Austin Transportation

Getting There

Air

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) +1 512 530 ABIA http://www.abia.org/

ABIA is located eight miles from Austin and is serviced by the following airlines:

American Airline (+1 800 433 7300/ http://www.aa.com) British Airways (+1 800 247 9297/ http://www.british-airways.com) Continental (+1 800 525 0280/ http://www.continental.com) Delta ( +1 800 221 1212/ http://www.delta.com ) Frontier Airlines (+1 1 800 432 1359/ http://www.frontierairlines.com) Southwest (+1 800 435 9792/ http://www.southwest.com) United ( +1 800 241 6522/ http://www.ual.com ) U.S. Airways(+1 800 428 4322/ http://www.usairways.com/ )

Airport Map & Information: http://www.airguideonline.com/airports/airport_aus.htm
Airport Services: http://www.airguideonline.com/airports/airport_aus2.htm
Airport Transportation: http://www.airguideonline.com/airports/airport_aus3.htm

Car Rental: Alamo ( +1 800 327 9633/ http://www.alamo.com ) Avis ( +1 800 831 2847/ http://www.avis.com ) Budget ( +1 800 527 0700/ http://www.budget.com ) Dollar ( +1 800 4000/ http://www.dollar.com ) Enterprise ( +1 800 325 8007/ http://www.enterprise.com ) Hertz ( +1 800 654 3131/ http://www.hertz.com) National ( +1 800227 7368/ http://www.nationalcar.com ) Thrifty ( +1 800 367 2277/ http://www.thrifty.com )

Shuttles: SuperShuttle ( +1 800 BLUE VAN (258 3826)/ +1 512 258 3826 ) Carey Austin ( +1 800 336 4646/ http://www.carey.com/Carey/cities/US/Austin/ )

Train Amtrak services Austin daily from nationwide locations ( +1 800 872 7245/ http://www.amtrak.com ).

Bus Greyhound ( +1 800 231 2222; +1 512 458 4463/ http://www.greyhound.com ) accesses Austin daily.

Highway The I-35, I-10, and the US-290 will take you into Austin from any direction.

Getting Around

Train

Take the historic Austin Steam Train ( +1 512 477 8468/ http://www.austinsteamtrain.org ) through Austin. Open year-round on weekends only.

Bus

The Capitol Metro Bus ( +1 512 474 1200/ http://www.capmetro.org ) serves the airport as well as all areas of the city.

Taxi

Ace Taxi ( +1 888 582 8646 ) American Yellow ( +1 452 9999; +1 800 874 0278 ) Austin Cab ( +1 478 2222; +1 800 TAXICAB ) Roy's Taxi Inc. ( +1 482 0175; +1 800 845 ROYS )

Traffic Information

To find out city traffic information go to: http://www.traffic.com/

If traveling overseas, take the safety precaution of registering your trip at https://travelregistration.state.gov and for helpful, practical advice about traveling technicalities and safety standards check out: http://travel.state.gov/

Planning a Trip

Phone or fill out an online form on the website of the Texas Department of Tourism (tel. 800/8888-TEX; www.traveltex.com) to receive the Texas State Travel Guide, a glossy book full of information about the state, along with a statewide accommodations booklet and map. The Travel Guide is a good companion when driving through the state. Most of the small towns that you're apt to pass through are described briefly, with some amusing, sometimes intriguing, local color for each.

The Texas Travel Information Center has a toll-free number (tel. 800/452-9292) to call for the latest on road conditions, special events, and general attractions in the areas you're interested in visiting. Traveler counselors will even advise you on the quickest or most scenic route to your intended destination. Texas Monthly magazine, another good source of information, can be accessed at www.texasmonthly.com.

In planning your trip, you might want to consult some maps. Of course, the online interactive maps at MapQuest (www.mapquest.com) or Google Maps (http://maps.google.com) will work for this, and, if you want an actual map of the city to have in hand when you get to town, you can order them online from Rand McNally (www.randmcnally.com), which offers a good variety of maps of San Antonio, Austin, and the region.

Austin -- This is one of the country's most wired cities, and I'm not talking caffeine. If you're not e-oriented, call the Austin Visitor Center, 209 E. Sixth St., Austin, TX 78701 (tel. 866/GO-AUSTIN), to receive a general information packet in the mail; otherwise, log on to www.austintexas.org. Austin City Connection, the city's municipal site, www.ci.austin.tx.us, is a good source for learning about several aspects of the city, not just the airport, roads, police, and the like; you'd be surprised how many attractions fall under the aegis of the Department of Parks and Recreation. The site also provides several useful links, for example to the University of Texas. To read the entertainment listings and reviews in The Austin-American Statesman, the city's mainstream newspaper, log on to www.austin360.com. You'll find the Austin Chronicle, the city's alternative newspaper, at www.auschron.com.

