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Get in
By plane
Houston is served by two airports:
• George Bush
Intercontinental Airport (IAH) - The larger of the two airports and
is located 23 miles north of downtown near Beltway 8, between IH-45 North
and US-59 North. It is a hub for Continental Airlines and serves 24 domestic
and international airlines.
• William P. Hobby
Airport (HOU) - Located 7 miles south of downtown and is located off
of I-45 South. It is convenient if you're traveling downtown or south of the
city, such as to Galveston. Its main carrier is Southwest Airlines, and it
also serves Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and AirTran.
By train
• Amtrak, 902 Washington Ave
- Amtrak's Sunset Limited line is the only passenger train route with a stop
in Houston.
By car
Houston's major freeways include:
• I-45 North ("North Freeway"): To Dallas
• I-45 South ("Gulf Freeway"): To Galveston
• I-10 West ("Katy Freeway"): To San Antonio
• I-10 East: to Beaumont
• I-610 ("The Loop"): Loop around downtown
• US 59 South ("Southwest Freeway"): to Victoria
• US 59 North ("Eastex Freeway"): to Lufkin
• US 290 West ("Northwest Freeway"): to Austin
• TX 288 South ("South Freeway"): to Freeport
• TX 225 East ("Pasadena Freeway"): to La Porte
Approximate mileage to nearby cities (in miles):
• Austin: 160
• Baton Rouge, LA: 270
• Beaumont: 90
• Dallas: 240
• El Paso: 745
• Galveston: 50
• Lake Charles, LA: 140
• New Orleans, LA: 346
• San Antonio: 200
• Waco: 180
By bus
• Greyhound Lines
• Downtown station, 2121 Main St.
• Crosstimbers Station, 4001 North Freeway.
• Northwest, 1500 West Loop North.
• Southeast, 7000 Harrisburg Street.
• Southwest, 5690 Southwest Freeway.
Get around
As Houston is a large, sprawling city, and since public transportation is
limited, people living in Houston are dependent on the automobile. Houston
is not a walking city.
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 I-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 Katy
Freeway; 6:45-8:00am only for Highway 290). The HOV lanes are marked with
signs bearing a white diamond on a black background. Highways with HOV lanes
are: I-45 North, I-45 South, US 59 North, US 59 South, I-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.
By public transportation
Currently, public transportation in Houston is limited to
METRO, which operates bus lines as
well as a the new and very popular light rail system 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. The one-way fare on METRORail is $1.
By taxi
Don't expect to catch a taxi on the streets. Taxis in Houston are
generally called upon by phone reservations, exception being at the
airports. Yellow Cab, 713-236-1111 Pasadena Taxi, 713-477-6000 |
