Houston Metro Board Honors Disabled Servicemembers with Free Service
March 24, 2016
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Metro) board members are moving forward to honor disabled veterans with a program which gives qualified disabled service members free access to MetroRail, all local buses and park & ride service. The pr
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Metro) board members are moving forward to honor disabled veterans with a program which gives qualified disabled service members free access to MetroRail, all local buses and park & ride service. The program is scheduled to begin April 11, 2016.
The board also voted "yes" to a resolution calling for the design, implementation, and evaluation of a pilot program that would allow qualified disabled veterans to use Metro's High Occupancy Vehicle/High Occupancy Toll Lanes (HOV/HOT) lanes at no cost if the program could be designed in a way which does not negatively impact the speed and reliability of carpool, van pool and bus service. The pilot program's start and end date is yet to be determined.
Board members were careful to instruct staff to continue researching the HOV/HOT toll issue. Among the chief considerations is a high level of accessibility and reliability in terms of speed which is not allowed to drop below the minimum average operating speed of 45-miles-per-hour.