City Considers Public Transportation Options

In November 2014, the City of Georgetown and Capital Metro entered into an agreement to complete a Transit Development Plan (TDP), as required by Capital Metro’s Service Expansion Policy.

The Transit Development Plan (TDP) provides a framework for the development of a fixed route bus system that serves transit needs within the city limits and connects to existing and future regional transit options.

The City Council is working toward establishing a permanent city bus route system in conjunction with Capital Metro to provide public transportation on a reliable schedule. Here are the proposed routes:

Council should remain flexible with respect to public transportation! Be able to change rapidly as circumstances change without large sunk costs. There are very large and rapid changes coming to how we get around in this country.

Here is one prognosticator's view of the near future.(Clean Disruption) I do not necessarily agree with everything he predicts, but, it is indicative of the potential for rapid change.

The outcome of the technology driven Clean Disruption is that by 2030:
• All new vehicles will be electric.
• All new vehicles will be autonomous (self-driving).
• Oil will be obsolete
• Coal, natural gas and nuclear will be obsolete
• 80+ per cent of parking spaces will be obsolete.
• Individual car ownership will be obsolete.
• All new energy will be provided by solar (and wind)

Our neighbors to the South are experiencing a backlash as they have banned the operation of ride sharing without onerous bureaucratic regulations. (Black Market Ride Sharing in Austin)

And finally, the military is getting into autonomous vehicles on public roads! (Army Tests Autonomous Vehicles on Public Roads)

The council needs to be very cautious about spending money on depreciable assets or entering into long-term expensive contracts that lock the city into old inefficient transportation solutions.