A Comprehensive Look at the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Houston, Texas

History & Future

The Texas State Legislature authorized the creation of local transit authorities in 1973. In 1978, Houston-area voters created METRO and approved a one-cent sales tax to support its operations. METRO opened for business in January 1979. The Authority has transformed a broken bus fleet into a regional multimodal transportation system.

Communities that are part of the METRO area include the cities of Houston, Bellaire, Bunker Hill Village, El Lago, Hedwig Village, Hilshire Village, Humble, Hunters Creek, Katy, Missouri City, Piney Point, Southside Place, Spring Valley, Taylor Lake Village and West University Place. Major portions of unincorporated Harris County are also included.

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METRO Solutions

In development since 2001, METRO Solutions is a comprehensive transit system plan to help solve the Greater Houston region's traffic congestion and air quality problems. The plan was crafted with extensive input from the public, METRO's regional transportation partners and mobility experts nationwide. The plan was adopted by the METRO Board of Directors in July 2003 and approved by voters in November 2003. METRO Solutions >>

The plan calls for major multimodal transit improvements across the region and extends through the 2014 General Mobility Program, which sets aside one-quarter of METRO's one-cent sales tax revenue for mobility projects in Harris County, the City of Houston and the Multi-Cities. In addition, voters granted METRO the authority to issue up to $640 million in bonds to fund the next phase of projects.

In June 2005, METRO announced its Phase 2 Implementation Plan to provide more rapid transit for the Houston region in less time than originally proposed under METRO Solutions. Key components of the Implementation Plan include:

30 Miles of Light Rail Transit

University of Houston/Downtown Campus Station of Red Line to a new Northern Intermodal Facility, located in the vicinity of Burnett Street
University Line, running from University of Houston/Central Campus in Southeast Houston to the Redline, crossing in the vicinity of the Wheeler Station and continuing west to the Uptown Area, connecting to the Greenway Plaza and Uptown/Galleria activity centers.
North Corridor, from Northern Intermodal Facility to Northline Mall
Southeast Corridor, from Downtown Houston to vicinity of Martin Luther King at Griggs
East End, from Downtown Houston to Magnolia Transit Center
Uptown Corridor, from vicinity of Westpark/South Rice to Northwest Transit Center

Accelerate other components of the 2025 METRO Solutions Plan, to provide more regional service, including 28 Miles of Commuter Rail:

US 90A, connecting to Fannin South Station
US 290, connecting to Northern Intermodal Facility
Galveston Line, project development in progress

40 Miles of Signature Bus/Suburban Bus Rapid Transit

Fast crosstown service using specially designated stops/"stations"; queue jumpers; and designated buses that together provide a cohesive, recognizable route serving activity centers and defined destinations:

Southeast Transit Center to Texas Medical Center
Uptown Houston to US 90A Commuter Rail line
Gessner Route
US 249/Tidwell Route

Intermodal Facilities, Transit Centers, and Park & Rides*

Northern Intermodal Facility
5 Transit Centers:
Wheeler
Hobby Airport
Westpark/South Rice
UH-Central Campus
TSU
4 Park & Rides
Cypress
Gulf Freeway/Clear Lake
SH 288/Airport
Katy Freeway/Grand Parkway

HOT/HOV Lanes

Begin the conversion to dual direction tolled facilities in major corridors in existing Bus/HOV Corridors.

Red Line Capacity Upgrade

Upgrades to allow additional capacity to meet the growing demand for the system, including additional vehicles and operating facility/running facility improvements.

Headquarters

Lee P. Brown METRO Administration Building
1900 Main St.
Houston, Texas 77002

METRO Board of Directors

The Board of Directors has nine members. Five are nominated by the Mayor of Houston and confirmed by the Houston City Council. Two are appointed by the mayors of METRO's 14 other member cities. Two are nominated by the Harris County Judge and confirmed by the County Commissioners.

Monthly Board Meetings are typically held at 1 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month in the Lee P. Brown METRO Administration Building, 1900 Main St., 2nd Floor.

More than 3,550 employees.

