METRO Airport Direct Beats Expectations

[RedScare]

I travel every week for business. I work for a very large company. If they made me take a bus around the city, I'd probably quit.

Don't tell me, let me guess! You work for AIG!

[MetroMogul]

And I give credit to Metro for trying it. God forbid they experiment with new services. (and contrary to the lies about Metro posted by some, they are trying it out to see if they can make it successful. If it does not work out, they will cancel it. That is why they are operating it out of a temporary building on leased property.)

What lies? Please point me to these lies. First, if Metro wanted to "experiment" with such a service, it could have run shuttle vans from the DTC to guage the demand, then moved to large 55 passenger luxury coaches and new digs across the street if warranted. That is how you experiment. Instead, Metro went all in and they have little to show for it.

I'm all for Metro trying new services, but those services need to be in focus with their core mission which is providing mass transit, not niche boutique style transit for the business class that will most likely not take such a service anyway. If you're a student in a university and you're failing basic arthimetic, why would you try your hand at Calculus or other advanced mathematical concepts? Metro's local service is a stagnant mess of bad routes, bad schedules and broken buses, they need to fix these core issues before "experimenting" elsewhere. And if Metro is going to experiment with new service, why not something that would benefit more than a handful of people? Metro was projecting the daily ridership for this route to be equivalent to that of one full MCI coach and mini-bus per day. How is that addressing the needs of mass transit issues in Houston?

The Bellaire and Westheimer corridors are bulging with ridership, but improvements are delayed (Bellaire) or not even on the drawing board at all (Westheimer). New local service has been pushed back indefinitely it seems (the Renwick Crosstown route has been in development for 12 years now and the Hillcroft/Voss route nearly a decade) while wasteful gimmicks like the Airport service have been pushed to the forefront even after they failed several years back (anybody remember the cheaper 112 - Bush/IAH Direct).

When Metro gets the fundamentals down, they can experiment with niche services. But as of now, they need to focus on mass transit and move the most people and provide transit benefits to the most people.

Editor, I will get to your question on my next break.

[MetroMogul]

Editor, in regards to your inquiry on why I think it would be ideal and reasonable to charge $10-$15 for a rail service from downtown to the airport; here is my response.

First, it would still be overpriced, yes. However, the business class Metro is chasing now would much rather ride an "express train" to the Airport with point to point concierge and the same 30 minute travel time and frequency. Since rail is looked at as more "exclusive" than a city bus and Metro is trying to sell a direct ride to the Airport as a premium service, many might actually feel that $10 is a reasonable price point for that sort of rail service and Metro would hve more of a case for demanding it.

[crunchtastic]

Don't tell me, let me guess! You work for AIG!

I still have my corporate credit card!

I admit to not even reading the whole thread. I know times is tough and all, but when exactly did companies stop expensing required business travel? It's Houston. You take the damn cab.

The experience of schlepping one's bags around in the heat, transferring from bus to bus, to get to the plane, should be reserved for exotic travel to places with dysentery and easily reached duty-free + casino shops. Not here. Not ever.

[CoolBuddy06]

Obviously if you already live closer to IAH then you wouldn't use this service, but a lot of people live near downtown (including Midtown, Montrose, Medical Center, East End, West University, Bellaire, etc), and a lot of bus routes go through downtown transit center including the light rail. Also a lot of people work in and around Downtown, so I could see why this would be convenient to a lot of people. Maybe if it is successful they will have similar express busses from other transit centers in the future.

I think the point of this article was to show that this has already flown in Houston. It has already exceeded expectations. People are using it (most likely not you though). If people are using it and Metro is happy with the ridership, why would you say it won't fly in Houston? If the article had said that ridership was low I might have agreed with you.

Turns out that my idea of a successful venture is different from, probably higher than, Metro's.

If the people in Midtown, Downtown, Medical Center, Montrose etc consider this service as more convinient than other options, ridership will be more than that.

