How to ride public transportation in Austin

Austin’s public transportation runs on one agency — CapMetro — with buses, a handful of rapid bus lines, and a commuter train that reaches up to the northern suburbs. There’s no light rail yet (it’s under construction), so buses do most of the work, and one fare system covers all of it.

The basics

CapMetro’s network breaks into a few pieces:

• Local buses — dozens of routes covering the city, running roughly every 15–30 minutes on the main lines.
• MetroRapid — a handful of higher-frequency, limited-stop bus routes (the 800s), including the original North Lamar/South Congress corridor and newer lines added in 2025.
• MetroRail Red Line — a single commuter-rail line (Route 550) running 10 stations between downtown and Leander, useful for reaching Highland, the Domain area (via connecting shuttle), and the northern suburbs.
• Pickup — CapMetro’s on-demand shared shuttle, useful in outer neighborhoods that don’t have a fixed bus route (Manor, Lago Vista, Leander, and others).
• Access — ADA paratransit for riders who can’t use fixed-route service.

Austin voters approved a light-rail system (Project Connect), and construction is underway, but as of 2026 it isn’t running — don’t plan a trip around it yet.

How to pay

There’s no single tap card the way some cities have — instead, pick one of these:

1. Tap a contactless bank card or phone (Apple Pay / Google Pay) on the reader — bus only, not rail. It charges the standard $1.25 fare and caps your spending at $2.50 per service day, but only if you keep using the exact same card or device every time.
2. Use the Umo app — CapMetro’s official app. It works on both bus and rail, sells every fare type, and is the only way to get monthly fare capping (tap-to-pay only caps daily).
3. Get a reloadable fare card at the Transit Store, select HEB stores, or online at umopass.com — works on bus and rail with the same capping as the app.
4. Pay cash — exact change at the farebox on the bus, or at a ticket vending machine (Republic Square, the East Side Bus Plaza, and rail stations).

On MetroRail, there’s no tap reader onboard yet — show the conductor the QR code from your Umo app (or your paper/vending-machine ticket) when they come through the train.

Fares

Qualifying low-income riders can also apply for Equifare, a discounted tier below the standard reduced fare.

Heads up — there’s no included transfer window. Unlike systems where one fare covers a couple of hours of travel, a CapMetro single-ride fare only covers one boarding. Get on a second bus or train and you’ll be charged again — unless you’ve already hit that day’s (or month’s) fare cap on the same card, app, or phone. The fix is simple: always tap the same payment method, and the system stops charging you once you’ve reached the cap.

Getting from the airport

Route 20 (Manor Road/Riverside) is the bus that connects Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to downtown and the University of Texas campus.

• Where to catch it: the lower level, just outside baggage claim — look for the neon guitar-shaped bus shelter.
• Cost: $1.25, the same as any other local ride.
• Time: about 35 minutes to downtown.
• How often: every 15–30 minutes, seven days a week.
• After midnight: Route 483 (Night Owl Riverside) starts at the airport and continues service until about 4am.

Apps to download

• Umo — the official app for buying and managing every fare type, with a virtual fare card and full capping.
• Transit — a local favorite for real-time arrivals and clear trip planning.
• Pickup — CapMetro’s own app for booking an on-demand shared shuttle in zones without fixed bus routes.
• Google Maps — solid for trip planning, with live CapMetro data built in.

When it runs

Local and MetroRapid buses generally run from 4am to just before midnight, with MetroRapid coming every 10–30 minutes and local routes every 15–30 minutes (exceptions apply by route).

Late night: five Night Owl routes run from downtown out to popular neighborhoods every night, midnight to 3am (Route 483 to the airport runs until 4am), every 20–30 minutes.

MetroRail Red Line has more limited hours and no Sunday service:

Trains run every 15–30 minutes when the line is operating.

Accessibility

Every CapMetro bus kneels and has a ramp or lift, with two securement areas for wheelchairs and mobility devices. Rail stations have ramp access throughout, and priority seating near the doors is reserved for older adults and riders with disabilities on both buses and trains. Stops are announced in English and Spanish. CapMetro offers free travel training to practice boarding and securing a wheelchair, and runs CapMetro Access, ADA paratransit for riders within ¾ mile of a fixed route who can’t use regular buses or trains.

Etiquette & local quirks

• UT Austin students, faculty, and staff ride free on most CapMetro services with a valid UT ID — swipe it on the bus, show it on rail. Students at Austin Community College, Huston-Tillotson, and St. Edward’s get discounted fares through their own institutional programs.
• Tap the same card every time. Since single fares don’t include a transfer window, switching between a bank card one day and your phone the next means you never build toward the cap — pick one and stick with it.
• No light rail yet. If you hear Austinites talk about “the train,” they usually mean the Red Line to Leander, not a future light-rail line still under construction.
• Pickup is worth knowing about if you’re staying somewhere without a nearby bus route — it’s a shared, app-summoned shuttle within a defined zone, for the same $1.25 fare as a bus.

Good to know

• MetroRail skips Sundays entirely — don’t count on it for a Sunday trip to the northern suburbs.
• Tap-to-pay is bus-only. If your plan includes MetroRail, get the Umo app or a fare card before you need it — you can’t tap a bank card at the train.
• American Express isn’t accepted for tap-to-pay on buses.