Austin Public Transit

[sxrckr]

You will really need a car.
And no, there is no light rail, just one line of commuter rail.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by wag more bark less

It is certainly not impossible to be car-free in Austin, just inconvenient, compared to many cities in the US. Within many circumstances, being car-lite can be possible and convenient.

This was well said. I want to underline this, since there are so many nay sayers. There ARE tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of people in Austin who don't have cars, for all kinds of reasons.... from the philosophical to the financial, from the environmental to the disabled and unlicensed.

My point is that its preposterous to say you HAVE to have a car in Austin, since there are so many people here who don't have one. And yes, some lifestyles are much more adaptable to the public transportation here than others. Being a soccer mom with kids in the suburbs, without a car, wouldn't work, obviously. But living in the central city, working downtown, or on a major bus route, can. Not as handily as, say, in New York or Chicago or San Francisco, but well enough, if you do your homework. And a lot of it really depends on what is important to you.

[supernaut112]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

I've seen lots of companies start doing this the past 2-3 years. I'd guess the largest name would be Facebook, but also the city just recently did something like this too to try to open up more parking spots at city hall.

Most of the companies I have seen that are trying to get their employees to use public transit rather than drive have their offices downtown. So I am sure that has something to do with it. They provide their employees with bikes and give them the bus/metro passes, as well as provide locker rooms, showers, laundry services and lots of other creative ways to try to get their employees to ride a bike, walk or bus into work. They also all provide car services in the case that something comes up and you need to be driven somewhere quickly.

Thanks!

I'm looking at getting back into the traditional workplace on at least a part-time basis, and finding an employer that actively encourages public transportation would be a dream come true. I frankly hate to drive unless I absolutely have to, given the traffic and parking issues. Unfortunately, everything I'm looking at specifies that I have to have my own vehicle — it's just the nature of my profession, I guess.

If you have a shortlist of employers for me to scope out, please PM me.

[downtown lover]

It's fine if you commute from N. Austin, where all the cheap lodgings and apartments are.