Rental scooters faced down eradication in Austin in 2020, with several companies leaving the market when use cratered as COVID-19 took hold locally. But today, the zippy two-wheelers appear to have found a modicum of stability in the Austin market.
Love ’em or hate ’em, the electric micromobility devices now appear to be here to stay. But getting to this point has not been easy for companies such as Lime and Bird, Austin s remaining stand-up scooter operators. Scooter rental companies with punchy names such as Skip, Spin, Scoot and Jump all tried to make Austin s sidewalks and streets a bedrock for their success. In total, 14 such companies have taken a shot at building their brand in Austin since 2018.
Drivers free ride about to end on stretch of U.S. 183 toll road
No more.
Starting Saturday, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority will activate the tolls on the nearly completed tollway.
The total cost for a typical two-axle vehicle is $2.30 for cruising on the southern stretch of the U.S. 183 tollway in East Austin if you have a TxTag, TollTag or EZ Tag. If you don t have one of those tags, it will cost $3.45 to pay by mail. The tolled flyovers connecting the U.S. 183 toll road and Texas 71 will charge drivers 59 cents a pop, but those aren t expected to open until February, the mobility authority said Wednesday.
The head of Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Mike Heiligenstein will leave the toll authority on Jan. 24, the authority announced Tuesday.
Heiligenstein has led the mobility authority since it was formed in 2003, stewarding the organization as it built tolled highways throughout the greater Austin area. Under his watch, the mobility authority has built more than $2 billion in infrastructure, including 230 lane miles of tolled and non-tolled roads, according to a news release from the authority.
Heiligenstein submitted his resignation in January 2020 with the intention to stay on through June to aid in transition. He extended his time in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which sent shockwaves through the authority s revenue streams as traffic on its toll roads, including 183-A and MoPac Boulevard s express toll lanes, cratered.
Improvements ahead for substandard Ross Road in Del Valle
In Del Valle, Ross Road has become somewhat notorious for its lack of capacity as the area has boomed in recent years.
For Del Valle residents and parents of students at several Del Valle schools, the good news is that some relief is on the way. The bad news is that they won t see much until at least 2023.
The bond package provides money for sidewalks, trails bike lanes and a new pedestrian bridge across Lady Bird Lake, and it also include funding for improvements several local roadways.
Ross Road is one of nine roads the city identified as substandard during research funded by 2016 s mobility bond. The road is about a 3.5-mile stretch that weaves in and out of Austin s city limits in a southeastern outskirts of the city south of Texas 71 and east of the Texas 130 toll road.