Operations & Support Facilities

Buffalo Bayou 810 N. San Jacinto Street Houston, TX 77002	Hiram Clarke 4175 Uptown Drive Houston, TX 77023	Northwest 5555 Deauville Plaza Drive Houston, TX 77092
Central Stores 1220 McCarty Street Houston, TX 77029	Kashmere 5700 Eastex Freeway Houston, TX 77026	Polk Street 5700 Polk Street Houston, TX 77023
Fallbrook 111 Fallbrook Drive Houston, TX 77038	METROLift Contract Facility 2800 Polk Street Houston, TX 77003	West 11555 Westpark Drive Houston, TX 77082
Field Service Center 1215 Labco Houston, TX 77029

Houston TranStar

6922 Old Katy Road

METRO is an active partner in the operation of Houston TranStar, the region's state-of-the art traffic and emergency management center. Using Houston TranStar's collection of Intelligent Transportation System technologies, METRO is able to provide better service to the Authority's patrons. Progams operated from Houston TranStar include METRO bus and METRORail dispatch, traffic signalization systems, freeway management systems and incident management programs. METRO's partners in TranStar are the Texas Department of Transportation, the City of Houston and Harris County.

METRO Services

Bus
METRO has 1,211 buses. With an extensive network of bus routes and convenient Park & Ride facilities helping to ease rush hour commutes, the METRO Bus System keeps the Houston region moving. METRO is paving the way for a cleaner Houston with 34 transit diesel-hybrid buses currently in operation and plans to add 52 commuter buses, as well as 48 additional transit buses and 10 Signature Service buses which will be placed in service this year. Since 2003, METRO has been actively working to improve the air we breathe with stateof- the-art technology that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 50 percent and offers substantial savings in fuel. Hybrid technology is METRO’s current choice for vehicles and each year, as part of its fleet replacement plan, METRO will purchase 100 buses.

METRORail
The METRORail Red Line is a 7.5-mile light rail service running from the University of Houston-Downtown to south of Reliant Park along the streets of Main, Fannin and San Jacinto.

METRORail features 16 conveniently located Rail Stations, with a total of 18 vehicles, which provide access to many of the city's major employment, cultural/ entertainment, education and medical centers. Major METRORail destinations include Downtown, Midtown, the Museum District, Hermann Park/Houston Zoo, Texas Medical Center and Reliant Park.

METRORail hours of operation are 4:30 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 4:30 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. Saturday, and 5:30 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. Sunday. Parking is available at the Fannin South Park & Ride, adjacent to the Fannin South Rail Station, as well as various points along the rail line.

METROLift
METROLift provides pre-scheduled, curb-to-curb transportation for persons with disabilities who cannot ride fixed-route bus service. Call 713-225-0119 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to obtain eligibility materials. One-way tickets cost $1.15 and can be purchased at all METRO RideStores and METRO Stops.

Eligible riders should call 713-225-6716 one day in advance to schedule a ride. Trips are scheduled on a first-call, first-scheduled basis between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

HOV Lanes
A High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane is a barrier-protected lane - usually in the median of a freeway - that is open to buses, vanpools/ carpools and motorcycles. The lanes, which are accessed via freeway or facility ramps, are reversible to accommodate commuters during peak periods of traffic flow. Users must observe the occupancy requirements, rules of the road and hours of operation.

HOV lanes operate on the Southwest, Gulf, Katy, North, Eastex and Northwest freeways.

HOV lanes are open 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday for inbound traffic (5 a.m. to noon on the Katy HOV only), and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday for outbound traffic (1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the Katy HOV only). A minimum occupancy of two people is required on the HOV lane system. (a minimum of three occupants is required during morning and/or evening rush hours on the Katy and Northwest HOV lanes).

The Katy HOV is the only HOV lane open on weekends. Weekend hours of operation are outbound 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and inbound 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Since 2001, METRO also has been operating concurrent-flow Diamond HOV Lanes, which are identified by diamond-shape icons in a lane separated from main-lane traffic by double solid white lines. Diamond HOV Lanes in the METRO service area are located on the Katy Freeway between Texas highway 6 and Texas highway 99 (Grand Parkway) in Katy.

METRO's QuickRide program offers motorists the option of paying to use the Katy and Northwest HOV lanes with a minimum occupancy of two during morning and/or evening rush hours. For only $2 each way, QuickRide allows two-person vehicles to operate on the Northwest HOV during the morning rush hour (6:45a.m. to 8 a.m.) and the Katy HOV during morning and evening rush hours (5 p.m. to 6 p.m.).

QuickRide trips are recorded via an EZ Tag-style electronic transponder attached to the interior of the user's vehicle. For program costs, billing requirements and other details, call QuickRide at 713-224-RIDE or 888-606-RIDE (toll-free).

Park & Ride Lots
METRO has 28 Park & Ride lots with about 33,300 available parking spaces. Direct nonstop service to Downtown, the Texas Medical Center or other major employment centers in the METRO service area is available from all Park & Ride lots except Mission Bend and Missouri City, which provide Express and Local service. Park & Ride facilities also serve as staging areas for vanpools and carpools, including the Bay Area Park & Pool lot with 207* parking spaces.

