Moving Austin Beyond the Commute with Dottie Watkins

Never forget what it feels like to wait for a bus. Stop Requested. This is Stop Requested. by ETA Transit. I’m

Christian. And I’m Levi. These are real conversations with the innovators, operators, and advocates driving improvements in public transportation. Today, we’re talking about what it. takes to grow and modernize a transit system while continuing to deliver for riders every day. Our guest is Dottie Watkins, president and CEO of Cap Metro in Austin, Texas.

We’ talk about Cap Metro’s transit plan 2035, how changing travel patterns are reshaping service, and why the agency’s invested more in local and crosstown connections.

Here’s our conversation with Cap Metro president and CEO, Dottie Watkins. Welcome back to Stop Requested. We’re, uh, back for another great episode, and this is a very special one since we’re joined by a very strong, uh, leader in our, uh, public transportation industry, which is Ms. Dottie

Watkins, who is the CEO of Cap Metro in Austin. Dottie, how you doing today? I’m doing great. I’m so excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Of course. And, and so for our listeners who might, may be hearing for you for the first time, uh, and might not know you, if that’s even a possibility, uh, can you introduce yourself, uh, your role at Cap Metro, and maybe a short version of how you got to this role?

Sure. Um, so I’m Dottie Watkins. Um, it’s my privilege and honor to serve as. the president and CEO of Cap Metro, which is the Public Transit Authority for Austin, Texas, and, um, the Central Texas region. Um, I actually started at Cap Metro’ 32 years ago as a part-time bus driver while I was a student at the University of Texas.

Um, I n- never had a full-time transit career in mind for maybe the first third of my career. I always just thought this was what I was doing for now.

Um, but honestly, once I started in the industry and I really got to know transit, I fell in love with the problem statement that is public transit. I love, um, the logistical kind of maneuverings that happen to make transit operations happen every day. Um, I love being able to tangibly see the improvements that we make and the benefits, the positive benefits we see in the lives of people in our community every day. Um, and so I just really believe that, that public transportation is one of the most powerful tools that a community has, um, for creating opportunity and really enhancing the lives of its residents. And so, um, I’ve, along the way, become a true believer. I spent most of my career on the operations side of the business doing bus operations, um, but I’ve been in the, the CEO, seat here at Cap Metro for right at about four years now.

Oh, wow. That- that’s an amazing career. I didn’t know that, that you started driving. And, and we had some, um, you know, transit executives and, and different professionals sharing the same.

They just started in the industry, you know, doing this job that they got, and then they fell in love with it. But, you know, I’m pretty sure having, uh, had that, um, trajectory within your transit agency gives you a lot of empathy with your employees, and particularly the biggest classification of any transit agency is bus operators.

And so, so having, you know, sat in that seat, I mean, I’m pretty sure that comes very helpful, uh, when it comes to making decisions a- and doing your job, doesn’t it? Absolutely. Absolutely. I really believe, um, deeply that in order for us to give a great customer experience, which is our, primary objective, we have to be able to support those bus operators who deliver that experience for us every day. So if our number one priority is a great. customer experience, our, um, 1A priority is to support our frontline teams that’ deliver that experience, and so we focus on that a lot. Sounds good. Uh, so i- if you had to describe where Cap Metro, is right now in one or two sentences, what would you want people to understand? Um, you know, I would say that we are in a moment of momentum.

I think that we have a clear path for where we’re headed. We have our, um, big-picture vision in Project Connect, which is our kind of large regional transit plan, um, that includes the implementation of our first light rail system with our partners at the City of Austin and the Austin

Transit Partnership. But we also have Transit Plan 2035, which is our much more granular, um, system plan for what we are implementing in the next, um, five and 10 years. And so I think we have a clear plan, and we are executing on that one step at a time.

Um, it, it’s important that we are able to deliver something today, um, while we also think about what we want to, where we want to be in the long-term future. But we are seeing that, um, you know, execution phase continue to just go, um, one service change after another, and it’s really exciting to be able to see.

Well, it’ sounds like you’re developing a lot of momentum. Um, uh, and you mentioned the Transit Plan 2035. Can you give us a breakdown of, you know, what is in, that plan and, what are you trying to accomplish? Yeah. So Transit Plan 2035 is our vision for where we want the system to be in 10 years.

We broke it into a few pieces, and the first piece, it was kind of our five-year plan of what we’re pretty certain we’re going to do, what are the, the service shifts that make the most sense given how people are using our system today. Um, the fun thing about this transit plan is this was our first post-pandemic transit plan, so it was the first time we’d really looked at ridership trends since before the COVID-19 pandemic. And obviously, the way people move around most cities has changed significantly with the advent of a lot more mobile and hybrid work environments. And so this gave us a chance to really, um, shuffle the dominoes a bit and, and move some of the services kind of a, a little bit away from that commuter-heavy, um, service and invest it in- Much more that local bus and crosstown bus service that we were seeing, um, be very successful. Um, so it really helps us kinda reorganize our resources. Um, but it is a cost-constrained plan, ’cause like most public transit systems in the country, um, we do not have unlimited resources, um, and we have to live within the sales tax that we collect. Um, and so we’ve had to really think about how do we reallocate those resources well to keep us on. a trajectory of growth and continued support of our community while preparing us to be ready, um, in the 2030s when we have a light rail system also operating alongside our bus system.

