I Feel For These Guys

Photo Credit: capmetro.org

As I mentioned yesterday, the City of Austin is closing a good portion of downtown for the Lance Armstrong parade today. When I rode the bus home yesterday, nothing seemed too distrupted.

Today, however, I really feel for Cap Metro drivers. As I was riding the bus from Oltorf to campus, the first sign of change was all the radio chatter. Usually, Cap Metro radios are usually pretty quiet. Today was non-stop. Detours here and there. A road closed early so drivers listen up. We pull up to 2nd at Congress where a supervisor steps on to make sure the driver caught all of the detours.

First, all routes will detour off of Congress at or before 6th street. Secondly, the Capitol Station at 11th and Congress that was supposed to be open until late tonight was already closed because 11th Street was closed. All routes highlighted in red were detoured. The Route 1 went right on 5th, left on Brazos and left again onto 6th so the big 6th and Congress on-street transfer point could remain open. People at 6th and Brazos, who thought the stop was tranferred there, ran after the bus. The driver stopped midblock on 6th to pick them up. At Congress, a few more people ran across the street to the new stop. Between Congress and Colorado, a lady is trying to figure out where the southbound Route 1 will be coming from. Cap Metro put out signs in advance for many of the detours, but if the radio chatter meant anything, it sounds like things were changing as much as they were staying the same.

Tonight should be pretty interesting for Cap Metro as well. All routes in both red and green will be closed tonight. That might actually be easier- everything shifts to South 1st, Guadalupe and Lavaca. Crosstown routes that are supposed to cross Congress- well, I’m glad I don’t have to figure out where those detour to- 15th maybe?

Anyhow, it was an interesting ride this morning and I really feel for the drivers and the people who depend on the buses for transporation. What a headache!