Houston Metro to launch IAH Express bus
Apr 1, 2008, 6:00 pm
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: HKG
Programs: Priority Club Plat
Posts: 12,311
Houston Metro to launch IAH Express bus
From the newsletter I receive (yes, I actually take public bus to/from work!):
No more grand tour of Gunspoint, but at least 15x the cost of the 102.
The Bush Airport Express is a new bus service we will launch soon that will leave the Downtown Transit Center every 30 minutes, take 30 minutes to travel nonstop to Terminal C at Bush Intercontinental Airport, and cost $30 round-trip. We're calling it the 30-30-30 solution to travel to Bush. There will be concierge service at DTC and at Terminal C. And you'll get to ride in our new hybrid commuter coaches.
Apr 1, 2008, 6:13 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: NYC: UA 1K, DL Platinum, AAirpass, Avis PC
Posts: 4,599
Not sure if it's a win for taxpayers, but it is about half the cost of a supershuttle ($23 each way). Maybe useful for the few carless U of H or Rice students who can take light rail down there (does it even go by the schools?).
Apr 1, 2008, 6:15 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,660
I was trying to figure out a way to get from the airport to an Astros game on one of my layovers.......
$30? Woof. Glad to hear there's a $2 option that includes a tour.
DRW
$30? Woof. Glad to hear there's a $2 option that includes a tour.
DRW
Apr 2, 2008, 10:07 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PEK
Programs: Alas, the Gravy Train Hath Ended...just happy to be an OW Sapphire and a ST Ivory...whatever
Posts: 4,389
Another great idea from Metro...who exactly lives near the DTC??? 
Apr 2, 2008, 10:12 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: A festering pit; a pustule of a fistula set athwart the miasmic swamps of the armpit of the Gulf of Mexico - a Godforsaken wart upon a dark crevasse of the World. (IAH)
Programs: UA Lifetime Gold, BA Silver, Marriott Lifetime Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold
Posts: 31,403
Still a good deal if you happen to work downtown. I can walk to the DTC from my office in about 5 minutes. This option saves $15 over cabs. I'll definitely be using it for my regular Friday afternoon jaunts to IAH.
Apr 2, 2008, 10:16 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NYC, MSY
Programs: DL DM, 1.5MM, NEXUS, Sky Club Lifetime, Admirals Club Lifetime, LowValueCustomer everywhere
Posts: 6,486
How many EQM's?
Apr 2, 2008, 10:50 am
#7
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: IAH/HOU
Programs: Priceline Blood Diamond Elite. Peon on DL, AA, UA, US, and WN.
Posts: 7,236
I am about to move to midtown. So, I don't know where the DTC is. However, this sounds like a good alternative to taking the super shuttle or a taxi. I know the Toyota Center is a 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile walk north of my townhouse on La Branch.
Apr 2, 2008, 10:57 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: HKG
Programs: Priority Club Plat
Posts: 12,311
DTC is in south side of Downtown, between Main and Travis just north of the I-45 overpass. There's a Metrorail stop there, and almost all buses to/from Downtown will have a stop within a block or two from the DTC.
Last edited by rkkwan; Apr 2, 2008 at 11:02 am
Apr 2, 2008, 10:57 am
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL Diamond, B6 Mosaic, AS MPV Gold, UA Gold MM, Marriott Plat, SPG Plat, Nat'l Exec Elite
Posts: 16,679
Well part of the idea is that you'd take a local Metro bus or light rail train to get to the DTC -- or a cab or have someone drop you there. If you live inside 610, the DTC isn't hard to get to on Metro. It's also a pretty inexpensive cab ride. It's also easily accessible via MetroRail from most downtown hotels, since the majority of the hotels downtown are no more than 3-4 blocks from a MetroRail stop.
I'm glad to see this service returning. Metro operated a similar service for a couple of years in the late 1990s/early 2000s but it didn't last long. Hopefully this time around they'll make it work.
I'm glad to see this service returning. Metro operated a similar service for a couple of years in the late 1990s/early 2000s but it didn't last long. Hopefully this time around they'll make it work.
Apr 2, 2008, 11:00 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Plat
Posts: 11,508
Well part of the idea is that you'd take a local Metro bus or light rail train to get to the DTC -- or a cab or have someone drop you there. If you live inside 610, the DTC isn't hard to get to on Metro. It's also a pretty inexpensive cab ride. It's also easily accessible via MetroRail from most downtown hotels, since the majority of the hotels downtown are no more than 3-4 blocks from a MetroRail stop.
I'm glad to see this service returning. Metro operated a similar service for a couple of years in the late 1990s/early 2000s but it didn't last long. Hopefully this time around they'll make it work.
I'm glad to see this service returning. Metro operated a similar service for a couple of years in the late 1990s/early 2000s but it didn't last long. Hopefully this time around they'll make it work.
Apr 2, 2008, 11:04 am
#11
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Marylebone
Programs: BA/BD Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 1,873
This seems pretty expensive for a metro bus to the airport. In Seattle, we pay around $2.50 each way I believe... and zero if you have a monthly pass/UPASS.
Apr 2, 2008, 11:07 am
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Plat
Posts: 11,508
This is a little different than regular bus commuting, this is a straight shot from downtown to the airport, no stops.
Apr 2, 2008, 11:10 am
#13
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: IAH/HOU
Programs: Priceline Blood Diamond Elite. Peon on DL, AA, UA, US, and WN.
Posts: 7,236
Agreed. In PHL, any bus would cost $2.00 o/w. However, none of those run directly to the airport from downtown. The regional rail costs $14 R/T (if tickets are bought on the train), or $12 r/t if tickets are bought at ticket windows (impossible to do at the airport). Still, a better deal than Metro in Houston.
Apr 2, 2008, 11:18 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: HKG
Programs: Priority Club Plat
Posts: 12,311
$30 R/T is too much, and it suggests that O/W is more than $15.
I think $12 O/W and $20 R/T is more reasonable.
It needs to be competitive with taxis for 2 people, if not three.
I think $12 O/W and $20 R/T is more reasonable.
It needs to be competitive with taxis for 2 people, if not three.
Apr 2, 2008, 1:04 pm
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL Diamond, B6 Mosaic, AS MPV Gold, UA Gold MM, Marriott Plat, SPG Plat, Nat'l Exec Elite
Posts: 16,679
But I'll still keep it in mind for trips back to Houston to see friends and family.