So it was, it was really trying to live in both worlds at the same time. Um, it was also a plan that was built with extensive community input. We did a huge round of input before we even came up with service concepts. We did a lot of digesting of those, did a lot of fo- focus groups of those, and then went back and did one more huge public push when we said, “Okay, great, this is what we think goes in the plan.” Um, and so we’re really excited to know and c- and feel fairly confident that we have a well-vetted kinda plan for the next five to 10 years that, that lets us really just go through the process now of execution, which is the fun part. Exactly. Exactly. Now you get to see it all come to life. So y- you mentioned that you got to, you know, s- you, you had the opportunity to speak with your community extensively and get their feedback. Uh, I’m curious, was any of the feedback that you received, uh, during those sessions around weekend service or longer late night service, you know, as these commuting patterns have changed?

And I’m curious if you heard, uh, uh, that feedback from your, uh, from your riders as well. Yeah, so we heard a little bit of that. We had actually the, the transit plan kinda before this. In, in 2018, we actually implemented a complete bus system redesign. We went from largely a hub and spoke system at, um, to a much more grid network of our, of our system. We overnight, in June of 2018, changed 85% of our bus routes in one day. It was, it was a big deal, and it, and it significantly reshaped how our network worked.

When we did that, um, in 2018, that system redesign also included a significant increase in the amount of weekend service we were operating, ’cause we saw through our research that there was some unmet demand on the weekends. So we already had a pretty robust kind of weekend network going into this, but what we really saw through the transit planning process was this need for much more kind of local transportation that’s not necessarily commuter based, right? It’s not that when I, during the week, it’s not that I’m going downtown every day, but I do s- I need to get to the grocery store. ‘Cause if I’m working from home, my trips might be shorter. They might look different than they were when I was primarily going into an office in the central city five days a week and then coming back out, and then on the, on the evenings and weekends doing those local trips. And so kind of when some of those trips happened, we saw, we saw change a lot. The biggest request we got was for more crosstown service, um, a lot more of the kinda east-west. Austin’s a very kind of narrow, our metro area’s a very narrow north-south kind of, um, area, and so but we were, and so we have a lot of service that goes north and south because that’s where, um, much of the growth is. But there was a lot of requests for that east-west connectivity, um, and so that’s a lot of what we built into the, into the plan.

I see. I’m, I’m, you know, I’m just thinking like what would be the impetus behind that east-west movement if most of the growth is north and south? Are there, uh, you know, new factories or n- new businesses that have a- kind of emerged along that corridor where you would need to adapt the service to them? It’s really more about wanting to see, uh, more frequency of service in those more kind of short-term, more nei- not neighborhood trips, but more localized to your side of town trips. So it’s the, “I’m gonna go to the grocery store in the middle of the day, and so that’s important to me. Can

I get more frequency to handle that?” Um, it, it, it’s more of that the, the, the trip patterns, um, are much more localized to our homes than to our work than they were pre-pandemic, and, uh, that, that seems obvious if you stand back and think about it, but the data really showed that. The other fun thing about Transit Plan 2035, it’s the first transit plan that we did with location-based data, um, so cell phone data. We actually, um, through our planning consultants, were able to get the kind of cell phone movement data for our entire region, um, for a period of months and use that to help us see how people are moving around, whether they’re moving on transit or not. So we could compare that against where our services were, against where people who have a, a, a higher likelihood of using transit currently live or work, and then figure out where we have gaps. So it was a lot of fun to kinda do that, but through that we saw a lot more of that kind of more localized, not always coming into the downtown or central area, than what we had seen in the past. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, and, and to use that cell data as a baseline, uh, to be able to determine if you’re putting your services in the right place, right, based on how people are traveling, I think that makes a lot of sense. And, you know, I’ve done the same as a, as a transit planner as well, so you really can understand that methodology.

Uh, you mentioned earlier Project Connect, Dottie, and y- you know, for those of us who may not be as familiar with the, the different projects and plans that you have in place, so the, if I’m understanding correctly, the Project Connect is more of your, it’s your long-term vision, uh, maybe even for the entire metropolitan area. And then the Transit Plan 2035, that’s more of your transit development plan, um, that- I- i- is that right? Is that the right understanding? Yeah, absolutely. So Project Connect is, um, our vision for transit expansion for the region that was, uh, um, established in 2018 and led to, um, a, a vote in November of 2020 where the citizens in

Austin voted to increase their property tax to fund that transit expansion plan. So Project Connect is kind of the umbrella of services that includes a light rail system that is currently in project development, just got through the NEPA process.

