<p>Does anyone take a shuttle bus between Austin and Houston?
I've heard that the shuttle buses aren't very safe, at least the ones that drop off in Downtown houston. </p>
<p>I know of The Kerville Bus Company and the Texas Express.</p>
<p>Does Texas Express carry ONLY UT students?
And what are the general types of people that ride these buses?</p>
<p>I'm a female so the safety of these buses are a concern for my parents..
Some general info on these buses would be appreciated!
Thanks!</p>
<p>Well if you have an ID card then you can ride Texas Express since it says "A valid UT photo ID is required to board the bus. Friends and family are welcome to accompany UT students, faculty, and staff on the Texas Express, but at least one valid UT photo ID is still required to board the bus. " If not then I don’t think you can unless you convince someone with an ID to say that you are their friend.</p>
<p>I remember a woman saying during the UT tour that the shuttle busses will take trips from Austin to either Houston or Dallas and then back to Austin. I believe she said they were free for the students, is that true? And they have WiFi? And how often do these busses go to those cities? Anyone have first hand experience?</p>
<p>Not free - here’s a link with the info:</p>
<p>[PTS:</a> Texas Express](<a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/parking/transportation/texasexpress/]PTS:”>http://www.utexas.edu/parking/transportation/texasexpress/)</p>
<p>I also plan on using the shuttle from Austin to Houston on weekends. I think its $29 round trip.</p>
<p>i took the greyhound to houston from austin after my orientation. i had to take the capitol metro from the stop across from the ut stadium (near jester) to the greyhound station and that was free because all capitol metro rides for ut students are free i believe. in advance, however, i had paid $33.35 for my trip to houston online on the greyhound website (they charge you $18 extra if the person riding the bus is not the credit card holder but luckily i had a credit card on me). </p>
<p>it wasn’t too scary riding the bus. however, the greyhound station in houston is near the intersection of main street and fannin, which is in downtown. that might get scary if you have to walk alone on the streets, but i’m guessing that your parents might be willing to pick you up directly from the greyhound station to save you the trouble. </p>
<p>i’m assuming that riding the greyhound might become necessary sometime at ut if you plan on visiting people in houston, when the texas express is not available. i don’t think it is available during the summer; that’s why i took the greyhound.</p>
<p>I think either you are getting something mixed up or that woman is just wrong. The UT shuttles that maybe that woman was talking about are the orange and white buses that drive near campus, around the perimeter of it. Those are free. Also Austin city buses are free to students with an ID card.</p>
<p>The Shuttles that go to Austin and Dallas are not free.</p>
<p>Uhm I don’t know about wifi on the buses. I highly highly doubt that but who knows.</p>
<p>If you go to the Downtown Houston Bus Stop at night, it’s scary as hell.</p>
<p>The Kerrville Bus often has other stop options before arriving at the downtown station. I often get off in Katy, TX. Another option is the Greyhound “Northwest” station or something like that. It’ll tell you where that is online. The Kerrville bus is also a very cheap option for students if you buy your tickets at Dobie Mall and unlike Texas Express, it runs every day. However, the clientel can be quite the shady. There tend to be lots of students on days that it picks up from Dobie Mall. Otherwise, you may be the only one or one of two.</p>
<p>For the Texas Express you need to book weeks in advance or it will be full. If I’m planning a trip home that far in the future, I will just fly. Greyhound is pretty affordable at the last minute–it’s like a $10 cab ride to the station and like $50 round trip.</p>
<p>I got my mom a flight from houston to austin and back for $39 before.</p>
<p>BTW, Southwest Airlines is running a fall sale based on distance. $30 each way from Austin to Houston or Dallas.</p>
<p>The Texas Express bus is for only UT students or staff, no wifi, leaves from Jester and in my opinion is very safe.</p>
<p>Oh I’m going to have to do this too! I’m glad someone brought this up. I, too, am a female and really concerned about my safety. </p>
<p>I mean the Texas Express seems like it would be safe enough, right? If you HAVE to be a UT student in order to ride it, no old creeper could get on it. You can also choose your arrival destination in Houston, either the North West or Downtown. Is the north west part of houston a safe location? Like better than the downtown area at night?</p>
<p>northwest is def. a better location, but downtown is closer to my home…so i’m going to take that…</p>
<p>Northwest Houston is VERY safe. Thats only like 10 minutes away from my house, so i’m thrilled about the location. Its a middle class/upper middle class area, with some very high high class neighborhoods depending where you go in the NW area. So don’t worry… its a safe location.</p>
<p>The northwest location is the Metro Park and Ride lot on 290 at West Road. There is a Sam’s right across the street. It is in Jersey Village, very safe.</p>
<p>oo that makes me feel much better. I’ll have to ask my dad later about how close it is to my grandparent’s house.</p>
<p>does anyone know how many people usually ride the bus? Like is it crowded enough to where you may have to sit right next to someone or do you normally get your own row? I just imagine that 3-4ish hours of being crammed onto a bus cannot be too comfortable…</p>
<p>Is there a bus that goes from Austin to San Antonio?</p>
<p>Not that UT runs, but you can take Greyhound. The station is right across 35 from Highland Mall (about a $10 cab fare each way or you could try Cap Metro), and you can get a ticket to SA for about $22 round trip if you buy 3 weeks or more ahead of time.</p>