Urban Subway by Kevin S.
A large group of
people was waiting at the downtown station located near the Austin Convention Center. Around 10 people were in a line at the TVMs (Ticket Vending Machine) and 7 minutes later customers were in front of the machine buying tickets. From the Downtown station, to the Howard station, the total was $6 and it took around 40 minutes. Customers entered one slightly wrinkled dollar into the machine. A red light appeared next to the slot and the dollar came back out. A commotion began at the boarding platform; the train was getting closer. A green light appeared next to the slot for some customers. A red light appeared near a slot on the TVM when some customers inserted a wrinkled dol-
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Image provided by Capital Metro
lar. After customers got their tickets they crowded around the waiting platform and waited for the train to arrive. Once the train arrived the crowd of passengers swiftly boarded and the train took off minutes later. The Metro Rail has a huge impact on transportation around Austin. People in Austin can completely avoid the traffic on I-35, something that passengers on Capital Metro’s buses usually can’t avoid. People can also avoid traffic on Mopac, 183, and in downtown. “I think that it [the rail] is a huge impact to this community,” says Mark
Clendennen, Technology Project Manager of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “It is the beginning of passenger rail to Central Texas” Mark says. Many people seemed to be riding the train out of curiosity and for fun. Kids on the train had small cardboard models of the train. There was a laid-back atmosphere on the train. When passengers were allowed to board the train, a lady with a dark flower shirt dropped her ticket in between the train and tracks. She got down on all fours right in front of the train’s doors, causing difficulty to board the