We got a record of decision earlier this year. We have awarded design build contracts. We are, uh, cooking with gas, making a lot of great progress on that. But those things take a lot of time, but it also included a lot of other things like some bus rapid transit improvements that we just launched a few weeks ago, um, some microtransit, our pickup services, um, as well as a, a station at our soccer stadium, um, some rail, other rail, um, infrastructure improvements. So the program as a whole, Project Connect, that property tax vote funded all of those things. Most people think of it as just the light rail system. And then Transit Plan

2035 was about how, what are we taking, doing with our existing bus and commuter rail system, um, and what service adjustments need to happen with the, that existing system, while also thinking about how do we adjust the existing system so that it’s ready to kind of connect to that light rail system when it comes on board, um, in the mid or early 2030s. We’re gonna go early 2030s.

Got it. That, that makes sense. So y- you’re, you’re doing a couple things simultaneously, it sounds like, and that’s probably no easy task, right? To be able to sort of reconcile your services in the short term with what you plan on doing in the mid to long term.

Uh, I, I would imagine you have to kind of evolve to be able to get there. Um, can you describe that process of how you balance that long-term vision and the, uh, near-term improvements? Yeah. You know, I think this is probably something that’s one of the core tensions in running any transit agency, is that you have to be, um, you have to actually build the airplane while you’re flying it all the time. And so you’re always thinking about, how do we make this a little bit better, yet I still have to do this thing today?

And, and also, you have to talk about that constantly. People need to know you’re thinking about the future. They need to know that you have thoughtful plans for what the region is gonna need in the future, while also seeing that you’re doing something about it today.

And so, you know, it goes in cycles. Um, you’re, you’re sometimes able to, to deliver a, a brand-new service and have a big project, and that’s a great, very public-facing way to show progress. Um, but sometimes you’re showing your progress by making small incremental improvements in operating procedures or, or, you know, you’re updating your code of conduct to improve public safety on your system. Like, you’re having to lean in and show that you’re making improvements in other places ’cause you can’t da- you can’t deliver a new service every week, unfortunately. Um, and so it really is always about today and next year and five years from now, all at the same time, um, every day.

Um, but I also think that’s part- of what makes public transit fun. This episode is brought to you by ETA Transit. Too many agencies are still operating critical transit systems on legacy software that is costly to maintain and difficult to evolve.

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Modern CAD/AVL without the baggage. Visit etatransit.com. Yeah, cer- certainly. And, you know, o- one of the things, uh, um, you know, that you said that, that I think is, is very powerful in having the community, uh, you know, investing i- into the public transit is just that your transit system is not just working for a few in your community. I think it’s working for most.

And, and in analyzing how people are using the trips and how they’re traveling, where it’s just not commuter, but it’s also anything, right? Anything they wanna do, like access to anything, to fun, to groceries, to anything they wanna do. All their trips they could take, uh, you know, within Cap Metro and, you know, use that first last mile to be able to connect to those.

So I, I wanna talk about, you know, we, we just spoke about the long-term vision. Uh, I wanna talk about your June 20, uh, 26 service changes. It’s some of the recent, um, you know, uh, uh, uh, changes to, to your service that were put in place.

Um, uh, the, uh, they’re described as the first major change under Transit Plan 2020- 2035.

Uh, what makes this moment significant for Cap Metro? What, why are those June 2026 service changes so important? Yeah. So these were not only the first major service change under our transit plan, um, but the next big implementation of our Project Connect program. Um, so on June

7th, at the start of this month, we implemented the first, um, the, the full- frequency, rather, on, um, our, our Third and fourth Rapid line. So Rapid is the brand name that we use for our bus rapid transit system. We, um, have had two, um, BRT lines, um, in service since 2014, um, and hadn’t added any since then. And so we just added Rapid eight- routes 800 and 837.

Um, the beautiful thing about our Rapid service, as the name might suggest, is that it’s a very high frequency service. And so these are routes that come every 10 minutes, um, b- uh, during the, the, the weekday peak, so 7:00 AM to

7:00 PM, where a c- a bus coming every 10 minutes all week, um, to really provide that frequent service with, uh, you know, reliability and better connections. They are limited stop service to help them move more rapidly through the corridor. Um, and so also to support those two routes, in order to make those routes work, we needed two park and rides. So we added two new park and rides to our system. And at those park and rides, we included end-of-the-ra- end-of-the-line charging infrastructure for our battery electric buses. And so we have our…

We now. have in service at each of those two park and rides, um, in-app charging for our battery electric buses to help us keep electric buses on those routes all day, um, and, and h- get over that range anxiety that comes with a battery electric bus. So all of that was really the culmination. It’s really getting out into the world so many of the pieces of what it, takes to make our transit. system better, um, and to really celebrate those incremental improvements. And then as we put those services out there with the d- two new park and rides, those park and rides now become a hub at which we can do transfers between other routes in the area. So we streamlined and realigned all of the routes around, um, those two new park and rides to make the system kind of work more cohesively.

