METRONext

A Voter-Approved Plan for Traffic

500 Miles of Travel Improvements

Our region's population is expected to grow to more than 10 million people by 2040. As our community grows, so will traffic. The METRONext Moving Forward Plan is designed to help ease traffic congestion by taking more cars off the road, and give you more ways to move around our region. The plan creates new service and travel options by expanding several types of transportation and making investments in service and accessibility around our region - with no tax increase.

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Project Updates

We're working, building and delivering on our promise to give you more ways to move around our region.
METRONext is Moving Forward with investments in service and accessibility.

82 Westheimer METRO local bus part of the BOOST program.

82 Westheimer BOOST

Design is in progress along a 19-mile route between Congress Street in downtown Houston and the West Oaks Mall on Highway 6.

See Progress

Construction workers digging up a sidewalk along the 56 Airline / Montrose route.

56 Airline / Montrose BOOST

Construction is in progress along the 20-mile stretch of the route between Greenspoint Transit Center and the Texas Medical Center.

See Progress

7.5B

Including $3.5B in bonding authority to fund the plan, plus federal grants and local funds

2,500+

Bus stops that have had accessibility improvements as part of the METRO Universal Accessibility initiative (started in 2017 and accelerated after passage of METRONext)

110 Miles

of Regional Express Network, including two-way HOV Lanes

new or improved Park & Ride lots and Transit Centers

16 Miles

of light rail with a METRORail extension to Hobby Airport

75 Miles

of new METRORapid bus service that operates like light rail, including an extension to Bush Intercontinental Airport

290 Miles

of BOOST and Signature bus service, plus accessibility and usability improvements for the disabled and seniors

Proposed Investments

Below are more detailed descriptions for each of the plan's five areas of investment.
You can click through to view more information about any of their current and/or completed projects.

METRORail

The expansion of the METRORail Light Rail Transit (LRT) system is designed to serve more people and places. The Red Line will extend northwest to a new multimodal center at the North Shepherd Park & Ride with connections to METRORapid, Regional Express Network, and local bus routes. The Green and Purple lines, combined, will extend to Hobby Airport in the southeast, while to the west of Downtown the lines will be extended to the City of Houston Municipal Courthouse.

Construction worker helping to pour concrete on a sidewalk along the 56 Airline / Montrose route.

BOOST and Signature

Improvements to 17 high-ridership routes and the addition of Signature bus service using a new two-way HOV facility.

Learn More

Digital sign affixed to top of bus stop information pole showing real-time arrival information for next bus along 56 Airline / Montrose route.

System Enhancements

Bus stop enhancements include new shelters, accessibility upgrades and enhanced passenger information.

Learn More

METRO Park & Ride commuter express bus in HOV lane on U.S. Highway 59 South with gridlock traffic on both sides of the highway.

Regional Express

It will use two-way HOV lanes providing direct access to existing and new transit centers, and Park & Ride lots.

METRO representative showing something to a community member on a METRO transportation map at a METRONext community meeting

Looking for More? Browse Our Archives

A historical record of:

Photos from community meetings
Videos promoting the Moving Forward Plan
METRO Board Workshop presentations and more

Check it Out

METRONext Moving Forward Plan map showing METRORail and METRORapid lines as of 2021.

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Two of the proposed areas of investment for the plan are:

METRORail – light rail service
METRORapid – bus rapid transit service

Currently:

We have three METRORail lines in and around downtown Houston (represented by the red, green and purple colors on the map).

We have one METRORapid line in uptown Houston (represented by the gold color on the map).

METRONext Moving Forward Plan map showing METRORail lines as of 2021 and proposed new lines that are part of the plan.

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Proposed METRORail projects include:

Connecting the Green Line and Purple Line and extending the combined lines to Hobby Airport
Extensions of Green and Purple Lines to the City of Houston Municipal Courthouse
Extension of Red Line to North Shepherd

These projects are represented by the solid blue lines on the map. These lines are not intended to reflect final routes along a given street. The actual routes will be determined only after extensive community involvement and alternatives analysis.

The broken blue line represents a future METRORail potential partnership.

The dotted pink line represents the proposed high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas.

METRONext Moving Forward Plan map showing METRORail and METRORapid lines as of 2021 and proposed new METRORapid lines that are part of the plan.

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Proposed METRORapid projects include:

Interstate 45 North to Bush Intercontinental Airport and Greenspoint
Inner Katy Corridor to Northwest Transit Center / Proposed High Speed Rail / Uptown
University Corridor between Westchase and Tidwell
Uptown Corridor extension to Gulfton
West Houston Corridor between West Little York Park & Ride and Missouri City

These projects are represented by the solid pink lines on the map. These lines are not intended to reflect final routes along a given street. The actual routes will be determined only after extensive community involvement and alternatives analysis.

METRONext Moving Forward Plan map showing METRORail and METRORapid lines as of 2021 and proposed new Regional Express Networks that are part of the plan.

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The Regional Express Network is designed to provide transit trips between job centers and other major destinations throughout the day, seven days a week.

Proposed Regional Express projects include:

U.S. Highway 90A Two-Way HOV
I-10 West Two-Way HOV
I-45 North Two-Way HOV
U.S. Highway 59 / Interstate 69 South Two-Way HOV Downtown to Edloe
Highway 249 Two-Way Diamond Lanes / HOV
Four Off-Peak Direction Diamond Lane Corridors

These projects are represented by the thick black lines on the map.

METRONext Moving Forward Plan map showing METRORail and METRORapid lines as of 2021 and proposed new BOOST corridors that are part of the plan.

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The BOOST network includes 17 of METRO’s high-ridership, frequent bus routes where speed, reliability and access improvements are designed to enhance the customer experience. Improvements could include bus stop relocation, new shelters and accessibility upgrades, transit signal priority and real-time passenger information.

The Westheimer Signature Bus Service is designed to include infrastructure and service improvements to provide fast transit connections between downtown, Greenway, Uptown, Westchase, and West Oaks (at State Highway 6).

Proposed BOOST and Signature projects include:

17 Corridors
Westheimer Signature Bus Service

These projects are represented by the orange lines on the map.

Full METRONext Moving Forward Plan map showing METRORail and METRORapid lines as of 2021 and all proposed system enhancements that are part of the plan.

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Based on all the proposed investments you just saw, here’s a look at the full METRONext Moving Forward Plan map. In addition, the plan calls for many other improvements.

Proposed System Enhancements include:

Approximately 21 new or improved Park & Ride lots and transit centers
Approximately 10 new METRO curb2curb services / circulators
Systemwide route improvements
Bus stop enhancements, such as new shelters, accessibility upgrades, and enhanced passenger information
Downtown, Midtown, and Texas Medical Center transit improvements
Park & Ride bus service enhancements
Accessibility and usability improvements and other investments designed to reduce barriers for seniors, the disabled and other users of METRO’s transit system (First Mile / Last Mile)
Safety and security enhancements

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