[CoolBuddy06]

What about entrepreneurs and small business owners who are trying to save money (especially with the downturn of the economy)? What about students and non-business people who need to get in and out of Houston for other purposes?

The only group from the paragraph above who I think will consider this Metro service as a money-saving option are students, really broke students, or some people who will do whatever 'green' thing there is.

[Houston19514]

I love the idea of it, but it's an expensive way to move 98 people per day. They're buying a lot of fuel and pumping out a lot of CO2 to shuttle air from downtown to the airport.

Nobody is saying the service will continue if they are only hauling 98 people per day. Give it some time. As we can see from the discussion on this thread, sometimes it takes Houstonians a long time to adjust to new ideas. ;-)

[Jeebus]

Still, I bet if it light rail up to the airport, the ridership would be much, MUCH better.

I don't think the logistics of luggage are ever considered when making these types of statements. I'm curious how many people would actually take light-rail in lieu of a bus to get to the airport.

I'm sure the frequent business traveler who has mastered the art of living out of a carry-on would enjoy light rail/commuter rail, but do they make up the majority of travelers? I know that when I fly, which is only two to three times a year, I have at least one checked bag, and one carry on. I don't know if I'd be comfortable "lugging" all my luggage onto a light rail train with me.

I'd have to imagine that these new commuter buses allow you to stow your luggage in the holds below - which makes more sense logistically, than attempting to board a train at multiple stops with the same amount of luggage in tow.

[memebag]

I rode the train from O'Hare to a downtown Chicago hotel with a carry on. It was an interesting journey, but ultimately more hassle than I wanted. I took a cab back to the airport.

[VicMan]

I'd have to imagine that these new commuter buses allow you to stow your luggage in the holds below - which makes more sense logistically, than attempting to board a train at multiple stops with the same amount of luggage in tow.

The Narita Express trains between Tokyo and Narita Airport have overhead bins for luggage and other luggage storage areas.

[ricco67]

lugging around my carryon from Ohare to DT Chicago wasn't a big deal at all, nor was it on the way back, and from what i saw, more than a few people took the train in from the airports.

Additionally, in NYC, you saw people EVERYWHERE carting luggage into and out of the Subway. Most got out at Penn Station and tooka cab or a shuttle (like i did), but it was far from a safari trek as some are describing it here.

Additionally, it will take time and word of mouth to use the metro shuttle, but i would imagine a large number of people would get dropped off there by friends and family on their way to work or whatever to save a few bucks.

The price that they are charging is something i wouldn't consider excessive.

[totheskies]

98 per day has got to be the average. I have used once, and on my trip to IAH, the bus was about halfway full. Most all of them were conventioneers from the GRB... some science conference or something. Long story short, they LOVED the service... especially the people that had traveled Houston previously. The only other people on the bus were a couple that were in town for cancer treatment (I sat right next to them). I didn't have a chance to speak to the driver, but my impression of the service was great. BTW, I live in Eastwood, So I took the 36 bus into downtown, then hopped on the Airport Direct. That means my total costs for transportation to the airport were $32.50... that beats parking per day or taxi by a long-shot!!

It's a REALLY great service... even if Houstonians aren't the main people using it. And we're not supposed to be the main people using it. But the Texas Medical Center alone is reason enough for the service to be successful.

[jmancuso]

This is the best deal in town. I have used it. You can't beat $30 to get to the airport roundtrip, plus no parking fee for 5 days.

it costs about 30 bucks to park at the cheapo city lot at IAH for 5 days.

[MaggieMay]

I think this is great, but I live near the light rail so I can walk to Museum District Station, take the rail to Downtown Transit Center, and then take the bus to the airport. I'm glad ridership is good, I was worried they would cancel it. Before this service existed I used to always avoid IAH if possible. I wish they had the same type of service to Hobby.

Three Metro Bus Routes serve Hobby Airport: 50 Harrisburg/Heights, 73 Bellfort Crosstown & 88 Hobby Airport. Check out the routes & schedules here. Metro's Trip Planner seems to work pretty well for airport trips; Google Transit can also be useful.

