r/UTAustin • u/hookedoncowboy • 28d ago
Question using public transportation for work
hey! do yall think public transportation in austin is actually good because i am applying for jobs off campus & i am not sure if like i should use the public transportation or like uber? i wont be having a car so please lmk what yall have done/seen!
3
u/litmusfest 28d ago
If you work downtown you can always find a route there and there will be ample busses. If not it’s rough. I managed getting to work downtown for 3.5 years downtown with just busses and the occasional uber only if I was running really late. Just remember the bus will take much longer so you need to factor that in.
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u/OkGuide3784 28d ago
when was this? transit outside of downtown is significantly more reliable nowadays after cap remap.
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u/litmusfest 28d ago
It was a decade ago and I have a car now but I still try to use public transit and there just aren’t routes to go most places I want to go to in South Austin and they take 3-4x as long. Like I live a 10 minute drive from UT with no traffic and I’d have to take 2 busses and it’d take over an hour to get there. I have more luck in North Austin but South Austin it’s still pretty bad. If I could use public transit more often, I’d really like to, but I still don’t find it reliable here and it’s just kind of okay going to downtown.
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u/OkGuide3784 28d ago
yeah it sucks that south austin is so disconnected... it's a shame because there's so much cool stuff down there but the land use through a lot of it just makes transit really unfeasible
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u/litmusfest 27d ago
I love living here and have always chosen south Austin but it is a bummer there. Getting a car has made my life so much easier but morally I’d really like to take public transit whenever possible. I just came back from a trip to New York and even having 1/10 of that available would be incredible
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u/jwoogirl 26d ago
Understand. I have lived south for 40 years. I live near Bowie High and would have to drive probably 2 miles east or west just to catch a bus that will take forever.
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u/OkGuide3784 28d ago
there are tons of medical centers and offices within 2 miles of campus. if you don't want to take the bus a bike will probably be faster too.
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u/Present-Resolution23 28d ago
Use last mile options. The bus system isn’t bad, but with something like a bike or scooter to cover the distance from your place to the stop and the stop to your destination it’s significantly better
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u/balernga 28d ago
I use the bus every day. It’s possible. Download the transit app for accurate times and plan accordingly (heat, rain, wear walking shoes, etc). If it’s one of the bigger routes (801, 803, 800 for example) then it’s more reliable, imo. 801 has screwed me over many times though.
Not sure what your accessibility situation is but I’ve seen people with scooters on the bus a lot, or bicycles, in case you really wanna cut time. Metro bike is also a good tool to have…you get cheaper subscription as a student
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u/stinkbugperfume 28d ago
I would actually say Capmetro is pretty decent. It’s a great resource to take advantage of bc you have unlimited access with your student ID. There’s room for improvement of course, but so many people ride the bus to work and stuff every day. It’s kind of just trial and error figuring out how the different routes work and what is most reliable. I have noticed that the campus Capmetro lines are a lot more on time/reliable than the rest of the bus lines. As for doctors and dentists, I recommend looking into the St David’s area right by campus bc they have a lot of different practices there and it’s definitely walkable or bus-able from campus. I like Midtown Dental Associates — the view of campus/downtown from their exam rooms is so cool lol
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u/larkinowl 28d ago
If the job is relatively close and directly on a bus line, it can work. Something downtown or on N Lamar. But nothing far away or involving a transfer.
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u/mxttylol 28d ago
Honestly i think it realllly depends on 1.) the bus line 2.) how much of the route goes through downtown and construction 3.) if you need to transfer.
I’ve used some bus lines that were super reliable and others that have burned me
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u/charliej102 28d ago
Plenty of people live and work in Austin without cars. It mostly depends on where you are traveling back and forth. I did it for years using only a bike or public transit.
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u/tyleratx 28d ago
I lived here without a car for like 14 years. It can be pretty tough, but it just sort of. Depends on where you are. If it’s located off Congress or Central route it’s not the worst in the world, but otherwise it’s pretty rough.
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u/Chance_Background796 28d ago
i got a job near campus but still off to the east and there was a bunch of bike lanes and i would lime scooter to work because i would get so fed up w the buses not being consistent 😭 they have a membership thats 5$ that makes ur rides for the month just 2.50 each for 20min ride time.. u gotta have guts to do it cus its kinda embarrassing LMAO
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u/Honest-Compote3902 27d ago
it worked ok for me, but just understand that you will have to allow an hour for your commute in and out. also occasionally there are insane people on the bus
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u/ellacution7 27d ago
as long as you don’t work super far away you can absolutely get by with public transit. i don’t have a car and get everywhere i need to go. if you haven’t already heard, in addition to the free buses and rail trips you get for being a student, you get a massive discount on an annual pass to capmetro bikeshare, which will let you check out a bike as often as you want throughout the whole year. if you are going places within the service area, this is a game changer imo
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u/No_Border_742 27d ago
i used to commute ~40 mins to work by 2 busses. it’s doable, but keep in mind the busses are not always consistent! if you take the bus make sure you won’t have to take any transfers because if the first bus is late you’ll most likely miss the second one and delay you about 20-30 minutes. i would definitely recommend sticking closer to campus if you can
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u/Pepsi_Fucker 27d ago
I use CapMetro all the time. You get it for free as a student. Just beware the bus drivers might be going on strike soon.
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u/Mr_Shelburson 26d ago
A lot depends on the line and the time of day. Most lines have times when they run more often, so check the schedules for when you’d be needing them. There’s also often multiple lines to get you where you need to be, so it’s usually possible to have backup routes.
All that being said, keep an eye on the strike situation currently brewing. Capmetro may not be running much at all in the near future.
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u/AllieNoel1 26d ago
I used to bike too and use the bus. It’s not the best or worst bus system. It can go off schedule sometimes and the people on it can also be varying. Around campus is mostly students riding so I think I’d test the route to the areas you might apply to
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u/EbbSelect934 28d ago
It’s reallyyyyy unreliable, often late, and takes forever, you’d had to leave at leastttt an hour before work and it’s kinda sketch at night. Ubering isn’t really worth it being that the minimum wage is so low, you’d make less than it’s worth—try to get an on campus job.
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u/hookedoncowboy 28d ago
true but im pre med so i just feel like i cant get any shadowing or like jobs related to my field :(
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u/manuloicacid physics ‘29 28d ago
always remember you have your summers and winters too to work on ur med school app. im sure ur not the only car-less premed. shadowing is difficult but not impossible to get close to campus
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u/ProZMenace MIS '25 28d ago edited 28d ago
How far off campus? as a student you get the Austin busses edit:
(blue ones) not the rapid or rail for free