Public Transportation in Austin-Good or Not So Hot? (Houston, Dallas: neighborhoods, place to live)

[Westerner92]

Both public transit in Austin and the parking situation at UT aren't so great. 99% of students I know at UT (I'm one of them.) either live within walking/biking distance of campus or in one of the student neighborhoods on the UT shuttle routes (East Riverside, Hyde Park, and Far West). I know a few who do commute in by car, just know that between traffic and walking to class, it'll take about an hour and cost upwards of $6-700 a year for the garages.

[OpenD]

Yes, Austinizer has the right idea and the right stuff. Here's a paragraph from the UT page on their shuttles, operated in conjunction with CapMetro, the city bus service.

The UT Shuttle System is one of the largest university shuttle systems in the country, with 11 routes and over 5.2 million passengers annually. The shuttle system provides an easy and cost effective way for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to access the UT campus. UT students, faculty, and staff may ride the shuttles at no charge with a valid UT photo ID.

Shuttles | Parking & Transportation Services (PTS) | The University of Texas at Austin

When I lived in Austin I used the bus system fairly frequently, especially to attend large events like downtown festivals, when driving could be hair-raising and parking absurdly expensive and hassle prone. Then when I signed up for a class at UT, jumping on the shuttle to campus instead of driving was a no brainer.

I suggest you give strong consideration to these shuttle routes when looking for a place to live, because they'll give your son a lot of freedom of movement, for free, and on schedules that are well matched to a UT students' needs... first bus at oh-dark:thirty, last bus at 11:30pm, 15 minute intervals at rush hours.

Second best would be proximity to a major CapMetro route, but look carefully at the details to see if a particular route is a match for his needs. Some stop running at 9 pm, some don't run on weekends, etc. But several of the key feeder routes run right by the campus, so it's fairly easy to connect to, and a monthly pass is only $33.

This is all assuming you want to live in the city. In the suburbs the connections and schedules are likely to be too frustrating to be very workable for a student.

Good luck!

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by Montgomerychild

Considering moving to Austin and I hear they have a good public transit system. Is this true? I have a son who will be going to U Texas but living at home and will need transit to get to school. Help!

Whether or not the transit is decent depends on where you live and when you need to access it. Where will he be living?

[passionatearts]

Public transportation in Austin is pretty terrible, but if he's in the neighborhoods right next to UT, he might be okay. Getting around anywhere else in Austin will require a car.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

Public transportation in Austin is pretty terrible, but if he's in the neighborhoods right next to UT, he might be okay. Getting around anywhere else in Austin will require a car.

Honestly, I don't know why people make ridiculous statements like this. Thousands and thousands of people live and work in Austin who don't even own cars, and who depend entirely on public transportation.

I've lived in places with excellent public transportation and in places with terrible public transportation, and Austin is neither. It's somewhere in the middle, toward the top half, I'd say. Consider that you can get from the far north end of town down to downtown and then out to the airport with only one transfer, for I think $2 now.

Where I live now I have two buses in to the city in the morning, and one in the afternoon, and similar returns. No service Sundays. Now THAT is terrible service!

[LiveUrban]

Here is a map of apartments on shuttle routes to UT: UT Austin Apartments, Student Apartments on UT Shuttle, Austin TX Apartments, Apartment Locator, UT Austin Housing Near Campus

Also, UT is well-served by city bus routes 1, 3, 5, 19 and MetroRapid 801 and 803. Also, there are express bus routes like 983, 985, 987 that go straight to campus as well.

If you can find a home located along these routes, your son should be perfectly fine getting to school everyday.

[Don in Austin]

Originally Posted by Montgomerychild

Considering moving to Austin and I hear they have a good public transit system. Is this true? I have a son who will be going to U Texas but living at home and will need transit to get to school. Help!

Compared with a city in Yankeeland our public transportation is terrible. But if your son can find housing in the right area it can work out fine.

Bicycle highly recommended.

Don in Austin

[Moonlady]

Originally Posted by Don in Austin

Compared with a city in Yankeeland our public transportation is terrible. But if your son can find housing in the right area it can work out fine.

Bicycle highly recommended.

Don in Austin

It's also helpful to know that the buses have bicycle racks on them which makes the combination of bike and bus work much better!

[lndigo]

if you don't plan on living in central Austin, there are a few options like south congress/1st that have buses going all the way to slaughter. there are express buses that go to and from Jollyville/cedar park at the mall there and express buses that go to tech ridge near pflugerville

[michaeltx94]

Originally Posted by Montgomerychild

Considering moving to Austin and I hear they have a good public transit system. Is this true? I have a son who will be going to U Texas but living at home and will need transit to get to school. Help!

Maybe the Far West Area would fit both you and your son .... I live there, the bus stop and the grocery store (HEB) are within 3-5 minutes of walking distance... They are pretty close... Many UT and ACC(Austin Community College) students live in this area. But homes and apartment complexes can be a bit expensive and older. If you think it's affordable, then take a look into the area.