I guess we shouldn't let other people know that the 102 Bush IAH Limited will take them up to The Big Airport (& bring them back) for much less than the new service. Yes, luggage schlepping will be involved. There are no onboard restrooms; surely, everybody's Mom taught them to "Go before we go!"

If you already use the rail, you've probably got a Q Card. I'll bet you can decipher the schedules.

And be glad you're not one of those Transit Snobs who might condescend to the occasional light rail ride but pale at the mention of a city bus....

[Mr. Chenevert]

I recommended the express bus service to quite a few of the out of town guests for my wedding last November who didnt want to rent a car for the weekend.

They were very pleased with the service and didnt mind the price... compared to renting a car and paying for parking at a downtown hotel, its a very good price...

They implied that the bus was about half full as well..

I tend to believe they adjust the schedule based on demand. This is where you have to be careful how to read statistics.... however, I see Tory has no problem blasting it out on his blog as gospel!

[MetroMogul]

The schedule is set. That's why it's the 30-30-30 service.

[Mr. Chenevert]

The schedule is set. That's why it's the 30-30-30 service.

If a tree falls and nobody is around, does it make a sound?

[Jedidiyah]

I flew in from Chicago this February for a job interview. My hosts recommended SuperShuttle which costs $50 roundtrip and I only learned about Aiport Direct later by accident. Even if I did know and wasn't reimbursed, I would still have taken SuperShuttle. They have a pick-up at each terminal, not just C, with about 20min waiting time and take you right to your hotel.

With Aiport Direct I would have to wait potentially longer and then have to transfer to light rail at DTC. At the time I did not know about the light rail's existence or the fact that Club Quarters was near a stop. And what if it was not? 5:3 is simply too small a ratio to justify the hassle. In Chicago you can take either a train or a bus from O'Hare for just $2, while a cab to Evanston (the suburb where I live) is about $40. Now that's a ratio!

[Subdude]

I don't think the logistics of luggage are ever considered when making these types of statements. I'm curious how many people would actually take light-rail in lieu of a bus to get to the airport.

I'm sure the frequent business traveler who has mastered the art of living out of a carry-on would enjoy light rail/commuter rail, but do they make up the majority of travelers? I know that when I fly, which is only two to three times a year, I have at least one checked bag, and one carry on. I don't know if I'd be comfortable "lugging" all my luggage onto a light rail train with me.

I'd have to imagine that these new commuter buses allow you to stow your luggage in the holds below - which makes more sense logistically, than attempting to board a train at multiple stops with the same amount of luggage in tow.

Several airport trains I have been on have luggage areas by the doors. Even when there isn't it never struck me as a big issue to lug luggage onto trains.

[wakester]

They should move those buses to the 217 Cypress. 50 people * $4.50 > 2 people * $15

[ricco67]

Was talking to someone over the holidays that works with metro, he's saying that the ridership has increasing fairly steadily.

He didn't give me numbers.

He has said most people that arrive into town go across the street to metro to hop on a bus, but that quite a number of them will get picked up by various hotel shuttles, friends, or cabs.

Off hand he figured ridership is about 300 a day now, with the bus being half full at peak and only two or three people on off peak rides.

[Jax]

I've ridden it twice so far and I found it to be very convenient. But I live right on the light rail so maybe I'm biassed. It wasn't particularly crowded but I'm happy to hear it's catching on.

[HTX]

I used it last night to get home from a trip (I had a friend drop me off outbound) and will use it again. A cab from IAH to my house is $50.00 plus tip. I picked up a cab for $5.00 at Transit Center to get from the center to home, so $20.00 plus a 2 dollar cab tip. There were only a couple of passengers and I had a chance to talk with the driver, he is not the regular driver but said that he has yet to have a full load when he has been on the run. He also said other passengers had mentioned the price as being deterrent to using it for quick trips.

