Northwest Austin Edition | May 2025

Transportation

BY BRITTANY ANDERSON

McKalla Station game day ridership soars one year after opening

North Austin Red Line

1 Broadmoor Station 2 Kramer Station 3 McKalla Station

inception and that it is a gateway opportunity into “developing better transit travel behavior,” Mukherjee said. “Someone who typically relies on a ride by a single occupancy vehicle, using very car-centric habits, they don’t really need to use transit,” Mukherjee said. “But on a game day, when the trac is really bad, this is a good way to travel. It’s socially a far better option [and] also a safe option.” Mukherjee said CapMetro ocials “learned all of its tough lessons” with McKalla during the rst 30 days, and that team members routinely volunteer on game days to help guide trac, assist riders and more. Ocials are also preparing to open new Red Line station Broadmoor Station next year.

CapMetro’s newest station, McKalla Station, marked its rst year of service in February. The station, which is situated along the Red Line, ocially opened to the public last year on Feb. 24 ahead of the 2024 Austin FC season at Q2 Stadium. Construction on McKalla began in 2022 as part of Project Connect to increase mobility and transit options in North Austin. The station was built with the primary function to service Austin FC, but also serves the neighborhoods around it including North Burnet, said Sharmila Mukherjee, executive vice president and chief strategic planning and development ocer at CapMetro. CapMetro ocials have seen an impact on travel patterns in the area since the station’s

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Opens in 2026

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Average daily Red Line ridership

McKalla Station has upwards of 830 riders on “event days” such as Austin FC games, Mukher- jee said, compared to just under 80 riders on a regular weekday. Average ridership on Saturdays is slightly higher at about 105 riders. “There are a lot of mixed use [and] residential that essentially opened after [Q2] was open,” Mukherjee said. “So, I think we’re starting to see a lot more traction in that area. ... You would probably see that pattern coming into ridership as well.”

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CapMetro’s latest station under construction is Broadmoor Station, which is expected to open along the Red Line sometime in 2026. McKalla and Broadmoor will cater to “slightly dierent markets,” Mukherjee said, with Broadmoor slated to serve the Uptown ATX community as well as provide a more direct connection to The Domain. CapMetro plans to bring lessons learned from McKalla Station to Broadmoor Station, Mukherjee said.

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2022*

2023

2024

2025**

*2022 ONLY INCLUDES APRILDECEMBER RIDERSHIP. **2025 ONLY INCLUDES JANUARY RIDERSHIP, PER THE LATEST AVAILABLE DATA.

SOURCE: CAPITAL METROCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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