Um, but again, this was all part of Project Connect, that voter-approved investment in Central Texas transit that folks passed overwhelmingly ’cause they wanted to see these kinds of improvements. So we were really excited to be able to show them that it’s happening and to have this now in their community. They can ride it every single day, and we’re s- we’re seeing a lot of people really enjoying the service, um, and having a great experience.

When, when was it launched specifically? What date? Um, June 7th is when we went to full frequency. We had actually been running each of the routes at 20-minute frequencies for a little over a year, um, but we couldn’t do the full frequency without the, um, park and rides and the, um, charging for our battery electric buses. And so this really got them to their envisioned full frequency, um, so that they truly now operate at a 10-minute frequency as, as a true Rapid route.

Oh, wow. So you decreased that, that frequency, cut it in half. Uh, uh, are these corridors, uh, tra- traffic signal priority, uh, corridors, d- you know, to, to have, get, uh, light preemption and, and those type of features?

Yeah. So we use transit signal priority. We actually do, um, a back-end-to-back-end integration with our city’s, um, uh, transportation, uh, their signaling system so that, um, these routes, we can prioritize the movements of the buses through these corridors.

Um, and as we’ve, um, added these two to our, our Rapid corridors, we actually recently updated our agreement with the city, and they’ve been updating and upgrading their back-end system to be able to manage those, um, uh, intersections more dynamically. Um, so we’re actually really proud of the work we’ve been able to do, and I think we are now better positioned to not only have the transit signal priority in place, but to tweak it over time, um, because that, you know, uh, our first iteration of that that we did over a decade ago was quite smart and clever, but not exactly what I’d call nimble and, and quick- … to evolve and change.

And so as we’ve u- been able to update all of our systems around it, I think we’re in a, a much better place to continue making those improvements. The other really cool thing that happened alongside the construction for these two routes is that we upgraded all of the… Obviously, the bus stops got upgraded, um, for, um, each of the routes, but as we implemented those bus stops, we implemented them against, um, an updated version of the City of Austin’s Transportation Criteria Manual, which meant that now all of these bus stops are largely floating bus stops with bike lanes that go behind them so that if there’s a bike coming along, it doesn’t have to, like, go into vehicular traffic.

And as part of this project, the city funded, um, what we call betterment, so to make sure that we have continuous, um, bike and shared use paths along these routes to help support the pedestrians and cyclists that are getting to and from, um, the stations, as well as, you know, pedestrians and cyclists writ large. And so it was really a great opportunity for us to improve not just the transit infrastructure, but also the active transportation infrastructure,

’cause we know that every bus rider starts and ends their trip as a pedestrian. And so it’s important that we partner with our city partners to make sure that we’ve got good human-scale infrastructure to support them as they come to and from the bus. Yes, and, and I’ll tell you, those protected bike lanes, uh, you know, those, those e-bikes that are right at the, uh, light rail stations, uh, I mean, they’re, they’re just phenomenal. I had the opportunity to, you know, ride, uh, on your bike lanes and actually feel safe.

You know, uh, uh, unfortunately, here in Florida, we, we still had w- uh, headway to, to make it when it comes to that. You know, uh, we see very often fatalities for bicyclists, uh, but, you know, kudos to you and, and, and the city for having the right infrastructure, thinking about pedestrians, thinking about bicyclists to keep them safe because tho- those two are such an important component of making, you know, your entire transportation system works, right? Like you said, e- every trip starts, uh, as a pedestrian, so you have to have the right, uh, infrastructure for them. And, and on that regard, a- anything else you could tell us about amenities that are at the stations or the park and ride that people can expect when they’re riding the service? Or, you know, I mentioned the, the e-bikes, uh, that typically, if I’m not mistaken, and, and you’ll correct me if I’m wrong,

I, uh, you know, I, I, I saw ’em at your light rail stations. You know, there’s some right there, so you get off the train, you pretty much can just jump on a bike and then continue your last mile, uh, on, on one of these, um, bike paths.

For this BRT, the, these new services and, and the park and rides, w- what kind of amenities can riders experience? Yeah, so for, um, I mean, first and foremost, what riders are gonna experience is that they don’t have to wait for the bus as long, and that’s the number one thing.