Transit Centers
Transit centers are sheltered waiting areas located where several bus routes and/or METRORail converge. METRO's 19 transit centers serve as efficient "hubs" to allow bus and/or METRORail riders from various locations to assemble at a central point to take advantage of express trips or other route-to-route transfers. Our clean, safe and comfortable transit centers provide bus and/or METRORail patrons with a wider selection of destinations through greater transfer opportunities and offer their respective communities a permanent presence of transit service. Transit Centers feature a mixture of Park & Ride and Local bus service, as well as limited METRORail service. Limited parking - approximately 2,400 spaces - is available at select transit centers.Customer Services

Customer Information Center - Customer Information Specialists can provide METRO service information 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekends and holidays by calling METROLine at 713-635-4000. Bilingual CIC personnel are available to provide service information in Spanish.

Lost & Found - METRO's Lost & Found personnel work hard to help reunite customers and their valuables. Depending on the approximate value of the found item, METRO will hold it for 30 to 60 days (after which time, personal items are destroyed, while items in usable condition are donated to area charities). To assist METRO personnel in locating lost items, patrons are encouraged to record the route name/number, approximate time and bus/train I.D. number (if possible).

Lost & Found Office
1900 Main St. • 713-658-0854
7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. weekdays

METRO Web site (www.ridemetro.org) - METRO's Internet Web site offers information on schedules, fares, bus and rail services; many different maps of our system and Park & Ride and Transit Center locations; special events; detours; job opportunities; and public meetings. The METROLink feature delivers up-to-date schedule and service changes to registered users via e-mail.

Employer and Commuter Services

METRO provides a variety of information and services to area employers and employees, such as commuter tax benefit information, organizing vanpools/carpools, computerized ride matching, origin/destination mapping and on-site events.

RideSponsor - This program helps area companies and groups encourage employees and members to ride METRO as a way to relieve demand for parking and improve air quality. For information, call 713-652-4311.

RideShare - This free program provides RideShare matching services for commuters to form vanpools and carpools anywhere in the eight-county region. METRO's network of HOV lanes is used to bypass congestion and allow commuters to get to work or home faster. For information about RideShare, call 713-224-RIDE, or toll-free, 1-888-606-RIDE.

METROVan - If a group has at least seven people willing to leave behind their cars and ride together, the group is eligible for METROVan service and incentives of $35 per rider per month to help underwrite the cost of the vanpool. METROVan is ideal for those who live or work where METRO bus service is not available. Vanpooling helps save on daily travel expenses such as parking and the wear and tear on personal vehicles. Vanpools that begin or end anywhere in the eight-county region are eligible for the $35 per rider incentives per month. For more information, call 713-224-RIDE, or toll-free, 1-888-606-RIDE.

Guaranteed RideHome - Qualified METRO commuters can get home in the middle of a workday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, should they have an emergency and there is no midday bus service available on their route. METRO will arrange free immediate transportation, usually a taxi ride. Errands or other nonemergencies do not qualify. For more information or to register for this program, call 713-224-RIDE or visit METRO's Web site.

Regional Mobility Improvements

Motorist Assistance Program - METRO, the Harris County Sheriff's Department, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Houston Automobile Dealers Association and The Houston Cellular Telephone Company sponsor the Motorist Assistance Program (MAP) with trucks and vans, which are staffed by Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies. The white-colored MAP vehicles, which display the sponsors' logos, patrol about 150 miles of freeway around Houston. The MAP service operates from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays to relieve freeway congestion by assisting with disabled vehicles and traffic accidents. MAP vehicles are equipped with gasoline, water, hand tools, jumper cables and push bumpers. Call for a MAP van by dialing 713-CALL MAP to report a stalled vehicle or an accident. For Cingular Wireless customers, the call is free.

Street Construction - METRO plays a major role in construction projects throughout the Greater Houston region, allocating $ 100 million annually to the City of Houston, Harris County and the multi-cities.

Useful Numbers

Board Members	713-739-4842
Executive Office	713-739-4832
Community Outreach	713-739-4018
Hearing and Speech Impaired	713-635-6993
Customer Service	713-658-0180
METROLift Information	713-225-0119
METROLine	713-635-4000
RideShare	713-224-RIDE	1-888-606-RIDE
Lost & Found	713-658-0854
METRO Police	713-224-COPS
Media Information	713-739-4040

If you need more facts about METRO, direct your e-mail to rr02@ridemetro.org.

Learn more About METRO

METRO Board of Directors	Senior Management
METRO Police