Public Transportation (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: credit, house, employment)

[Nomadic9460678748]

It's South Sprawl Austin. Not walkable (unless you like zooming traffic leaving exhaust in your face), it's cookie-cutter housing developments and gigantor apartment complexes, it's gated communities like Circle C where people claim they're in Austin and drive to everything in Austin, thus aiding in efforts to pollute and congest the roads, it's big box development (Southpark Meadows and that other one near Mopac whose name eludes me because I think Big Box developments are lame anyway), and it's unattractive and dirty (get out of your car and walk between S. 1st and Manchaca on Slaughter and count how many spare tires, condoms, tampons, food wrappers, candy wrappers, or dead animals you see). I've done it. It's ugly and disgusting.

South Austin as it's advertised to prospective residents who want to live in the "hip" parts of Austin is SoCo (worst.name.ever), it's Bouldin Creek, it's Travis Heights, it's Polvos, it's Torchy's, it's La Feria, it's Horshoe Lounge and Broken Spoke, and it's long out of reach of most people working on Austin wages.

Sprawl, sprawl, sprawl!

And what's "Rivertown"?

Also, I ride the buses ALL OF THE TIME..and they stink. It's not a fiction, Capital Metro bites the big one.

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by Nomadic9460678748

That's assuming the OP can afford to live in South Austin (depending on what you define as South Austin--I don't think Slaughter counts as "South Austin").

Around South Park Meadows there are plenty of apartments that "look" affordable though I haven't priced them. Also there are homes off of Ralph Albanedo that are maybe $110-120/sq. ft. If that isn't affordable enough for you then you'll have to live in Hutto, Manor or likewise and spend more money on your car and its related expenses.

SouthPark Meadows to 2nd and Congress takes 36 minutes on the 1L bus. Yes a car would take 20 minutes but you wouldn't be able to read a book or take a quick nap and your blood pressure would be higher.

And yes CaptnRn I'm getting the impression that most of the folks who put down public trans on this board are relying on 2nd and 3rd hand info.

[Nomadic9460678748]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

Around South Park Meadows there are plenty of apartments that "look" affordable though I haven't priced them. Also there are homes off of Ralph Albanedo that are maybe $110-120/sq. ft. If that isn't affordable enough for you then you'll have to live in Hutto, Manor or likewise and spend more money on your car and its related expenses.

SouthPark Meadows to 2nd and Congress takes 36 minutes on the 1L bus. Yes a car would take 20 minutes but you wouldn't be able to read a book or take a quick nap and your blood pressure would be higher.

And yes CaptnRn I'm getting the impression that most of the folks who put down public trans on this board are relying on 2nd and 3rd hand info.

Uh, that's near where I live...and it sucks. Like I said, it's great if you love Big Box shopping, tract-housing, and gigantor apartment complexes which look like one another. It's sooooooo exciting to live next to a Carl's Jr's, three car wash places, and the fabulously interesting pawn shop. Sure, you can frequent the Big Box Little Woodrow's, Waterloo, or The Grove, because there's nothing more charming than having a beer with a friend and gazing out at the gigantic Marshall's and Sports Authority signs across the parking lot. (Even though it's super hipsterific, The Red Shed Tavern is a better alternative to anything in SPM, but if you don't have a car, be prepared to walk alongside roads with no sidewalks and pray you don't get hit by a car speeding along South Congress).

And walking to SPM along one of the busiest streets imaginable is not my idea of walkability. Have a look at the number of roadside crosses which pepper the street because people in their cars have plowed into unknowing pedestrians around here.

And again, I RIDE THE BUS EVERY DAY!!!!! Get it. No tengo coche. Oh wait, you're not allowed to speak any non-English languages on CD. I don't own a car! There are essentially two routes, the 1L and the 10/3 which come out to South Sprawville (the 10/3 are two sides of the same coin, and if you catch the 3 going Southbound be prepared to wait 20 minutes at Manchaca and Monarch, so that if your stop is around the corner and you really want to get home, instead you get to watch a Cap Met driver smoke, talk on their cell phone, or walk to the convenience store for a bag of Funyuns, so that it's actually quicker to walk to your destination around the corner on Slaughter, assuming you don't mind doing so in 100+ temperatures during the summer months). And there is no night owl service out here. The closest you get? William Cannon. So be prepared to take a cab or walk from there. The 201 is the worst feeder route ever and will probably be cut due to low ridership. No one uses it. It runs like once every 30 minutes and it's just quicker to walk (again, if you don't mind sweating like a pig). The commuter buses 103/110 are just that, commuter buses, and even they are nowhere near full.

So I put down public transportation on this board when it's done poorly, and at the hands of Capital Metro, it sucks. I've experienced quality public transportation in other cities in the U.S. and outside of the U.S., so comparatively-speaking, Austin's mass transit is the pits. Heck, I don't even think it's the best offered in Texas, and that's sad considering that Austin claims it's so committed to sustainability and "green" living.

