Tag Archives: light rail

The Evolve audit

Posted on February 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Some interesting stuff here. Frequent cancellations or missed rides. Long wait times. Limited days and hours of operation. These were among the concerns raised in an internal review of a microtransit pilot program overseen by Metro and formerly operated by … Continue reading →

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Metro reverses course on Evolve for microtransit

Posted on December 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Insert record scratch sound here. Metro officials dropped plans to spend an additional $4.1 million on a microtransit pilot program overseen by Evolve Houston, a nonprofit organization previously led by Metro Chairperson Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock. The move was a sharp … Continue reading →

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Finally some numbers on Evolv microtransit

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate that we got even this much, but there are still many questions about this service. After more than one year and $1 million of Metro funding, the shuttles – operated via Evolve Houston – have delivered fewer than 100,000 trips. … Continue reading →

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Metro restores signal priority to the Main Street line

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Thank prime. But what took them so long? Metro officials restored signal priority Wednesday to the Red Line light rail in downtown Houston following weeks of pushback from riders who complained about the sluggish pace of the route. “These adjustments … Continue reading →

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The secret plan to slow down the Main Street Line

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t believe we have to deal with this shit. Newly obtained emails show that Houston’s decision to remove signal priority for downtown MetroRail trains may have been fueled by politics, and that city officials made the change despite internal concerns about … Continue reading →

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The city screws with the Main Street light rail line

Posted on September 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

All done in silence, no notice and no transparency. Light rail passengers are facing longer delays while taking Metro’s Red Line route through downtown after the city adjusted the timing of traffic lights. Local officials have not responded to questions … Continue reading →

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Still more microtransit

Posted on July 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Now in the Near Northside. METRO’s free, on-demand electric shuttle service has expanded to Houston’s Near Northside neighborhood, with service there launching Monday. The “Community Connector” initiative launched as a pilot program in the Third Ward in 2023. It has … Continue reading →

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The death of bad bills is always worth celebrating

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good, good, good. A handful of bills that would have stopped local governments from enacting their transportation priorities and hamstrung local transit efforts are likely dead. The measures failed to pass before key deadlines as the legislative session draws to … Continue reading →

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Twenty years later, we’re still studying rail into Fort Bend

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Everything old is new again. More than 120,000 people work at the Texas Medical Center – many of whom commute from Sugar Land and the surrounding areas in Fort Bend County. The Houston-Galveston Area Council is studying ways to help … Continue reading →

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One more thing about microtransit in the Heights

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is from the latest edition of the Woodland Heights Civic Association newsletter, which I got in my inbox late on Friday. METRO recently announced a new micro-transit service (in partnership with the City of Houston and Evolve Houston) to provide an … Continue reading →

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What is this microtransit for, anyway?

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Since I first blogged about the arrival of those Evolve Houston microtransit shuttles in the Heights a week or so ago, I have seen one of those shuttles three times. The first time it was in motion and presumably in … Continue reading →

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MetroNow

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Temu version of MetroNext. The Metropolitan Transit Authority unveiled new details Monday on its MetroNow initiative, the seeming replacement for the voter-approved MetroNext plan. MetroNow first was announced as part of budget discussions for fiscal 2025 when the … Continue reading →

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Maybe the Inner Katy Line is only mostly dead

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

That’s one takeaway from this. Houston transit officials are approaching the next few months as a transitional period, as they assess basic improvements, the demands of travel and the expectations of riders eager for better service. “We are going to … Continue reading →

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Metro to kill Inner Katy line

Posted on August 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is such bullshit. The Metropolitan Transit Authority will further reduce its previously planned bus rapid transit efforts while boosting police presence on its routes and increasing its investment in so-called microtransit under its proposed fiscal 2025 budget. The draft … Continue reading →

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A free word of advice for Fort Bend County

Posted on August 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Start building out a real mass transit network, like, now. In just one year, Fort Bend County gained 27,000 residents – cementing its position as one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, according to the most recent U.S. … Continue reading →

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One more time for keeping the Universities line going

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Raj Mankad is a Chron editorial board member and a neighbor of mine, who once took public transit from Houston to Galveston to prove it could be done. He has now taken to the op-ed pages in favor of not … Continue reading →

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LINK Houston advocates for the Universities line

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From Sunday’s op-ed section, three leaders of LINK Houston advocate for the Universities BRT line as promised in the 2019 Metro referendum. This is the part that is most of interest to me: There’s a lot on the line. If … Continue reading →

