It's extremely crowded during rush hour. If you live south of Howard Station, you aren't getting a seat in the early part of the morning. There are only two cars, and the schedule could be more flexible (like the MetroRapid!)--at the moment, trains leave every 30 minutes, and service stops after 6:30 on weekdays : ( : (. The wifi is slow with lots of people accessing it at the same time, and there are dead spots of connectivity. The parking lot at Howard Station is large, but it still isn't enough! And there aren't enough places for bikes on board (well, there are barely enough places for people)!
All of that said--I'm glad it exists, it's close to my apartment complex, I don't have to drive, it reduces traffic, it saves me gas money, I like catching a glimpse of it if it passes nearby when I'm not riding, and I can't wait to see it expanded.
The downtown "station" is little more than a basic platform that was done on the cheap and looks it. The MetroRail line is a joke--a toy train that doesn't carry the ridership that it should because it was designed NOT to. Small cars with a few short segments of double tracking means that it's impossible to increase frequency of trains over its current capacity. Oh I could go on about all that's wrong with this system. All you need to do is ride it and see how it rocks and jerks from side to side, and how the wifi doesn't work most of the time, and how many commuters have to jam in to ride because it's packed by the time it gets to Howard Station in the morning. Ride it if you have no other options.
WiFi sucks. Better get there early. If not you're standing the entire way. Very crowded during commutes. I started taking the bus in the am because of the crowds.
Such a great ride to downtown from Northwest Austin!
Bought a $7 pass and went as far as Lakeline. Didn't see a lake, just a car park and a bit further on, new housing developments. Wanted to have lunch but found nowhere to eat so got back on the same train which brought me to the middle of nowhere. I'm really wondering just what is so great about Austin.
Downtown is a US Light Rail Station based in Austin, Texas. Downtown is located at 401 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701, USA.
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