The City of Austin itself can provide public transportation to supplement Capital Metro's efforts. Private businesses should also be encouraged to provide transportation, in the form of buses, trams, and paths for pedestrians and bicyclists. When a proposed business site is opposed by a neighborhood because it will increase motor traffic volume, the business should supply its own transportation system. Variances for extra parking spaces for cars should not, in general, be granted. Businesses should be held responsible for moving employees, goods, and customers in and out without increasing overall motor traffic volume.
Businesses can run their own shuttles, buses, and trams.
They can also hire bicyclists with trailers to deliver goods. Buses should go all the way into destinations such as Barton Springs, shopping malls, and parks, not drop passengers a quarter mile or more away, sometimes across busy streets. A quarter mile on a busy street can be a long trek for a pedestrian, particularly a disabled pedestrian or a parent with small children. Our current practice of keeping children in their parents' cars until they are old enough to drive cars themselves is extremely counterproductive. Remember that the goal of a public transportation system is to enable people to move around freely without cars and even without bicycles.