I, I, I’m a firm believer that, um, in these high ridership corridors, we should be able to provide a service that you don’t have to plan your day. around. You can just go out to the stop whenever it’s time to leave because you know a bus is gonna be there within 10 minutes, and that’s just a great way for transit to fit into people’s lives as opposed to having people have to organize their lives around transit. Um, but from an infrastructure standpoint, obviously we put new shelters at all of our stations. All of our shelters have, um, they have lighting. Um, about a little over a third of these stations are actually solar stations. Wow. We were able to, um, power these stations either through solar panels if they get enough direct sunlight, or, um, some of them we had to connect to the grid because they don’t quite get enough sunshine. Um, but we were able to do that. We have s- um, cameras at all of the stations so that we, um, as part of our s- public safety program, can monitor incidents as they happen. We have real-time information with, um, full-color dynamic message signs at all of the, um, stations so that we can tell you when the next bus is coming, and also as necessary, push infor- other information out on those signs, um, to help you know what’s going on. The zero emission vehicles that are not only better for the environment, but quiet and cooler than our, than their diesel brothers.

Um, all of the kind of the pieces that we see as the future of public transportation, what 21st century transit looks like, um, we made sure to build into these programs.

And, and importantly for our community, these two routes are both in the eastern portion of our service area, which is an, an area of town that historically has been under-invested in, um, in terms of public infrastructure, and an area where, um, we have a pretty high transit propensity.

A good number of folks that live in the area that use the transit system, and really making sure that we’re putting the investments in the part of town, um, where our core users are, um, has been, um, really beneficial. And I think we’ve now been able to show that, that we can invest, um, in that part of town, and that it’s a worthwhile investment. So that’s been, um, also great to really show the community that good public transit isn’t for y- isn’t just for you if you live in the c- or work in the center city, but it’s for you if you live or work anywhere within our region. Yeah. It, it, it, it benefits, everyone, and, you know, we’ve, you know, had that, conversation sometimes with folks that, uh, are not, um, uh, transit riders, and, and it’s trying to highlight why even if you choose not to ride transit, it’s still for you, right? How it’s benefiting you, even if you’re a business owner and your goods and services, you know, your trucks are stuck in traffic. I mean, i- if you’re able to have better service in, you know, a, a part of your community, and they are choosing public transportation, then, you know, you’re reducing traffic. So, you’re benefiting even if you’re not riding, even if the improvements are, are not in your, uh, part of town where you live. Um, but I’ wanna ask you for these two new BRT routes, and we’ve seen, uh, BRT systems being launched throughout the country.

It’s been kinda like, uh, the moment for BRT nationwide. A- and we’re also seeing a lot of agencies, um, you know, claiming success, saying, “Hey, this was very successful.” We, we spoke not too long ago with, uh,

Brett Miller, uh, CEO of PSTA, and they had their SunRunner BRT, which has been a, a terrific success. About these two BRT routes that you launched, how do you measure success? What, what are the things that, that you’re expecting from it, uh, in terms of, uh, performance of the service, but, but also how is, um, you know, he- helping people get around and, and improving their quality of life? H- how do you measure that? Yeah. You know, I think, b- as with any transit agency, the number… The, the first measure we always look at is ridership. Are people using the service that we put out there? We also wanna look at, are we able to reliably offer the service, right? Are, is our service, our service quality metrics, um, meeting what we would expect to be able to put out there? So we, you know, if we have designed a good service and we deliver it in a quality and reliable way, then we should see the ridership come. And then if we don’t, then we’ve got more digging to do to figure out what’s going on, and maybe we missed, maybe we missed something along the way. But we really are looking, um, primarily at, um, ridership, on-time performance, and then what are we hearing from our customers? Um, you know, we get customer feedback in a number of ways. We regularly are asking our customers, um, how they feel about the service. We actually just this spring concluded a kinda system-wide, across-the-board customer engagement survey. We do that every year to kinda get a sense of how people are feeling about the system. Um, the trip planning app that we use, we use the Transit app. They have great mechanisms for asking you about your trip along the way, and getting just sort of a, uh, a sense of the… I, I like to call it, they, they let you know about the feels. How, how’s it feeling, um, to be on our service. And it’s really all of those things together that feed the customer experience and tell us that we are actually delivering something that people are going to want to use. And so, um, you know, those are kind of the, the ways that we’re measuring around it. We’re looking at that traditional ridership number. We’re looking at our traditional operating, you know, performance metrics, but then we’re also looking at what our customers are telling us about the service, and making sure that they all seem to be coming, living in the same universe, right? If, if you think you’re doing great, but your customers aren’t happy, then obviously there’s something missing. Um, or if they seem very happy and you seem to be doing great, but the ridership’s not there, then obviously something is missing. It’s, it’s a triangle, um, but triangles are one of the strongest shapes in the universe, right? So if you can make all three of those pieces work together, um, then you’re golden.

All right. So Dottie, y- you, and you have been in this role for, uh, uh, about four years, you said. Uh, and I- Uh-huh … know you’ve worked at CapMetro for, for much longer, but w- w- what is different about this time around in, in CapMetro in, in being in this position, you know, in the year 2026 when you’re looking to make all these substantial changes over the next decade or more? Uh, c- can you give us a sense of, you know, what that’s l- like running an agency, being the

CEO? It’s a little different every day, I have to say. It is, um, it is a bit of a rollercoaster, but one I’m having a lot of fun riding. Um, some days I get off the rollercoaster feeling a little more sick than others, but I, I, I do think

I, I, I’m still happy I’ve, I’ve done it. I think, you know, at CapMetro’s, i- our, in this current moment, we really are in an inflection point as a region.

