Houston’s METRORapid Silver Line opens for service

Aug. 24, 2020
The five-mile, 10-stop BRT is the first of many planned to enhance transit options in Houston.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston Metro) held a virtual ribbon cutting Aug. 23 to mark the start of service on the METRORapid Silver Line. The Silver Line is a five-mile, 10-stop bus rapid transit (BRT) line that connects the Northwest Transit Center to Westpark/Lower Uptown Transit Center.  

The METRORapid Silver Line is the first of several METRORapid routes Houston Metro has planned to deliver through the voter-approved METRONext Moving Forward Plan, which calls for 75 miles of METRORapid service, including a direct connection from downtown Houston to George Bush Intercontinental Airport, as well as one along the Inner Katy Freeway Corridor.

The Silver Line’s construction, which began in 2016, was led by the Uptown Houston District in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation, city of Houston and the Houston-Galveston Area Council. The rapid transit service is part of a larger effort to enhance Post Oak Boulevard in Houston to equally serve “its local residents, commuters and consumers.”

METRORapid buses will provide service every 10 minutes and travel in dedicated, bus-only lanes. The line features traffic priority signals and the vehicles are 100 percent accessible with wider doorways and level boarding.

About the Author

Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director

Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.

Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.

She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.  

She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.

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