Election: 2 Central Texas cities to vote on whether to stay with CapMetro

Voters in two Central Texas communities will weigh out whether to continue CapMetro services or leave their partnership with the transit authority this November.

CENTRAL TEXAS (KXAN) — Voters in two Central Texas communities will weigh whether to continue CapMetro services or leave their partnership with the transit authority this November.

Both Manor and Lago Vista have added propositions to their November ballot on the initiative. The ballot proposition reads as follows:

Shall the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority be continued in the City of ____?

CAPMETRO PROPOSITION LANGUAGE FOR THE CITIES OF MANOR, LAGO VISTA’S NOVEMBER 8 ELECTION BALLOT

See election results below after polls close at 7 p.m.

If voters vote “yes,” services will continue as currently offered. If voters vote “no,” they will see service impacts within 24 hours of final election canvassing, which could wrap between three to 11 days post-election.

If either or both cities’ voters opt to leave CapMetro, the Texas Transportation Code requires the city to pay back net financial obligations to CapMetro following the service’s termination. As of March 31, Manor would owe $9.8 million, while Lago Vista would owe $6.4 million.

Since those estimates are from March, CapMetro would have to reanalyze how much more each city would owe the transit authority due to the passage of time since those last calculations.

Services currently offered in each community include:

Manor services:

• Route 990 Manor/Elgin Express: this service is operated by Capital Area Rural Transportation System (CARTS)
• Manor Pickup: this is funded 75% by CapMetro and 25% by Travis County, while the service is operated by CARTS

Lago Vista services:

• Route 214 Northwest Feeder: this service is operated by CARTS and is under contract to CapMetro; 12 bus stops within Lago Vista along this route
• Lago Vista Pickup: this is funded by CapMetro

If the majority of votes opt to leave the transit authority, bus and rail services will no longer stop in Manor and Lago Vista within 24 hours of final election canvassing. CARTS could continue offering its services between Elgin and Austin, but would no longer be authorized to stop in Manor.

For Lago Vista, the westernmost stop would be in Jonestown, with all 12 bus stops along Route 214 discontinued.

Pickup services within the two cities would stop operating within 24 hours of final election canvassing, if both decide to leave the transit authority.

Cities could elect to contract services with CapMetro for future use, but they would need to complete a transit development plan before being eligible. Officials said that could take several months to complete.

As for paratransit services via MetroAccess, CapMetro is required to continue providing these services to existing customers. Currently, Lago Vista has one customer receiving paratransit service three days a week. The city of Lago Vista would be required to cover the costs of the continued service, outside of fares collected.

If a city’s voters were to decide not to leave CapMetro, that city would not be able to put another CapMetro exit proposition on a city ballot for five years.