Getting There

By Plane

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (tel. 512/530-ABIA; airport code AUS) opened in 1999 on the site of the former Bergstrom Air Force Base, just off Highway 71 (Ben White Blvd.) and only 8 miles southwest of the capitol. For more information about the airport, go to www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport.

The Major Airlines -- America West (tel. 800/235-9292; www.americawest.com), American (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), Continental (tel. 800/525-0280; www.continental.com), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), Frontier (tel. 800/432-1359; www.frontierairlines.com), JetBlue (tel. 800/538-2583; www.jetblue.com), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com), Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com), and United (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com) all fly into Austin. There are currently nonstop flights from the following U.S. cities (outside of Texas): Atlanta; Baltimore; Chicago; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Denver; Detroit; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Memphis; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Nashville; New York; Orlando; Phoenix; Raleigh-Durham; St. Louis; San Diego; San Francisco; Tampa; and Washington, D.C.

Finding the Best Airfare -- All the airlines run seasonal specials that can lower fares considerably. If your dates of travel don't coincide with these promotions, however, the least expensive way to travel is to purchase tickets 21 days in advance, stay over Saturday night, and travel during the week.

Immigration & Customs Clearance -- International visitors arriving by air, no matter what the port of entry, should cultivate patience and resignation before setting foot on U.S. soil. U.S. airports have considerably beefed up security clearances in the years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, and clearing Customs and Immigration can take as long as 2 hours.

Getting into Town from the Airport -- Taxis from the major companies in town usually form a line outside the terminal, though occasionally you won't find any waiting. To ensure off-hour pickup in advance, phone American Yellow Checker Cab (tel. 512/452-9999) before you leave home. The ride between the airport and downtown costs around $25.

If you're not in a huge rush to get to your hotel, SuperShuttle (tel. 800/BLUE-VAN [258-3826] or 512/258-3826; www.supershuttle.com) is a less expensive alternative to cabs, offering comfortable minivan service to hotels and residences. Prices range from $12 one-way ($22 round-trip), for trips to a downtown hotel, to $14 ($24 round-trip), for trips to a central hotel, to $18 ($26 round-trip) for trips to a hotel in the northwestern part of town. The drawback is that you often must share your ride with several others, who may be dropped off first. You don't have to book in advance for pickups at the airport, but you do need to phone 24 hours ahead of time to arrange for a pickup when you're leaving town.

For 75¢, you can go from the airport to downtown or the university area on a city bus called the Airport Flyer (Rte. 100). It runs until about midnight. The passenger pickup is outside the arrival gates, close to the end of the concourse. Busses depart about every 40 minutes. You can grab a route schedule from the city's visitor information office, by the baggage carrousels. Or you can download it from the website Capital Metro Transit (tel. 512/474-1200 or TTY 512/385-5872; www.capmetro.org). It's also available ABIA's website (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport), just click on "Ground Transportation."

Most of the major car-rental companies -- Advantage, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, and Thrifty -- have outlets at the airport. The trip from the airport to downtown by car or taxi takes about 20 minutes, much more if you're headed to north Austin. During rush hour, there are often backups all along Highway 71. Be sure to allow extra time when you need to catch a flight.

By Car

I-35 is the north-south approach to Austin; it intersects with Highway 290, a major east-west thoroughfare, and Highway 183, which also runs roughly north-south through town. If you're staying on the west side of Austin, hook up with Loop 1, almost always called Mo-Pac by locals.

Stay on I-35 north and you'll get to Dallas/Fort Worth in about 3 to 4 hours. Highway 290 leads east to Houston, approximately 2 1/2 hours away, and west, via a scenic Hill Country route, to I-10, the main east-west thoroughfare. I-10 can also be picked up by heading south to San Antonio, some 80 miles away, on I-35.

By Train

To get to points east or west of Austin on the Sunset Limited by Amtrak, 250 N. Lamar Blvd. (tel. 800/872-7245 or 512/476-5684; www.amtrak.com), you'll have to pass through San Antonio. Trains depart from Austin to San Antonio nightly. The Texas Eagle runs from Austin to Chicago daily.

By Bus

You'll also be going through San Antonio if you're traveling east or west to Austin via Greyhound, 916 E. Koenig Lane (tel. 800/231-2222 or 512/458-4463; www.greyhound.com). There are approximately seven buses between the two cities each day, with one-way fares running around $15.