Jan 1998 Eliminated due to low ridership; service on Robert E. Lee Blvd. transferred to 30 — 31 Oltorf — Formed between January 1989 and August 1991. Paired with 46 until Jan 1999 Renamed 331 — 32 Airport Boulevard — Formed between January 1989 and August 1991, with portions replacing part of the ENW. Combined with 46 and part of 8 to form 350 — 33 William Cannon — Formed in the early 1986 expansion. Renamed 333 — 34 Great Hills Part transferred to 383; remainder redundant with other routes — 37 Colony Park — Formed in the early 1986 expansion. Paired with 38 until Aug 2000 Rerouted over part of 320; As the route no longer served downtown, renamed 337 — 38 South Lamar — Formed in the early 1986 expansion. Paired with 37 until Aug 2000 Renamed 338 South Lamar — 39 Walnut Creek / Koenig — Formed in the early 1986 expansion as 39 Walnut Creek. Extended and renamed by January 1994. Renamed 339 — 40 Parkfield — Formed in the early 1986 expansion. By January 1994, extended limited stop to the UT campus replacing part of 41L; this section discontinued by 1996. Renamed 240; part transferred to 383 — 42 Quail Valley / Metric — Formed in the early 1986 expansion. Renamed 242; rerouted off Quail Valley — 43 Windsor Hills — Formed in the early 1986 expansion. Replaced by extension of 7 by 1989- later split as 45 — 43 South Oaks — Formed by 1991 as 43 Southwest Oaks when 12 was split Extended into Buckingham Estates and renamed by Jan 1994 Renumbered 203/204 — 44 Cedar Bend — Formed in the early 1986 expansion as 44 Arboretum/IBM/Burnet Renamed 44 Balcones Northwest by 1994 Rerouted and renamed 44 Cedar Bend Renamed 244 — 45 Buckingham Estates — Formed in the early 1986 expansion Removed by 1991, replaced by TeleRide, later 43 extension — 45 Copperfield — Formed ca. 1992 when 7 was shortened Renamed 245 — 46 Steck — Formed in the early 1986 expansion Merged with 19 — 46 Bergstrom — Formed when 26 was split east of ACC Riverside. Paired with 31 until Jan 1999 Combined with 32 and part of 8 to form 350 — 47 Anderson Mill — Formed in the early 1986 expansion