The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) built a 7.5-mile light rail starter line (the Red Line) which opened in 2004. This line achieved it first-year goal of 33,000 average weekday boarding per day in its first year, and achieved its 15-year goal of 40,000 boardings per day in its second year of operation.

The next phase of METRO's regional transit plan, METRO Solutions Phase 2, focuses on five rapid transit corridors, which tie into the Red Line.

The attached presentation, provided in PowerPoint (4 MB) and Acrobat formats (1 MB), provides information and maps regarding downtown transit, with a focus on METRO's plans for an east-west line in downtown Houston.