Public transportation systems such as those in Waco and Temple could face cuts if a Texas Senate appropriations proposal is successful. The Senate Committee on Finance recommended transit funding for the two-year budget that would amount to a 23.3 percent reduction from what is now budgeted, said Michael Plaster, a spokesman for the Texas Transit Association.
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Capital Metro in Austin may provide the jump start needed to making commuter rail from Georgetown (to the north of Austin) to San Antonio a reality. The Austin leg under discussion would begin in Georgetown and make its way into downtown Austin and on to the regional airport.
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Local officials alongside train builder Siemens Transportation Systems celebrated the arrival of car no. 101. Seventeed more rail vehicles are en route to Houston. Metro will host open houses along the route later this year. The public will be able to tour the trains once construction of the 16 stations is done and testing begins.
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The Texas Senate voted House Bill 1, the General Appropriations Bill, out, and will no doubt move to a Conference Committee to work out differences. The Senate version of the budget for public transportation in small cities and rural areas of Texas, reduces the House version by more than 29%.
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Senate Bill 404 by Senator Frank Madla (San Antonio) has exited the Texas House Transportation Committee without changes. The bill, successfully sponsored in the House by freshman State Rep. Ken Mercer, amends current state law on Advanced Transportation Districts to also include local roadways alongside public transit as eligible local projects using local sales taxes. The bill goes to the House floor soon for action.
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House Bill 3381 by Rep. Tommy Merritt (Longview) has come out of the Texas House Transportation Committee. The bill, provides for a regional approach to high speed rail by the local creation of Border Region High Speed Rail Authorities composed of areas in which the rail route would run.
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