About the bus system in Austin, Texas...?

Question

I'll be moving to Austin within the next few months and I'll need to use the bus system. I am curious as to where the bus goes. Are there many stops throughout the town? Are there many stops outside of town? What lines do most people use? If I am not a UT student, can I still use the UT shuttle if I pay for it? Any information about anything related to this would be greatly helpful! Thanks!

Answer 1

The bus system is pretty extensive in the city. Austin is bike-friendly, but even if you don't bike, stops are within short walking distance of most places you'd want to go in town. Once you get outside the city limits, most of the stops are at fairly remote "Park and Ride" locations, and you'd probably have a hard time getting around once you got there.

The main routes you'd use will depend on where you live and where you work. Most of them are fairly well-used during the day. There are free "Dillo" buses downtown that can take you to various locations for free once your main bus gets you there. I think bus passes are around $10 (regular), $5 (student), and $15-$20 for an express pass (all are good for a month). If you're gonna ride the bus regularly, I'd recommend getting one.

As for the UT shuttle, I only had to show my student ID once in the 3 years I rode it to school. A lot of people who regularly rode my bus didn't seem like students at all (they didn't even get off at UT) and the bus drivers never really said anything. If you had a bus pass, it would be a non-issue.

Hope this helps, and good luck. Here's the link to the Capital Metro site just in case.

Answer 2

i am not familiar with the entire bus system in Austin, but I do know there are a ton of places you can go on it. Outside of the immediate Austin area, I do not believe there are as many. In my opinion, I would think the lines that go to, from, and around the UT campus area are the most used, along with downtown simply bc of the lack of parking. As for the UT shuttles, unless they changed it in the past year or so, you just walk on and sit down. I never saw anyone pay and students didn't have to identify themselves. But this is only on the orange and white buses, not the normal colored ones. I found the buses to be a wonderful mode of transportation when I lived there for four years. I rode it around campus when it was poor weather outside or I needed to get somewhere quicker than I could walk. I lived off campus three of those years and took the bus to and from that area. it definately relieved a lot of the stress of traffic and finding parking. i think the only thing i disliked is the sometimes bus breakdown or running late. but that cant be avoided. in general the drivers were safe and you can get where you need to go. they even have a bus line that goes from the UT campus and I believe the riverside area to 6th street. you cant beat that!! http://www.capmetro.org/ the site used to have a resource and a phone number that helped you figure out which bus line to take to your destination. in the downtown area they also have "tourist" buses that goes by all the big attractions. hope this helps and enjoy living in austin!!

Answer 3

The bus system is pretty extensive in Austin, with stops all over. You can take a bike on the front of the bus. With a bike and a bus pass you can get just about anywhere in the Austin area. Austin is a very bike friendly town, with bike lanes all over and 32 miles of paved bike trails along the river. Just about anything you might want to know about the bus system can be found at their web site. See source below. BTW, welcome to Austin. You'll love it. Free live music every night of the week somewhere!