Beginning May 13 CARTS will add a new bus route, Route 12, to the bus routes operating in San Marcos. This new route will provide service for the communities of Martindale and Redwood connecting them to the bus system in San Marcos. Passengers can transfer to any of the San Marcos Fixed Routes to complete their trip to destinations such as the Outlet Malls, Texas State University, Wal-Mart, HEB, etc.

For more information about this new route or any of the CARTS services in Hays County call 512-805-7433.

As reported last spring, San Marcos, along with the city of Martindale in Caldwell County and the community of Redwood in Guadalupe County were declared an urbanized area  (UZA) by the U.S. Census Department.

As the principal city of the new UZA, the City of San Marcos initiated Transportation Conference proceedings wherein the affected local governments, including elected officials from the cities of Martindale and San Marcos, and the counties of Caldwell, Hays and Guadalupe, convened in three public meetings to determine the best structure for delivering transit services under the new designation.  In the three meetings, of which two were public hearings, the local officials and members of the public discussed and made comment about transit needs and options for the best governance and structure for the new District to be created to deliver transit services.  On July 16, 2012 by unanimous vote the Conferees resolved to request that the City of San Marcos request that CARTS form a Rural/Urban Transit District to serve the UZA seamlessly with the rest of the CARTS District.

On August 21, 2012 the San Marcos City Council with Resolution No. 2012-99R resolved “(to support) Capital Area Rural Transportation System’s creation of a combined Urban-Rural Transit District…(and) confirming the City’s participation in the new combined urban-rural transit district for fiscal years 2012-2015….”

The census designation became effective with the 2013 federal fiscal year, which began October 1, 2012, leaving the City and CARTS little time to make the transition.

Fortunately, planners at the TxDOT Public Transportation Division thought ahead, and CARTS applied for and was granted Census Impact funding from the Texas Department of Transportation that would finance “rural” services until February 28, 2013.  This will enable the City and CARTS to develop the necessary Interlocal Agreement to underpin our ongoing relationship, and to make a more deliberate transition to our new partnership and the increased federal responsibilities in the UZA.

A member of the San Marcos City Council will join the CARTS Board in March to represent the UZA, expanding the CARTS Board of Directors to ten.

First on the agenda for the new district will be extending connector service to Redwood and Martindale to integrate those communities into the existing fixed route system CARTS operates in San Marcos. Also CARTS will issue an RFP for a comprehensive transit plan for the new UZA, a project to be jointly managed by the City and CARTS to lay the groundwork for the development of a comprehensive transit system that integrates all mobility assets and modes seamlessly.

The extensive work conducted by the City of San Marcos and the affected public officials in a short time, and the deliberation and official action required to accomplish all this was daunting, but admirably they got it done.  Our hat is off to them.  We predict a bright future for transit in San Marcos and its newly urbanized environs.

After extensive renovations to its Round Rock Station, originally built in 1995, CARTS opened its new Medical Transportation Center on December 3, 2012. The renovations included the construction of a new call center and the integration of state of the art communications infrastructure into the facility, and the re-structuring of its digital linkage to its vehicles to integrate tablets in its sedan and minivan fleet providing medical transport, all of which will improve responsiveness and reliability for this important service.

This center will manage the extensive medical transportation component of CARTS services dedicating call center staff, drivers, and scheduling and management personnel in one location to better focus assets to this emerging service demand.

Initially the center will manage Medical Transportation Program responsibilities CARTS handles as the Transportation Service Provider in Austin and the ten-county region surrounding the metropolitan area for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.  Under its contract with the HHSC CARTS provides non-emergency medical transportation for Medicaid clients.

As the management and access to healthcare services becomes more de-centralized with managed care, including local health districts and regional partnership districts dispensing services, the CARTS medical transportation center will be an easy source of the needed transportation for these entities to ensure people have access to health services.

A premium medical service will be extended to all who may need it as the new center develops and consolidates this function.

CARTS operates a mixed fleet of 50 vehicles providing this personalized service throughout its District.

The Round Rock Station retained terminal facilities and will remain a bus station for Greyhound and the CARTS regional intercity service, Interurban Coach.