[professorac]

austins public transportation is good. I ride it to work. The drivers are friendly

[NomadicStripper]

traffic sucks Moderator cut: one word - see comment in austin. i hated living there until i got a bicycle.

the buses are great in the sense that they are cheap.... 2$ buys you a 24 hour pass. navigating them was easy for me but i have an iphone and that google maps feature for buses made it easier than it would be otherwise. however, if you want to go out late, i dont think most buses run after the bars close. you will be stuck needing to take a cab then.

if you live close to downtown i seriously recommend a bike. ok, if you work an office job and wear a suit, maybe a bike is not the best method of transportation. but other than that its great. and you will get a work out because there are lots of hills. but the city itself isnt too big, so if you live in a central location you should be able to get pretty much anywhere you need by bicycle. and there are lots of awesome trails etc.

and cycling is pretty big in the culture too. enough so that if you have a nice bike, chicks (might) dig it. seriously, austin is the only city i have been to where i would ride my bicycle around and get told "nice ride."

so yea, bikes ftw .

[Nomadic9460678748]

Originally Posted by professorac

austins public transportation is good. I ride it to work. The drivers are friendly

Again, where do you live? If you're in between say Anderson Lane (maybe just Koenig by now) and Ben White (the East/West crosstown buses are a joke) you've got a better shot at getting some of the more frequent routes and even the UT shuttles, but anywhere else, forget it.

Also, the drivers are a mixed bag. Some are cads who won't let you on the bus if you're two feet away from a stop. Some are jerks who won't even answer simple questions for new riders. The nice drivers are the ones just shut up and drive the damn bus.

[vlaraujo]

[SIZE=3]The public transportation is Austin is terrible. You WILL need a car to get around. I live in downtown Austin and I need a car![/SIZE]

[eileenkeeney]

Public transportation exists, but is poor compared to other places I have lived.
I use public transportation, so this is not 2nd hand.

There are places one can live, where Public transportation will probably meet their needs (maybe near a major transit station or downtown)

Of course "needs" are interpretable.

Before I moved here I had figured out that I could live in walking distance of work and a bus stop; and that I could take a bus to meet my shopping needs.
However, the bus only minimally meets needs related to obtaining medical care and entertainment and any shopping beyond what is available at the Super Target.
I have mapped out routes to major malls and hospitals finding that even those that are not that far from where I live take well over an hour to get to by bus.
The closest theater is not even served by bus.

The neighborhoods, in this area, think they are designed for walking/biking; but that feature is limited to walking/biking as a form of entertainment not transportation.

If your job is near the University or DownTown you can probably live somewhere close to a major transit station, and the mass transit can meet your needs and seem like it is pretty good.
Elsewhere it can still meet your needs, as long as your needs are not to get places quickly or efficiently.

[eileenkeeney]

Originally Posted by professorac

austins public transportation is good. I ride it to work. The drivers are friendly

I find most of the drivers to be friendly as well.
It is the routes and timing that I think need improvement.
I might be inclined to think that it is just that my own transportation route needs differ from the majority, and that the system works well for the majority; if I did not find that so many other people agree with my own view of the system.

[jobert]

Originally Posted by Nomadic9460678748

It's South Sprawl Austin. Not walkable (unless you like zooming traffic leaving exhaust in your face), it's cookie-cutter housing developments and gigantor apartment complexes, it's gated communities like Circle C where people claim they're in Austin and drive to everything in Austin, thus aiding in efforts to pollute and congest the roads, it's big box development (Southpark Meadows and that other one near Mopac whose name eludes me because I think Big Box developments are lame anyway), and it's unattractive and dirty (get out of your car and walk between S. 1st and Manchaca on Slaughter and count how many spare tires, condoms, tampons, food wrappers, candy wrappers, or dead animals you see). I've done it. It's ugly and disgusting.

South Austin as it's advertised to prospective residents who want to live in the "hip" parts of Austin is SoCo (worst.name.ever), it's Bouldin Creek, it's Travis Heights, it's Polvos, it's Torchy's, it's La Feria, it's Horshoe Lounge and Broken Spoke, and it's long out of reach of most people working on Austin wages.

Sprawl, sprawl, sprawl!

And what's "Rivertown"?

Also, I ride the buses ALL OF THE TIME..and they stink. It's not a fiction, Capital Metro bites the big one.

I like the area personally, and have ridden my bike with a kid in-tow to SPM to burn a morning/afternoon before and haven't found it unsightly. I haven't ever ridden or walked along Slaughter west of First, so I'm not familiar with the "scenery" there. Have you considered moving closer to downtown? You can rent someplace cheap on the eastside and literally bike to downtown in 3 minutes. Don't get a huge place, maybe 500 sf and you'll be okay. I know people in the past that have rented something like that for around $700 off of E. Cesar Chavez.