Getting In The Fast Lane

[ricco67]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/m...politan/2888238

Nov. 7, 2004, 1:03AM

GETTING IN THE FAST LANE

The Metropolitan Transit Authority is considering plans to expedite travel to Bush Intercontinental Airport next year.

By LUCAS WALL

Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Joseph Fletcher of Bristol, England, boarded Metro's Route 102 last week expecting to take a quick trip from downtown Houston to Bush Intercontinental Airport.

What was labeled an "express" bus to the airport, however, was anything but that. A trip from the Hilton Americas-Houston downtown to the airport took more than an hour, including stops.

"It did seem to be a very poor form of transport," Fletcher said as he headed to check in for a flight home. "It's hard to make a service like that appealing to a wider group of people because they want to drive their own car."

Even though he's an out-of-towner, Fletcher's experience was similar to that of area residents who find it difficult to get to Bush Intercontinental in far north Houston without a personal car. Taxis are expensive, bus service is limited and rail service is nonexistent.

Houston and Detroit have the fewest city-to-airport travel options among the nation's largest metropolitan areas.

Both cities also are the only ones that don't have door-to-door shared-van shuttles. Houston bans the shared vans from servicing homes and offices; they may only take passengers to and from hotels. City Council is now reviewing a change to that ordinance proposed by the Houston Airport System.

"It's ridiculous" that this region doesn't have more travel options, said Toni Laas of Sugar Land. "In a city as big as Houston, we're still living in the Dark Ages."

The Metropolitan Transit Authority is considering plans to improve the bus service next year. Metro is discussing a nonstop bus from the airport to the city center, connecting with the Main Street light rail line and numerous bus routes at the Downtown Transit Center. It might also stop at major hotels.

"I have traveled to the airport on the bus from downtown, but it is too slow," said Erika Abud, who flew in last week from her hometown of Puebla, Mexico.

Abud said she now takes a hotel shuttle to and from the Houston airport but would welcome a direct bus route.

Service cutback

Options for getting to and from Houston's major airport became even fewer last week as Metro eliminated two of its routes serving Bush Intercontinental in a cost-cutting measure.

Route 55, which provided service between Greenspoint and Kingwood, and Route 101, which linked Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports, stopped running a week ago.

The cutbacks leave travelers with only Route 102 to the airport. And it attracts few fliers because of its lengthy travel time to downtown. It takes about an hour to travel downtown because of numerous stops at apartment complexes and other locations between the airport and Interstate 45.

On Fletcher's trip, the bus was full when it left downtown, but nearly all the passengers were Northside commuters who got off well before the airport. Only five people disembarked at the Terminal C stop, and only Fletcher was catching a flight.

Darren Bush of Humble bemoans the lack of good, affordable ground transportation options.

Bush said when he lived in Washington, he never drove himself to the airport. He used the subway, a bus or a taxi.

"This is really the only large city that I know of that doesn't have any good rapid-transit infrastructure," Bush said.

High taxi prices

The high cost of taxis in and out of Bush Intercontinental has long been an irritation for residents and visitors. The airport's distance from the city -- 19 miles north of downtown -- produces jaw-dropping fares. The fixed rate to downtown is $37.50. It's $73.50 to get to Clear Lake and the Johnson Space Center. Fares outside the city are unregulated.

"I always have to have somebody bring me here (airport) because the taxis are so expensive," Laas said. "From my house, a taxi is $90."

Direct bus route study

Metro Chairman David Wolff said the inaccessibility and high cost of using Bush Intercontinental is a major sore spot for the region's efforts to attract businesses and tourists. He hopes the transit authority can step in with a "first-class," point-to-point bus service that will draw numerous travelers out of their cars.

Metro has dubbed the bus route under study the "30/30." The concept is for buses to depart every half-hour and take only 30 minutes to make the trip from the Downtown Transit Center to the airport.

The idea of a direct bus has failed before. The authority discontinued a direct downtown-to-Bush Intercontinental bus in June 2000, less than two years after it began. The ridership was miserable, averaging about 200 people per day. That route was designed mostly for airport employees and never caught on among travelers.

Wolff said the proposed premium bus would be designed for fliers. Metro would likely purchase new buses, he said, and would plan an aggressive marketing campaign.

Smooth transfers

The addition of the light rail line and the transit center, both of which opened Jan. 1, will enable better transfers, Wolff said.

Smooth connections are essential to the proposed bus route's success because few Houstonians live downtown and a minority of Houston's work force is employed there.

Roger Smith, Houston Airport System spokesman, said Metro hasn't brought up the concept with airport officials.

But "we would say any new option that would be provided to help passengers get to and from Bush Intercontinental Airport is something we are not opposed to," he said.

Wolff said there's no time frame yet on when the premium bus might start.

Chronicle reporters Charlie Bier and Kim Jackson and correspondent Thayer Evans contributed to this report.

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[ssullivan]

I really hope they can make this work. I'm glad to see this article finally acknowledging the fact that a nonstop downtown-IAH bus route existed in the past; the 112 bus that was cancelled in 2000 because of horrible ridership. Several recent articles in the Chronicle acted like Metro had never even considered a nonstop bus before.

I for one would be interested in taking this bus if it existed. A 60 minute trip from my front door to Terminal C on Metro wouldn't be bad at all, considering it takes about that long for me to drive up there, parking in one of the satellite lots, and take a shuttle to the terminal. And there would be no expensive parking to deal with.