<p>@Why Two Kay, I haven’t been on an e-Bus since they enacted actually forcing us to scan our ids to get on. How is that one working? o_0</p>
<p>^ Actually I haven’t been on one since then either. There is no e-bus service in the summer, and they enacted that in like May or something, so I had no time to use it before I left for the summer.</p>
<p>I’m going to guess it’s not very strictly enforced, with the number of people getting on at 2:30am, and the fact that the 2nd set of doors opens to let people off (even if nobody is getting off) people just tend to get on the bus and get as seat as quickly as they can, without regard for rules.</p>
<p>I have not been on the E-bus either. the issue with car2go is that I think they charge by the hour though right? So how much would renting it for thrity minutes cost?</p>
<p>Hmm… not sure. I’d have to google it. or you could. :D</p>
<p>Yes, I probably could. I remember when they were at the Castilian’s 11th last semester trying to sign people to their program.</p>
<p>My d does not have a car. During her frosh year(last year) a service came to Austin. I think it is called Car to go. It is similar to Zip Car. You sign up online, and they send you a credit card like device. They have smart Cars parked all around campus. you go online, they show you where the cars are parked, you reserve a car, and walk up to it. Your card opens the door, and the key is inside. I am not sure of the exact price per hour, but my daughter got an introductory rate of about 12 dollars an hour. This includes gas, insurance, and you don’t have an age minimum.</p>
<p>While the hourly cost may seem a bit high, it is far cheaper than parking a car, paying for insurance and gas. My daughter would use it when she needed to run an important errand. I would say she averaged twice a month. It cost me a lot less money than sending a car, and gave her some peace of mind if she was in a jam, or did not have someone to drive her. I know many of you might want a way to drive home. This is not great for that. Too expensive. But if you need to go some where for an hour or two, and you have a friend, sharing the cost is quite good.
I think this plan is a great option for many.</p>
<p>My son’s a lucky kid. His grandfather is still a prof at UT. When he heard that S was coming to Texas, his first comment was, “I’ll give him a set of keys to my car, and he can use it whenever he needs to!” I said, “Gee, Dad, you didn’t do that for me when <em>I</em> was at UT!” I guess it’s different with grandkids. I’m wondering how S will do, driving around Austin, since it’s a little different from Maine!</p>
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<p>Austin’s traffic is not aggressive like Dallas, Houston, LA or Boston. It’s very chill, but the roads are not the nicest and confusing as hell. (Multiple names, winding roads that change direction). That being said, if you’re used to aggressive driving like me, Austin’s chill attitude is going to cause lots of rage when only three people make it through the traffic light because everyone’s too busy to be concerned with a green.
/rant</p>
<p>^ YES OMG. Haha. I am from Plano and driving is insanely agressive here, and they adjust the lights accordingly. We have like 8 second yellow lights, and during rush hour at least 3 or 4 cars will run a red light to get a left turn in a big intersection.</p>
<p>Austin traffic is just soooooooo sloooooooooooow. I drive 60 on the regular streets here in Plano, 80 on the highways. In Austin I’m lucky to get over 50 on the Mopac.</p>
<p>That’s funny - when I visited Austin a couple of months ago, I couldn’t believe how fast everyone drove compared to up here! It’s all relative, I guess. I’ll have to make sure S has a GPS unit in the car! He gets lost easily.</p>
<p>I agree with vacheespagnole. The traffic in Houston is CRAZY! Everyone is trying to go 75 or more lol. Freakin’ cars keep changing lanes! Not safe lmao. And I also agree with WTK, Austin traffic was slow when I drove there for my Orientation. Driving on I-35 sucks. :(</p>
<p>I avoid I-35 at ALL COSTS, even if taking Loop 1/Mopac is too far west. There is no way I am going on I-35 at normal operating hours. I’d rather die.</p>
<p>I-35 between around 50th street (where upper and lower decks begin) until past the river is an absolute parking lot almost all the time. It’s better to get off early and take a side road if you’re going into UT campus area.</p>
<p>I got a speeding ticket on I-35 in June, driving towards Dallas. I thought the officer said, “Hi, I’m with the LA police department…” and I couldn’t figure out what she meant. When I called the number on the ticket to find out the exact amount (almost $200!!), the woman answered, “Good morning, town of Italy,” but she pronounced it “It-lee.” Never heard of it before now! </p>
<p>A fitting ticket to get, since my last one was in 1984, the day I graduated from UT! I’ve managed to evade all the speeding cops in the northeast all these years.</p>
<p>@Why Two Kay: It’s actually pretty empty on Sat/Sun early morning and late night (after 12am)…but then again, why am I up at those times to actually notice this pattern??</p>
<p>@MaineLonghorn: F-ing Italy, TX. I have learnt to NEVER speed through there. That town’s sole income is to ticket anyone passing through. ARGH all of my tickets going from Austin to Dallas have been in Italy or Hillsboro. Don’t speed through either!</p>
<p>^ Georgetown going North on days like the Friday before Spring Break or the last day of classes is HORRIBLE. I’ve seen 5 cops lined up as a speed trap, each in a team of 1 cop w/radar paired with a cop on motorcycle to catch them. I was going southbound, but it was still ridiculous to see.</p>
<p>They know students going back to Dallas/Oklahoma/etc will never come all the way back down there to contest a ticket. My friend from here in Plano did though, and he won because the cop didn’t show up to court (as expected).</p>
<p>I got my first ticket driving between Giddings and Brenham. I’m from Houston, so that’s how I get from Houston > Austin. I am not actually enrolled at UT, but I have friends in Austin and love the campus and city enough to drive up there a few times a year.</p>
<p>I once got three speeding tickets on 290 to Houston from Austin. NO LIE. Then again, I was techinically speeding, but 10 over, really? Then 5 over? F THE POLICE</p>
<p>Sorry for the story, but…</p>
<p>I was really irritated with my ticket through there too. I was going about 9 over the speed limit, and it was like 10:30PM, was trying to make it home before midnight on a Sunday during Spring Break I think. Never saw a cop or anything, he comes from a mile behind so I get in the opposite lane thinking he’s going to an accident. No, he pulls behind me. </p>
<p>He ended up giving me a speeding ticket and a ticket for my windshield that has a rock crack in it, and was supposedly obstructing my view. Yeah, ended up getting an attorney who was worthless. The speeding ticket was dismissed and I had to pay the windsheild ticket and replace the windshield.</p>
<p>I got a escort 9500i radar after my first ticket over a year ago. No worries here :).</p>