Public Transportation in Austin-Good or Not So Hot? (Houston, Dallas: apartment, home)

[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!

[petro]

I'm not sure where you heard that, the public transit system is terrible here.

[HappyTexan]

Get them a car.

[Montgomerychild]

Originally Posted by petro

I'm not sure where you heard that, the public transit system is terrible here.

Would Dallas or Houston be a better choice?

[RoadWarrior12]

Originally Posted by Montgomerychild

Would Dallas or Houston be a better choice?

Not if your son is commuting to UT.

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by Montgomerychild

Would Dallas or Houston be a better choice?

umm . . . maybe. Overall, I would say that Dallas and Houston have better public transportation but that is coming from a very low base and highly dependent on specific locations. In general, metros in Texas do not have the kind of public transportation that is common in the NE. It is very hard to live without access to a car anywhere in Texas.

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by Montgomerychild

Would Dallas or Houston be a better choice?

No... Because of where the universities are and where you'd live, commuting by mass transit in either of those places would be a nightmare. And UT is a far better school than the universities in those cities aside from Rice

[atxsnail]

there are many neighborhoods from which commuting to the UT campus is easy via public transportation and/or biking/walking.

whether or not it's feasible for your son depends largely on which neighborhood and housing type you want to live in.

[CptnRn]

If you insist on your son finding an apartment serviced by the U.T. Shuttle, then he will have an easy commute. Otherwise, not so much unless he can find something close in on one of the major bus routes.

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

https://www.capmetro.org/

[austinizer]

I agree with atxsnail and CptnRn. UT is pretty well serviced by their shuttles and several bus routes. It's been a couple of years since I was a student there, but in my understanding the UT shuttles and entire Capital Metro system is "free" for UT students (= included in mandatory student fees). Parking on and around campus gets more difficult every year (parking lots had to make way for more buildings), so having a car may not necessarily be an advantage. Even though I had a car, most of the time I took the bus, since finding parking was too difficult; but for all the time I was at UT, I lived either along a shuttle route or along the No. 1 (N. Lamar) route. Getting anywhere else is a different story; I heavily relied on my car on weekends (for shopping) but some bus routes do stop at grocery stores, etc. I know several students who lived in North/Central Austin who did not have a car and they did fine.

The Capital Metro system map can be found here, and info about the UT shuttles is available here.

Generally speaking, the suburbs are not well (or not at all) connected by public transit. As an example, my nearest public transit option is about 4-5 miles from my house. Even if you find a route near the area you plan to live, check the schedule; some routes have limited frequency (e.g. 45 minute intervals) or run at limited times (not late in the evening, or mainly in one direction most of the day).