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 METRORapid Silver Line features dedicated bus-only lanes.

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 | Editor in Chief

Mischa Wanek-Libman serves as editor in chief of Mass Transit magazine. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the magazine’s editorial direction and is based in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Wanek-Libman has spent more than 20 years covering transportation issues including construction projects and engineering challenges for various commuter railroads and transit agencies. 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 serves as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.

She is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a major in magazine journalism and a minor in business management.