We have figured out what we want to do about the Center City. We’re building a light rail system, we’ve got a transit plan, um, and a transit expansion vision that helps us outline exactly how we wanna invest in the core, um,

Central City e- area of our region. And I think the kind of next thing that we’re really trying to figure out is how we get the larger region, um, engaged in public transit.

Austin is a v- is a fastly growing region, um, and has been for a very long time. Um, and growth is a good problem to have. I do not want it to stop at all whatsoever, but growth is absolutely a problem you have to solve for. And right now, what we’re seeing a lot of is a lot of growth that is happening in suburban communities that aren’t in CapMetro’s service area, but are in our urban area.

And so we’re spending a lot of time kind of teaching the region writ large about the value of public transportation, and talking to a lot of folks about why it is that we think they should be thinking about public transportation beyond just Austin proper, right? You know, looking at the suburban, um, communities that are growing rapidly, um, in our region, and making sure that they’re also thinking about the need for mobility and how people are gonna move around, and that we have a plan for it to all work really well together, right? That’s, um, a simple concept to explain, but it’s not easy to do, um, because funding, because governance, because all the things.

And so, um, that has been a real interesting, you know, being, looking really at that 50,000-foot view. When I was chief operating officer, I wasn’t worried about any of that, right? I was worrying about getting the buses on the road, getting the trains out on schedule, making sure we took care of the customers, that we were taking care of the workers. My focus was much more local and immediate from a time horizon. But, um, at the CEO seat, there’s a whole lot more of that really broad time horizon thinking that we’re doing, and really figuring out where those conversations need to happen in the community. Um, so it’s, it’s been an interesting journey for sure. Yeah. It, it’s very different to go from, uh, overseeing operations to actually leading or, the organization. A- a- and you said it. When you are in operations, you have to have a high sense of urgency.

Uh, when there’s something happening, you cannot wait tomorrow, let me get back to you later, and especially when you’re supporting your team that is delivering the service, they need assistance, immediate assistance.

So, you know, you’re, you’re only looking at what’s happening today and tomorrow for the most part, but being in, in this, uh, leadership role, you’re really looking at, you know, the entire community, what’s happening ahead, and, you know, how you can coordinate for all your stakeholders to get on the same page, which

I think is one of the most difficult things for, um, you know, an executive director for a transit agency to do, right? Like, build those relationships with all the stakeholders and be able to champion a vision and, and get them to get behind it. Uh, but, you know, it seems that all these are happening in Austin, a- and it’s just an example for the industry a- and also for, you know, all the different communities why when you, you know, are intentional about dev- uh, developing a proper public transportation system, uh, it can actually have a, a great impact for the community and, and everybody can see the benefits.

And I think as you put out successful projects, one after the other one, which you have a- a- as an agency, you have for several years now, you gain that trust from the community. It’s almost, I feel like you guys could come up with almost anything and, and people would say yes, because they’ve been so, um… you know, they, they’ve seen the benefit. Like, they’ve been, you know, so thankful for all the impact that CapMetro has, has had in the community.

Uh, so let me ask you, looking ahead, when you’re looking ahead, and we discussed the plan, but when we look five to 10 years, what will make you say CapMetro is on the right track? Well, if I was gonna say, I’m gonna go with 10 years, ’cause five years from now.

we won’t quite be there. But in 10 years- … we will have light rail operating, and, that will fundamentally change the spine of our transit network, um, and how all of it fits together. We’ll be able to move many more people much faster and more reliably through the absolute core of the Center City, and so we’ll have a lot more of our bus service kind of focus on feeding the light rail line or, or taking folks to that kind of their final connections.

Um, and so that’s going to really kind of be a pivot in how our system is structured, um, but will also offer an amenity that many folks in this community have been wanting and wanting and wanting for decades now.

And so, um, really showing that w- that has been, that that is delivered, and that people can rely on Public transportation investment, um, to get them what it was that they were looking for, right? That we’ve been able to say,

“Hey, back in 2020, we asked you to take a vote, and you took that vote, and we did the thing that we said we were gonna do. And look, now, you can ride it today.” Um, and, my guess is in 10 years we’ll be saying,

“And boy, wouldn’t you like a little bit more? Let’s talk about what comes next,” right? How do we, how do we fund the next expansion, extension, growth, right? That’s, it’s, it’s always about making sure that you have thoughtful plans in place and that you’re delivering on those plans. So in 10 years we’ll have the light rail running.

