Getting In, Getting Around Houston

Most travelers fly into George Bush International Airport since it's the largest airport serving the city. More than 40 million travelers passed through its gates in 2005, and many of them took a free shuttle to the consolidated car rental facility on the east side of JFK Boulevard, less than five minutes from the airport.

Advantage, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty are grouped together to make renting a car easier. The rental cars are covered and close, so after a long flight, travelers can locate and rent a car with relative ease.

If taking a taxi is part of your travel plans, simply step outside and hail a cab. Or better yet, ground transportation employees will hail one for you outside each terminal.

The Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority, usually called Metro, provides bus service from the airport to Houston. You can catch a bus on the south side of Terminal C, and it's best to check Metro's Web site for route information.

Hotels often offer shuttles to and from the airport, so hotel customers should check with the concierge about their transportation options.


Amtrak's Sunset Limited line is the only passenger train route with a stop in Houston.

Houston's major freeways include: IH-45 North ("North Freeway"): To Dallas; IH-45 South ("Gulf Freeway"): To Galveston; IH-10 West ("Katy Freeway"): To San Antonio; IH-10 East: ("Baytown/East Freeway": to Beaumont; IH-610 ("The Loop"): Loop around downtown US-59 South ("Southwest Freeway"): to Victoria; US-59 North ("Eastex Freeway"): to Lufkin; US-290 West ("Northwest Freeway"): to Austin; SH-288 South ("South Freeway"): to Freeport; SH-225 East ("Pasadena Freeway"): to La Porte; BW-8 ("The Beltway"): Loop about twice as far out as IH-610.


As Houston is a large, sprawling city, and since public transportation is limited, people living in Houston are dependent on the automobile. Houston is not a walking city.

Currently, public transportation in Houston is limited to METRO, which operates bus lines as well as a the new and very popular light rail line called METRORail. METRORail is a seven and a half mile light rail line that runs between downtown, midtown, the museum district, the Medical Center, Reliant Park, and the Fannin South Park & Ride (which is a handy place to park and is located near the 610 loop).

Outside of Downtown, don't expect to catch a taxi on the streets, but there are various cab stands located at various parts of downtown proper. Taxis in Houston are generally dispatched by various companies the largest being Yellow cab, 713-236-1111.