Some background
The station, which is situated along the Red Line, officially opened to the public last year on Feb. 24 ahead of the 2024 Austin FC season at Q2 Stadium.
Construction on McKalla began in 2022 as part of Project Connect to increase mobility and transit options in North Austin.
The station was built with the primary function to service Austin FC, but also serves the neighborhoods around it including North Burnet, said Sharmila Mukherjee, executive vice president and chief strategic planning and development officer at CapMetro.
CapMetro officials have seen an impact on travel patterns in the area since the station’s inception and that it is a gateway opportunity into “developing better transit travel behavior," Mukherjee said.
“Someone who typically relies on a ride by a single occupancy vehicle, using very car-centric habits, they don't really need to use transit,” Mukherjee said. “But on a game day, when the traffic is really bad, this is a good way to travel. It's socially a far better option [and] also a safe option.”
A closer look
McKalla Station has upwards of 830 riders on "event days” such as Austin FC games, Mukherjee said, compared to just under 80 riders on a regular weekday. Average ridership on Saturdays is slightly higher at about 105 riders.
“There are a lot of mixed use [and] residential that essentially opened after [Q2] was open,” Mukherjee said. “So, I think we’re starting to see a lot more traction in that area. ... You would probably see that pattern coming into ridership as well.”
Dig deeper
CapMetro’s latest station under construction is Broadmoor Station, which is expected to open along the Red Line sometime in 2026.
McKalla and Broadmoor will cater to “slightly different markets,” Mukherjee said, with Broadmoor slated to serve the Uptown ATX community as well as provide a more direct connection to The Domain.
“We're very excited about ... how we can bring some of these lessons learned to Broadmoor Station,” Mukherjee said.
