HOUSTON – A driver shortage is affecting METRO’s Park and Ride operations this year.
“The big difference that somebody might expect, it might take a little longer to get there and a little longer to get home. Usually, we offer bus services out of different locations. This year, we are offering service out of Maxey Road,” Andrew Skabowski, METRO Houston Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has always partnered with METRO Houston to get folks to and from NRG, but this year they’re helping out Texas style by bringing in 400 charter buses from all over the country to help fill in the park and ride gaps.
“We’ll pick up operations at the West Loop Park and Ride location and the Monroe location off of 45 on the south side of town. METRO will continue to operate out of the Maxey location,” Kyle Olsen, the Houston Rodeo Director of Operations said. “That’s another one that has done expedited routes to the rodeo. North Shepherd, that’s a really long route, and they’re making some changes up there this year. There’s a rail station that is four miles south of that, and it’s called the North Line Transit Center, off of 45 and Tidwell. There’s rail access there but one of the reductions is the North Shepherd line.”
METRORail to NRG is a $2.50 round trip.
“The other difference is because of the pandemic, we will be watching our loads on our trains. We’ll be limiting the amount of people on the platform,” said Andrew Skabowski, METRO Houston Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
METRO Houston will also limit the number of people on their buses, so factor in extra time to get to where you need to be.
Handicap Accessible parking locations for the park and rides include OST 1, West Loop, Monroe and Maxey.
Plan on paying $20 to park at NRG. You’ll pull into the Yellow Lot, 610 or OST and catch a free tram ride to the stadium.
Taking an Uber or Lyft? You’ll get dropped off and picked up at the Yellow Lot, a quick 5-10 minute walk down Mcknee and you’ll arrive at NRG Stadium.
Remember to download the Houston Rodeo and METRO app to keep up with all the transportation updates in real time.
Masks are mandatory if you’re using any of METRO Houston’s services.