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Ellis requests full Metro board vote on halting Universities BRT

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s at least put it on the record. Concerned the University Corridor rapid transit line project could be delayed for years, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis on Friday called on Metro to move forward with the voter-approved project and hold … Continue reading →

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Metro officially puts Universities BRT line in the freezer

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Goddammit. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County will not pursue the University Corridor bus rapid transit line, a core element of the MetroNext program, delaying the project indefinitely. During a Tuesday meeting of the board of directors’ Strategic Planning … Continue reading →

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Metro Chair seeks to nullify 2019 election

Posted on June 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m so mad about this I’m having a hard time seeing straight. Metro is beginning to steer in a different direction under Mayor John Whitmire and his appointed chair of the transit agency, pulling away from a planned expansion of … Continue reading →

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Yeah, it looks like we do have to worry about Metro going backwards

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Transportation advocacy group LINK Houston, in its annual “Equity in Transit” report released this week, asked the region’s public transit provider to accelerate a $7.5 billion plan that was backed by Harris … Continue reading →

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On increasing ridership at Metro

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m open to hearing more. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is under new leadership, but the goal of increasing ridership remains the same. While the number of riders steadily has increased across the system since the peak of … Continue reading →

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B-Cycle hits the brakes

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. Hopes for a much-needed infusion of cash from a new partnership with Metro have yet to be fulfilled, leading Houston Bike Share to warn users that prices will increase and the number of available stations will shrink, starting May 1. The nonprofit … Continue reading →

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Rep. Jackson Lee makes her Mayoral candidacy official

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here she comes. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee kicked off her campaign for mayor Friday night with a rally on the rooftop of Post Houston, promising to “unlock City Hall” for all residents and embrace their diversity while outlining a municipal agenda to tackle … Continue reading →

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Metro gets some BRT money

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Thank you, FTA, may we please have some more? Houston’s biggest bus rapid transit line, the planned University Corridor, is still on the drawing board, but already is drawing in federal funds. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in a Thursday announcement, said … Continue reading →

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More on the state of B-Cycle

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I think they will come out of this in better shape, but change is always hard. In a sense, Maya Ford is just trying to get Houston Bike Share back in gear in the hope that it has a long … Continue reading →

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Metro approves initial takeover of B-Cycle

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m optimistic about this. The Metro board approved a six-to-nine month transition period where operations now overseen by the nonprofit Houston Bike Share will move into the transit agency. Officials said rolling the bike borrowing system into the transit made … Continue reading →

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Will Metro take over B-Cycle?

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I like the idea and hope Metro can really run with it. The Houston area’s biggest bus operator is considering getting in the bike business, infusing up to $500,000 into the city’s network of docked two-wheelers. Under the proposal, scheduled for a vote … Continue reading →

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The next street safety project my neighborhood will be fighting about

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

My wife came back from this month’s civic association meeting and handed me a flyer for this, along with more or less the exact words I’ve used in the title of this post. North Main Street runs north from I-10 … Continue reading →

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More on the 11th Street project

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron editorial board mostly approves of the city’s plans for 11th Street in the Heights. Ever since Mayor Sylvester Turner unveiled his Vision Zero Action Plan — an ambitious program to end traffic fatalities by 2030 — the city … Continue reading →

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Here comes that Universities BRT map

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Show me the route! The largest and most-sought segment of Metro’s planned bus rapid transit expansion in Houston is poised next week to officially move from being just lines on a map to the starting line — even if construction … Continue reading →

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Get ready for your first Universities Line BRT map

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Feel the excitement! No, seriously, we’ve waited a long time for this. The largest and most-sought segment of Metro’s planned bus rapid transit expansion in Houston is poised next week to officially move from being just lines on a map … Continue reading →

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The I-45 effect on Metro

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

There will be a lot of disruption to mass transit as a result of the I-45 project. Metro’s board on Thursday approved hiring design and engineering firm STV Incorporated for services related to the controversial Interstate 45 project. Though the … Continue reading →

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The infrastructure bill and the Hobby Airport light rail extension

Posted on April 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

More good thing we could get from the eventual Infrastructure Bill. Houston was made and marketed by the slogan “where 17 railroads meet the sea.” Local elected officials now think its short-term future, and the local success of a proposed … Continue reading →

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