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 spending plan , unveiled on the agency’s website Thursday, includes a $973 million operating budget and $598 million in capital expenses.
That represents a 6.3 percent increase in the operating budget and 42.2 percent increase in capital spending.
The proposal calls for $7.2 million for 175 new security positions and increasing hiring incentives for the Metro Police Department, along with $10.3 million focused on more reliable service. According to Metro, those reliability investments will increase bus service by up to 3 percent.
Those investments include $1.9 million on microtransit services and funding to launch an additional curb-to-curb service route.
The proposed budget also will “de-scope” some projects, including the Inner Katy bus rapid transit line. The project will now be a high occupancy vehicle lane from the Northwest Transit Center to downtown, and comes after the agency opted to pause its planned University bus rapid transit line , citing cost and changing ridership. Both projects were part of the voter-approved MetroNext plan.
Bus rapid transit is designed for higher capacity ridership than normal bus routes, and often utilizes dedicated lines. The idea is to provide the flexibility of buses with the reliability of trains.
High occupancy vehicle or HOV lanes require two or more occupants and can be separated from other lanes by barriers or painted markings.
The University and Inner Katy BRT lines were key features of the MetroNext plan, which the agency’s previous leadership had said would drastically change public transit in Houston. Voters in 2019 approved $3.5 billion in bonds for the initiative. None of those bonds have been sold.
A third BRT initiative, the Gulfton corridor project, is expected to be reimagined as part of a broader revitalization effort in collaboration with the city and Harris County Precinct 4.
The agency’s move away from bus rapid transit sparked an outcry from transit advocates concerned that Metro was backtracking from its previous promises.
The Inner Katy corridor change to HOV puts the project into a redundant position with the Texas Department of Transportation’s plan for managed lanes on Interstate 10. The ambiguity led transit advocate Michael Moritz to question whether Metro simply would run its buses on those lanes.
“I’m looking forward to Metro being more clear about what that means going forward,” said Moritz, pointing out that the agency’s proposed budget includes plans to build the foundations for BRT stops without building out BRT.
Moritz said the HOV lane is a positive outcome for transit riders, though less effective than a BRT line would have been. Still, he was cautious considering Metro’s recent actions around BRT.
“We have to be mindful of the fact that Metro may use this as a way to never build those stops,” Moritz said. “But I’m optimistic that, eventually, they would get built.”
The budget draft reflects Metro’s new direction under board chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock, aimed at boosting the “customer experience.”
In other words, forget MetroNext. Welcome to MetroNow.
Unlike MetroNext, however, MetroNow is not a set of projects and initiatives so much as a collection of focus areas.
“MetroNow is what we consider any initiatives that focus on our customer experience,” said Jimmy Park, director of Metro’s Office of Management and Budget, during a recent budget workshop. He pointed out five specific areas where Metro’s investment would be increased across both operating and capital budgets: service and reliability, security, cleanliness, workforce support and facilities support.
Overall, costs for MetroNow initiatives represent $33.6 million in the operating budget.
The capital budget is set to increase by $177.5 million, largely driven by the purchase of new vehicles to help with the service and reliability goals of MetroNow. Those investments would be partially offset by a $31.6 million reduction in MetroNext initiatives.
All in all, MetroNow investment accounts for $173.8 million in the capital budget. The vast majority of that money is focused on service and reliability, such as collaborating with the City of Houston on road repairs, supporting upgrades for bus operating facilities, and accelerating the agency’s universal accessibility program
Metro officials highlighted major investments from the capital budget, including the purchase and delivery of 234 new buses, the Missouri City Park & Ride, and a new fare system that is set to roll out in the summer of 2025.
A public hearing is scheduled for 12 p.m. on September 12 in the Metro board room at 1900 Main Street, where residents can provide comments on the budget.
Comments also can be provided via email to Budget.Book@RideMetro.org or by calling Metro customer service at 713-635-4000. For more details on providing comments during or before the public hearing and to learn more about the budget, visit Metro’s website .
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