Houston, Texas - Getting Around

Get around

Having a car is mandatory for travel around Houston since it's so spread out and almost nothing's within walking distance.

By car

Houston has a number of major highways that make getting around Houston fairly easy. (See list of freeways under the "Get In" section.) A number of obstacles, however, can make driving in Houston a less than pleasant experience. One is construction, which seems to be ever-present, and the other is traffic. Evening rush hour in Houston begins as early as 4pm and can last more than 2 hours. Morning rush hour is between 7 and 9. During rush hour, traffic on the highways can come to a halt. The strip of the West Loop near the Galleria, between US-59 and IH-10, is an area you should definitely avoid during rush hour if possible.

• Houston Traffic Map
• The outstanding freeways system

Some of the freeways have an H.O.V. (High-Occupancy Vehicle) lane, which are limited-access lanes located in the median strip of the highway. The HOV lanes are operational Monday - Friday in the morning hours (5am - 11am) in the inbound direction and in the outbound direction in the afternoon and evening (from 2pm - 8pm). The HOV lanes are restricted to cars with 2 or more passengers, however some HOV lanes require 3 or more passengers during peak travel periods (6:45-8:00am and 5-6pm, for the IH-10 west; 6:45-8:00am only for US-290). The HOV lanes are marked with signs bearing a white diamond on a black background. Highways with HOV lanes are: IH-45 North, IH-45 South, US-59 North, US-59 South, IH-10 West (Katy Freeway), and US-290. In addition to its usual Monday through Friday hours, the Katy Freeway HOV lane also runs on Saturday in the outbound direction and on Sunday in the inbound direction.

• HOV lane map & schedule

By public transportation

Currently, public transportation in Houston is limited to METRO, which operates bus lines as well as the new and very popular light rail line called METRORail.

METRORail is a seven and a half mile light rail line that runs between downtown, midtown, the museum district, the Medical Center, Reliant Park, and the Fannin South Park & Ride (which is a handy place to park and is located near the 610 loop). It costs $1 for a one-way ticket, $2 for a day pass. (Also see the #Stay Safe|stay safe section.)

By taxi

• Outside of Downtown, don't expect to catch a taxi on the streets, but there are various cab stands located at various parts of downtown proper. Taxis in Houston are generally dispatched by various companies the largest being Yellow Cab, 713-236-1111 or from their web page [1].

By bicycle

Even though Houston is spread out enough that a large majority of it may be too far of a distance to reach by bicycle, it's quite possible to get to locations in and around the I-610 loop by bike. The city of Houston has 290 miles of marked bike routes, plus another 80 miles of hike and bike trails in city parks, with concrete plans for even more expansion. For more information on the Houston Bikeway program, including a complete map of all marked bike paths, visit the City of Houston Bikeway Program website [2]