About Project Connect
About
Project Connect will expand and improve our public transportation network for the entire Central Texas region, including a new light rail and an accessible bus system to better connect neighborhoods in and outside our great city. Project Connect is designed to improve access to essential jobs, health care and education–making our communities more livable, equitable and sustainable.
CapMetro and the City of Austin have formed the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP), an independent organization that will guide the Project Connect investment with transparency and accountability throughout the program. Find out more about the partners involved with Project Connect.
Learn more about the new projects —approved by Austin voters—that transform our community.
System Plan Map
The Project Connect Original System Map Initial Investment (August 2021) includes a zero-emissions fleet, a new light rail system and an expanded bus system with more routes. Learn more about the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) – an independent organization that will guide Project Connect with transparency and accountability every step of the way.
Program Sequence
How will Project Connect be Funded?
With the approval of Proposition A in November 2020, 8.75 cents of the City’s property tax rate revenue will be dedicated to the Austin Transit Partnership to fund implementation of Project Connect. Now approved by voters, the Project Connect portion of the City’s property tax rate will become part of the City’s property tax rate each year.
The total tax ratechange from $2.16 per $100 valuation to $2.25 per $100 valuation. The tax bill impact is based on taxable home value. Taxable home value is the appraised value of a home after property tax exemptions have been applied, such as the homestead exemption or the senior exemption.
This graphic shows the Proposition A tax rate impact, based on approved rates for Austin ISD ($1.1084), City of Austin ($0.466), Travis County ($0.374359), Travis County Healthcare District ($0.110306), and Austin Community College ($0.1058).
View a property’s taxable value:
- For properties in Travis County, see the Travis Central Appraisal District website.
- For properties in Williamson County, see the Williamson Central Appraisal District website.
- For properties in Hays County, see the Hays County Central Appraisal District website.
Strengthening Neighborhoods Along the New Transit Lines
Project Connect includes $300 Million for anti-displacement investments, the largest of its kind in a transit-related election. CapMetro and the ATP are working closely with the City of Austin to create an Equity Tool for Project Connect to direct the use of the funding to programs and projects that will strengthen neighborhoods and will focus to help benefit people most at risk and prevent displacement of those living close to transit lines. The program will invest heavily in affordable housing and strengthen existing neighborhoods along the networks transit lines.
