Downtown/midtown to Texas medical center commute? (Houston, Wheeler: living, rail)

[Bd7391]

Hi folks,

My girlfriend and I are visiting Houston for a placement at TMC for five weeks next year. We’ve been advised that Houston is a driving city and that living away from TMC could be hassle, but we really don’t like the idea of not being in the city centre - we’re city folk at heart had it seems a great opportunity to miss out on.

If we were to commute from downtown or midtown (assuming we stayed within a few blocks of a metro stop) would the commute be manageable? Is the rail reliable? E.g. if we must be in by 8am and we catch the right metro, will it get us there on time?

Thanks!

[DaveGl]

I don't use the Metro rail, specifically the Red Line, on a daily basis, but when I've used it to get from Midtown to the Texas Medical Center for appointments, it's worked fine. The Red Line goes right through the heart of downtown Houston, Midtown and the Texas Medical Center.

https://www.ridemetro.org/Pages/RedLine.aspx

[Watchful]

Midtown is not “living away” from TMC - you are very close and downtown isn’t much farther.

A very easy Red line commute

[tstone]

I suggest looking at midtown instead of downtown.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Bd7391

If we were to commute from downtown or midtown (assuming we stayed within a few blocks of a metro stop) would the commute be manageable? Is the rail reliable? E.g. if we must be in by 8am and we catch the right metro, will it get us there on time?

Absolutely. They're running every six minutes. It's about 12 minutes or so ride from Wheeler Station in Midtown and about double that to the central station downtown. Southbound into work, northbound out of work.

[astrohip]

Midtown is literally the area directly above TMC. The rail runs right thru both Midtown and TMC, and the commute would take 5-10 minutes depending on distance and time of day. Great way to get to work.

Good luck!