I also think in 10 years we’ll have a more regional system. Um, as our region keeps growing, we will have seen the, the need for us to expand into other parts of the region, and we’re working on that right now, as I mentioned earlier. We’re really talking to folks about what their needs are and how they can partner with us to get service in their communities, um, as they continue to have population. But, I’ think even more important than that, I wanna make sure that, Cap Metro remains a central kind of core part of how people envision the public services provided in their community. Um, and so, we really want to make sure people understand that public transportation is a vital public utility. Just like having, a clean water system, and a working electrical grid, and a well-functioning fire department, right? You also need a public transit system.

And that Cap Metro’s on the case, don’t worry about it, we got this covered. Um, and that people can, can have that trust that we have not only thoughtfully come up with a good plan, but we have executed on that plan, and that we have done that cycle over and over again so that they can have that, that trust in us as a public entity. ‘Cause at the end of the day, we’re here to serve them, right? We’re here to take the, the tax dollars that are paid, um, by folks who spend money here in, um,

Central Texas, um, and turn that into public transportation for people to use, and spend more money to turn it into more public transportation for people to use, um, and keep running through that cycle.

And so making sure that everyone understands the, the value of that, um, and understands the importance of that public investment, I think is, is really something that, um, I hope in

10 years, um, every, everyone feels, you know, really deeply and can understand, um, throughout the region. And, and it’s so powerful to see how as the public transportation, uh, service is growing and more investment is being put into it, it’s also, uh, incentivating the, a economy.

Like, you know, all, uh, the, the economy depends a lot on mobility. Being able to move, you know, goods and services, giving access to people to everything. I mean, you, you can only go and, and, and get a job, that you can access, that you have, uh, that you can have access to, that you can show up at work on time.

And, you know, one of the things, uh, about what you describe on the 10 years is, uh, decreasing travel times. With, with premium transit, you’re moving a lot of people really quickly across different corridors. So I mean, if that’s not access to more jobs and, you know, impact to the economy, I, I don’t know what that looks like. But, uh, that, that sounds very exciting and, and I’m pretty sure your community and your riders, uh, are gonna continue trusting and investing into

Cap Metro. Well, thank you. You know, you talk about the economy, and I think it? is so important to think about the economic benefit that comes from public transit. You know, one of the, um, strongest supporters of Cap

Metro in our region, and one of our closest partners, is our chamber of commerce. Because they recognize that if you don’t have… If people don’t have access to get to the things that help make their life better, it’s not gonna be a community where people want to live.

And if ploy- employers don’t have access to workers, then it’s not gonna be a place where they wanna do business. And that that is an ecosystem that has to work well together for us to continue to see the phenomenal growth and economic strength that Central

Texas has had for the last four decades continue into the next four decades. And so, um, you know, we’re really excited to be able to kind of sit in the middle of that. And, you know, public transit done right is an economic development engine. It is something that provides opportunity and social support, um, to your community.

It does both. Um, and so often when we think about where are we gonna put our resources, people think about, well, am I gonna invest in social service, you know, social support, or am I gonna invest in economic development? And the good news about public transit is you can invest in one thing and accomplish both goals. And I think it’s really important that we continue to help people understand that that is actually how it works. Um, because I think that helps, again, people believe, more fully in the, the value of public transit and really continue to want to invest in and support public transit growth in their, in their communities. Yeah, that’s very well said,

Dottie. One of the recurring segments that we have on the podcast is, uh, key takeaways, where we, uh, distill some of the information that you provided, uh, throughout the conversation, which there was a lot to go through.

I, I, I broke it down into, uh, a few concepts and ideas that I thought were especially important for our audience, and

I’m gonna share those with you now. Let me know if I missed anything or if you would say it a little bit differently. Uh, be happy to make any revisions. But the things that I wrote down are building the airplane while you fly it is kind of the fun part of transit.

Um, we, we shouldn’t forget that, um, you know, there, there are some fun aspects to this, and you have to always be working on the fly. Um, and that can actually be enjoyable because it’s dynamic work. Uh, every trip starts as a pedestrian trip. I think that, that one is, is valuable. I know we’ve mentioned it on the podcast before. I, and I love when our guests say this.

Uh, transit should be built around the lives of the users rather than the users having to plan their lives around the transit schedule. Uh, I like your analogy there about the, the triangle. There’s customer feedback, performance metrics, and ridership, and if any of those things are n- not in sync with one another, you, you have some, ex- you know, you have some investigation to do to be able to determine w- what’s afoot there. Uh, next is deliver on the promise that you gave to your community. And then finally, transit is an economic development engine when done correctly.

Anything that you would add to that or, or change about those key takeaways? No, I think those are great, and I love hearing them all read in a row like that. It just, it is like, I, I feel like I wanna say, amen, brother. Let’s, yes.

Absolutely. Well, another, uh, a recurring segment that we have in our podcast is our quick fire segment, where we’re gonna ask you this, you know, quick questions for, like, short answers, and it’s kinda like first thing that comes to your mind.

