Cap Metro in Austin runs a network of bus routes, as well as the MetroRail between Downtown Station and Leander. We will be riding that rail line during our time in the Austin area. Austin's fare structure has two tiers, Local and Commuter. The former only applies to local bus trips, while Commuter is for the MetroRail and longer (express) bus trips. Commuter fares are also accepted on Local bus trips.

The base Commuter fare for a one-way trip on MetroRail, no matter what distance, is $3.50 . There is a Day Pass available for twice that amount, or $7.00 , which would cover the round trip. If you need to use the local buses for any other trips during your stay in Austin, the same Day Pass can be used. The Day Pass is valid for 24 hours from the time it is activated (not for a calendar day as in many places), so if you need to use a local bus to get to the Austin Amtrak station the next morning, it should still be valid provided it is within 24 hours from when you first used it.

Children ages 5 and under travel for free.

Reduced fares are available for Seniors ages 65 and over, Medicare card holders, students ages 6-18, and active duty military personnel. However, they can only used in conjunction with a Reduced Fare ID Card, which costs $3 for a two year period. You can download an application here.

There is an smartphone app available on which you can load a variety of the above tickets. Information on how to download the app and the tickets that you can load onto it is here.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18th
Carrier	Route	Activity	Planned Time	Adult fare	Reduced fare	Day Pass
	Red Line	Leave Downtown	3:44 PM	$3.50	$1.75	$7.00
		Arrive Leander	4:38 PM
	Red Line	Leave Leander	4:43 PM	$3.50	$1.75
		Arrive Downtown	5:52 PM
Reduced fare ID card fee					$3.00
END OF WEDNESDAY ACTIVITIES				TOTAL: $7.00	TOTAL: $6.50	TOTAL: $7.00