After pushback from advocates for people experiencing homelessness, Capital Metro is now giving free rides to cooling centers through Sept. 30.
Capital Metro is now giving free rides to cooling centers to anyone experiencing homelessness through Sept. 30.from advocates who argued the transit authority’s policy was inconsistent amid record-breaking heat.
Paulette Soltani, director of organizing for the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, has been advocating for free fares for all riders during the heat wave. She said the jumbled messaging led to confusion among homeless Austinites looking to cool off as temperatures hovered in the triple digits over the last few weeks.
Gardner Tabon, executive vice president and chief safety officer for CapMetro, said he met with advocates and Austinites experiencing homelessness ahead of the decision this week. Soltani welcomed the decision, but said some folks might not trust rides will be free because of the confusion surrounding the policy.I had printed out a letter that CapMetro sent … to us announcing this, and people said they were going to fold that up and carry it in their wallets because that way they could show bus drivers if they were being challenged about the rule," she said.
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