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| Need to Know Information About Houston and the Region |
— Park & Ride Lots
METRO operates 28 Park & Ride lots with about 33,300 available parking spaces. Direct nonstop service to downtown, the Texas Medical Center or other major employment centers in the METRO service area is available from all Park & Ride lots and local service. Park & Ride facilities also serve as staging areas for vanpools and carpools.
— Transit Centers
Transit centers are sheltered waiting areas located where several bus routes and/or METRORail converge. METRO’s 19 transit centers serve as efficient “hubs” to allow bus and/or METRORail riders from various locations to assemble at a central point to take advantage of express trips or other route-to-route transfers.
METRO provides a variety of information and services to area employers and employees, such as commuter tax benefit information, organizing vanpools/carpools, computerized ride matching, origin/destination mapping and on-site events. Employer and commuter services include:
RideSponsor helps area companies and groups encourage employees and members to ride METRO as a way to relieve demand for parking and improve air quality. For information, call (713) 652-4311.
RideShare provides RideShare-matching services for commuters to form vanpools and carpools anywhere in the eight-county region. METRO’s network of HOV lanes is used to bypass congestion and allow commuters to get to work or home faster. For information about RideShare, call 713-224-7433.
METROVan is a service for a group of at least seven people willing to leave behind their cars and ride together and is ideal for those who live or work where METRO bus service is not available. Vanpooling helps save on daily travel expenses such as parking and the wear and tear on personal vehicles. Vanpools that begin or end anywhere in the eight-county region are eligible for the $35 per rider incentives per month. For more information, call 713-224-7433.
For more information or to speak with a customer information specialist, call 713-635-4000 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekends and holidays. Visit the METRO website at www.ridemetro.org to learn more.
Other Land Transportation Services
Express motor coach service for passengers and small packages is regularly available from Houston to many short- and intermediate-distance points on five different bus lines. Fifty-six Harris County lines offer charter service.
Brazos Transit District (www.btd.org), provides park and ride services from Conroe and The Woodlands to downtown Houston, the Texas Medical Center and Greenway Plaza.
For carpools, visit vanpool.org or vpsinc.com to find out if these options are available in your community. Try also searching the Web for commute options to fit your needs.
About 50 taxicab companies serve the area. Also, more than 100 offices of nationally known and local car rental agencies and more than 200 limousine and town-car services operate in the Houston area. About 200 intra- and intercity couriers, including most nationally known companies, provide fast and efficient door-to-door service at competitive rates.
Workers downtown and in midtown who need to get around the area in a hurry now have access to REV Houston. Also known as the “eco-shuttle,” it provides clean, affordable and convenient transportation via all electric/zero emission vehicles.
Port of Houston
As another example of region’s “can do” spirit, a few visionary Houstonians embarked on a plan to create a port out of a city more than 50 miles inland. Work began on the port in 1905 and with a combination of federal and local dollars, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the lower reaches of the Buffalo Bayou to create the Houston Ship Channel.
Now, more than a century later, the Port of Houston ranks first among U.S. ports in volume of foreign tonnage, second in the United States in total tonnage, and 14th in the world in total tonnage. A 25-mile (40-kilometer) complex of diversified public and private facilities, the Port includes more than 100 wharves.
The Houston Ship Channel is a 52-mile inland waterway that connects Houston with markets throughout the world. Last year, more than 7,700 ships carrying 225 million tons of cargo moved through the Houston Ship Channel. Two major railroads and 150 trucking lines connect the port to the remainder of the continental United States, Canada and Mexico.
Houston Airport System
Last year, the Houston Airport System (HAS) served nearly 48 million travelers. It is the fourth-largest multi-airport system in the nation in terms of passenger volume, the sixth largest in the world, and it is the eighth-largest international passenger gateway in the United States. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) on the north side, William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) on the south side and Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center constitute one of the world’s most accessible airport systems.
Detailed information on the Houston Airport System, including lists of passenger-carrying airlines and contact information on cargo airlines is available at www.fly2houston.com.