For comparison, I used the train in Chicago a couple of weeks ago to get from Midway to downtown, that cost $3.00. My final destination was McCormick Center and had to take a cab from the transit center, I think that was around $10.00. A cab from Midway to McCormick was $45.00 a couple of years ago. Roughly the same distances and methods of travel, it was cheaper in Chicago.

[Houston19514]

I used it last night to get home from a trip (I had a friend drop me off outbound) and will use it again. A cab from IAH to my house is $50.00 plus tip. I picked up a cab for $5.00 at Transit Center to get from the center to home, so $20.00 plus a 2 dollar cab tip. There were only a couple of passengers and I had a chance to talk with the driver, he is not the regular driver but said that he has yet to have a full load when he has been on the run. He also said other passengers had mentioned the price as being deterrent to using it for quick trips.

For comparison, I used the train in Chicago a couple of weeks ago to get from Midway to downtown, that cost $3.00. My final destination was McCormick Center and had to take a cab from the transit center, I think that was around $10.00. A cab from Midway to McCormick was $45.00 a couple of years ago. Roughly the same distances and methods of travel, it was cheaper in Chicago.

Huh? the trip from IAH to the downtown transit center is roughly 22 miles. Add the distance from there to your residence. At the most, by taking the long way through downtown, your trip from Midway to McCormick Place was 15 miles. (The distance between your origin and destination (from Midway to McCormick) was only about 11 miles) The Houston trip was more than 50% longer, more than 100% longer when you compare the actual distance between origin and destination). Not sure that falls into the "roughly the same distance" category.

For a complete comparison, how many minutes did each of the two trips take?

[editor]

I used it last night to get home from a trip (I had a friend drop me off outbound) and will use it again. A cab from IAH to my house is $50.00 plus tip. I picked up a cab for $5.00 at Transit Center to get from the center to home, so $20.00 plus a 2 dollar cab tip. There were only a couple of passengers and I had a chance to talk with the driver, he is not the regular driver but said that he has yet to have a full load when he has been on the run. He also said other passengers had mentioned the price as being deterrent to using it for quick trips.

For comparison, I used the train in Chicago a couple of weeks ago to get from Midway to downtown, that cost $3.00. My final destination was McCormick Center and had to take a cab from the transit center, I think that was around $10.00. A cab from Midway to McCormick was $45.00 a couple of years ago. Roughly the same distances and methods of travel, it was cheaper in Chicago.

The cab from downtown Chicago to either Midway or O'Hare is still about $45 if there's no traffic, or $50-$60 if there is traffic. Also, if the average price of gasoline in the city is above $3.20/gallon, then the cabs get to tack on an extra dollar fuel surcharge.

The city has a number of taxi rules designed to make it cheap and easy for conventioneers to get between downtown, the hotels, the convention center, and the United Center (basketball, hockey, and smaller conventions), and all taxis are required to participate in the program.

Unfortunately, unlike most civilized cities, Chicago does not have a flat fare from the airports to downtown, except out to Gary-Chicago airport, which is a flat fee of $70 each way.

IIRC, Houston's flat rate from the airport is $50. Once when coming home from somewhere I was tired and foggy and forgot about that and let the driver charge me $65+tip. Lesson learned.

[editor]

Huh? the trip from IAH to the downtown transit center is roughly 22 miles. Add the distance from there to your residence. At the most, by taking the long way through downtown, your trip from Midway to McCormick Place was 15 miles. (The distance between your origin and destination (from Midway to McCormick) was only about 11 miles) The Houston trip was more than 50% longer, more than 100% longer when you compare the actual distance between origin and destination). Not sure that falls into the "roughly the same distance" category.

For a complete comparison, how many minutes did each of the two trips take?

It would be difficult to compare a trip from McCormick Place to Midway and a trip between IAH and downtown Houston because a chunk of the Chicago trip takes place on neighborhood surface streets. That stretch along Cicero Avenue is particularly annoying when you're worried about being late for a plane. One of the things I loved about going to the airport in Houston was whipping up the toll road and right into the airport. I assume Metro's airport express takes the HOV lanes or some much faster route than surface streets.