Uh, are you ready for it? Sure. All right, so let’s get started. Favorite Cap Metro route or service? All right. So I have to start by saying I love all of my children equally.

But, um, our Metro Rapid Route 803, it was one of our original Metro Rapid routes. It’s actually the route that my daughter and I use to take the bus to go to our downtown public library, which is a gem in our central city. It also uses, um, one of my favorite transit centers we’ve ever built. Um, and so, uh, that one is, is also the route that goes to the soccer stadium. And so there’s just so much great- Oh … so many great things on the 803. So, um, right now that one’s feeling nearest and dearest to my heart, but I do love all of my children the same. Good, good answer.

Uh, one word to describe the future of transit in Central Texas. Um, I’m gonna go with essential. All righty. Okay.

That’s good. A, a city or transit system that inspires you. I mean, that feels like cheating ’cause there’s something in every city that I love.

Um, the one that I think of a lot, it’s a bigger system than us, but is, um, also in a lovely climate. Maybe this is why I have a positive impression of it, but I love the system in San Diego.

Um, it’s, it’s got a good kind of combination of bus and rail. Um, they’ve done some smart things out there, so I like the system out there. But, um, you know, Denver has always been a model system that we’ve looked at a lot. I was recently at the APTA conference in Salt Lake and reminded how great of a system they have up there. So, um, there’s a lot of fun, there’s a lot of great things to look at when, especially when you look at, you know, sys- systems that aren’t the enormous legacy systems. I mean, obviously, who doesn’t love to go to New York and ride the subway? But not all of us are gonna be able to build a New York. Um, but when I look at other cities like that, I, I just think there’s a little bit of something everywhere, um, that you can, you can take away and appreciate.

I love that answer because I could give you 10 systems that I like in, or I could give you 15, like, because to your point, like, there’s different systems that have things that you like, applications of transit, and some are massive, but maybe not, you know, relatable to your system that you operate. But it’s, you know, as a transit professional, it, it, it, it’s inspiring. So I,

I love your answer. Uh, how about best advice you ever receive as a transit leader? Um, this is actually a, a fun one. So I, um, am a mom, and my kid reminds me all the time that every once in a while you have to touch grass. Um, and it reminded me of some advice that I received once from a mentor, which is to never forget what it feels like to wait for a bus, right? To go out and touch transit. Stay close to the actual rider experience. Use your system. Talk to your workers. Just sometimes go hang out at the transit center. I know, I’m a bit of a transit nerd. I think that’s a fun, lovely way- … to spend a morning when I have the time. Um, but to really just touch transit so that you don’t lose track. Even if you’re spending most of your day, um, you know, deep, deep, deep in your spreadsheet working out a system plan or attending community meetings, and you’ve got all this other stuff to do, make sure that you touch transit so you don’t lose track of what it is that we’re here to do. I love it. Yeah. I, I think empathy is one of the most powerful tools any leader has, and, you know, when you do what you just said, you know, you touch transit, you go see your riders, see your centers, see your operators doing the work, I mean, that, that’s how you can connect with them and, and use all that connection for the decision-making. So

I, I love that. Uh, what’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about Cap Metro? Um, I think that, um, Cap Metro has been around for 40 years. We are 40 years young. But I think that it is still a place where a lot, a lot of our, um, workforce has come up through the ranks, right? I started here as a part-time bus driver. I think there are few industries anymore as lovely as public transit is in terms of making opportunities for careers, um, in one place or in one industry, and I think that’s actually part of what makes Cap Metro special. We have folks who come here, um, as young adults and really find a, a, a home here and want, and, and connect with the mission. Um, and I think most people are surprised to learn how many of our staff started here as bus drivers or mechanics or, you know, doing, uh, taking calls in our, in our customer service line, doing some of our frontline work.

Um, but I think that’s one of the things that makes Cap Metro special. I think it’s one of the things that makes public transit special. You know, when people stay for a long time with our organization, it is speaks to how powerful their employee culture is. You know, if you were in a very toxic environment, I mean, you, you will feel there’s no opportunities for you to grow or anything, y- you would not stay a long time. So it just, that speaks to the great culture you guys have. Uh, last question.

Coffee or tea before going to a big board meeting? Diet Coke. I’m,

I am a, I am a caffeine all the way girly, um, and Diet Coke is my beverage of choice. Um, I’ve, I’ve got one sitting in front of me right now.

Excellent. Well, went around the last question, but we’ll allow it.

Hey, uh, to each their own. Uh, I’m a coffee person. I think Christian’s a coffee person, but, you know- Yep … I know plenty of Diet Coke people.

Um, Dottie, this has been a really fun conversation. Really appreciate your perspective. The, the knowledge and passion that you bring, um, you know, about transit in general, but specifically your agency, um, is very commendable, and we really appreciate having you on. Welcome back anytime. It was a lot of fun. And also to our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in to the podcast this week. We’ll be back next Monday with another episode of

Stop Requested.