METRO operates 28 Park & Ride lots with about 33,300 available parking spaces. Direct nonstop service to downtown, the Texas Medical Center or other major employment centers in the METRO service area is available from all Park & Ride lots and local service. Park & Ride facilities also serve as staging areas for vanpools and carpools.
— Transit Centers
Transit centers are sheltered waiting areas located where several bus routes and/or METRORail converge. METRO’s 19 transit centers serve as efficient “hubs” to allow bus and/or METRORail riders from various locations to assemble at a central point to take advantage of express trips or other route-to-route transfers.
METRO provides a variety of information and services to area employers and employees, such as commuter tax benefit information, organizing vanpools/carpools, computerized ride matching, origin/destination mapping and on-site events. Employer and commuter services include:
RideSponsor helps area companies and groups encourage employees and members to ride METRO as a way to relieve demand for parking and improve air quality. For information, call (713) 652-4311.
RideShare provides RideShare-matching services for commuters to form vanpools and carpools anywhere in the eight-county region. METRO’s network of HOV lanes is used to bypass congestion and allow commuters to get to work or home faster. For information about RideShare, call 713-224-7433.
METROVan is a service for a group of at least seven people willing to leave behind their cars and ride together and is ideal for those who live or work where METRO bus service is not available. Vanpooling helps save on daily travel expenses such as parking and the wear and tear on personal vehicles. Vanpools that begin or end anywhere in the eight-county region are eligible for the $35 per rider incentives per month. For more information, call 713-224-7433.
For more information or to speak with a customer information specialist, call 713-635-4000 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekends and holidays. Visit the METRO website at www.ridemetro.org to learn more.
Other Land Transportation Services
Express motor coach service for passengers and small packages is regularly available from Houston to many short- and intermediate-distance points on five different bus lines. Fifty-six Harris County lines offer charter service.
Brazos Transit District (www.btd.org), provides park and ride services from Conroe and The Woodlands to downtown Houston, the Texas Medical Center and Greenway Plaza.
For carpools, visit vanpool.org or vpsinc.com to find out if these options are available in your community. Try also searching the Web for commute options to fit your needs.
About 50 taxicab companies serve the area. Also, more than 100 offices of nationally known and local car rental agencies and more than 200 limousine and town-car services operate in the Houston area. About 200 intra- and intercity couriers, including most nationally known companies, provide fast and efficient door-to-door service at competitive rates.
Workers downtown and in midtown who need to get around the area in a hurry now have access to REV Houston. Also known as the “eco-shuttle,” it provides clean, affordable and convenient transportation via all electric/zero emission vehicles.
Port of Houston
As another example of region’s “can do” spirit, a few visionary Houstonians embarked on a plan to create a port out of a city more than 50 miles inland. Work began on the port in 1905 and with a combination of federal and local dollars, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the lower reaches of the Buffalo Bayou to create the Houston Ship Channel.
Now, more than a century later, the Port of Houston ranks first among U.S. ports in volume of foreign tonnage, second in the United States in total tonnage, and 14th in the world in total tonnage. A 25-mile (40-kilometer) complex of diversified public and private facilities, the Port includes more than 100 wharves.
The Houston Ship Channel is a 52-mile inland waterway that connects Houston with markets throughout the world. Last year, more than 7,700 ships carrying 225 million tons of cargo moved through the Houston Ship Channel. Two major railroads and 150 trucking lines connect the port to the remainder of the continental United States, Canada and Mexico.
Houston Airport System
Last year, the Houston Airport System (HAS) served nearly 48 million travelers. It is the fourth-largest multi-airport system in the nation in terms of passenger volume, the sixth largest in the world, and it is the eighth-largest international passenger gateway in the United States. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) on the north side, William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) on the south side and Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center constitute one of the world’s most accessible airport systems.
Detailed information on the Houston Airport System, including lists of passenger-carrying airlines and contact information on cargo airlines is available at www.fly2houston.com.
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