That said, I think the Metro Express fare is a little high. If you're traveling with two people you'd might as well spend just a little more and take a cab and end up right at your destination.

Seattle's express bus to the airport is only $2.75, though I doubt anyone will take it anymore since Seattle opened its light rail link between downtown and the airport on Saturday -- AHEAD of schedule, and it's only $2.50 each way. Pittsburgh's bus to the airport is in the $2-3 range, and only makes two stops between downtown and the airport. Seoul and Tokyo both have buses similar to Metro's airport express, except that at they drop you off at your hotel. It's something like $11 in Seoul and $45 in Tokyo, if I remember correctly.

Google Maps says the Chicago trip should take 15 minutes, or 30 with traffic. But I've done that almost identical trip a dozen times when I lived not far north of McCormick Place, and there's NFW it EVER took 15 minutes. Even leaving at 4:00am to catch a 5:15am flight, it still takes way more than 15 minutes.

[Houston19514]

The cab from downtown Chicago to either Midway or O'Hare is still about $45 if there's no traffic, or $50-$60 if there is traffic. Also, if the average price of gasoline in the city is above $3.20/gallon, then the cabs get to tack on an extra dollar fuel surcharge.

The city has a number of taxi rules designed to make it cheap and easy for conventioneers to get between downtown, the hotels, the convention center, and the United Center (basketball, hockey, and smaller conventions), and all taxis are required to participate in the program.

Unfortunately, unlike most civilized cities, Chicago does not have a flat fare from the airports to downtown, except out to Gary-Chicago airport, which is a flat fee of $70 each way.

IIRC, Houston's flat rate from the airport is $50. Once when coming home from somewhere I was tired and foggy and forgot about that and let the driver charge me $65+tip. Lesson learned.

If you're paying $45 for a cab from downtown to Midway, I think you're getting ripped off. ;-) The best information I can find suggests cab fare from Midway to downtown Chicago should be around $25. The flat rate for Hobby to downtown Houston is $22-23. (And fwiw, the flat rate for Bush to downtown is $44.50/45.50.)

[Houston19514]

It would be difficult to compare a trip from McCormick Place to Midway and a trip between IAH and downtown Houston because a chunk of the Chicago trip takes place on neighborhood surface streets. That stretch along Cicero Avenue is particularly annoying when you're worried about being late for a plane. One of the things I loved about going to the airport in Houston was whipping up the toll road and right into the airport. I assume Metro's airport express takes the HOV lanes or some much faster route than surface streets.

That said, I think the Metro Express fare is a little high. If you're traveling with two people you'd might as well spend just a little more and take a cab and end up right at your destination.

Google Maps says the Chicago trip should take 15 minutes, or 30 with traffic. But I've done that almost identical trip a dozen times when I lived not far north of McCormick Place, and there's NFW it EVER took 15 minutes. Even leaving at 4:00am to catch a 5:15am flight, it still takes way more than 15 minutes.

Nothing about what you say makes it difficult to compare the trips between IAH and downtown Houston vs. Midway and downtown Chicago (or McCormick Place.) Yes, a portion of the trip is dissimilar, but one can still compare distances and travel times and costs. (And keep in mind that is was the original poster who claimed the trips were approximately the same distance... clearly not true.) Clearly, it makes more sense to compare IAH-downtown with ORD-downtown and MDW-downtown with HOU-downtown, but that's not what the original poster posited, so that's where the discussion has led.

That said, I agree that the Metro Express fare is a little high. IMO, $10 each way would be a whole lot more palatable, and of course, $5 would be even better.

[ricco67]

Ch. 13 is going to run a story on them. Only got a quick look at the teaser, but it looks like they're about to get lynched.

[kylejack]

I would have used it more if it went to Hobby. I like SWA.