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Rice University - Transportation - Transportation - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.46

Transportation

Quick Stats

Best Ways to Get Around Town
  • Have a car. If you are unfortunate enough to live in Houston and not have a car, you should make friends with people who have cars.
  • If you MUST find alternate means of transportation, try walking, jogging, running, biking, skating, taking the Metro bus, a taxi, or the light rail.
Best Ways to Get to the Airport
  • A cab ride to IAH costs between $42 and $46.
  • A cab ride to the Hobby airport costs between $24 and $28.

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Rice students all agree that public transportation in Houston is inconvenient. While Amtrak, Greyhound, taxis, and the light rail system are all available, most Rice students prefer to hitch a ride with their friends to get around town. Metro bus stops are located very near to campus, but some students indicate that they do not feel safe riding the city buses, and the bus stops themselves are scary places if you are alone at night. The travel times on the city buses also vary with traffic, making them undependable at best.

If you want to travel around town, you should definitely bring a car if possible, despite the cons of parking. Most students have their own cars or rely on the kindness of friends who have cars to get them around town. Houston traffic is a nightmare, as are Houston drivers (although students from other large U.S. cities seem to think the driving is comparable).

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Rice Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Transportation at Rice University

adev

Civil Engineering '14

5.0
A+

Public Transportation Is the Way to Go!

Rice pays for your metro tickets, which will bring you practically anywhere you need to be. Downtown Houston is compact, so everything is within walking or biking distance. I don't have a car, and I don't need one at all!

Mar 08, 2012

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Transportation at Rice University

azalusky

English '15

4.6
A

Everything but the Parking Is Great

The cheapest parking lots are ages away from the rest of campus, and they're still not that cheap. However, cars aren't really needed on such a small campus, and students get free access to the Houston Metro system, so you can get pretty much anywhere in the city easily. There's a shuttle system to the Hobby airport that's also free at Thanksgiving, so no trouble there.

Feb 23, 2012

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Transportation at Rice University

atwalborn

Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering '13

2.3
C

No Public Transit

Rice runs buses around campus all day, but the campus is not particularly big, so it is often better just to walk. The run buses to the Village area on Friday/Saturday nights (again, usually not worth waiting for the bus), and to Target on Saturdays (necessary, but slow and inconvenient). There is a night escort service, which is fabulous.

The public transit system in Houston itself is really inadequate. They have the light rail, which Rice is right next to and Rice students can ride for free. However, it only runs a few places. You can go to the museum (which is basically walking distance from campus anyway) or to Reliant Stadium, but that is about it.

Dec 05, 2011

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User rating for Rice University - Transportation is 3.5 out of 5 based on 22 user reviews.

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate the cost of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of long-distance transportation to travel between home and school

How convenient is the campus-provided transportation?

How necessary is it to have a car on campus?

How easy is it to get around town?

Facts

Did You Know? The Passport to Houston program provides students with free METRO passes, so they can hop on the light rail system to get around the city. Many museums and theaters around Houston discount tickets to Rice students through the program, as well.

Safety Escort ServicesWhat's This?

Escort service
(713) 348-6000 or (713) 348-3333
Sunday–Thursday 10 p.m.–6 a.m. (Friday–Saturday upon request)

Campus ShuttleWhat's This?

Rice Campus Shuttle Service

There are different shuttle schedules: Inner Loop, Rice Village Apartments/Greenbriar, Graduate Apartments, Texas Medical Center, Rice Village, and Night Escort.

(713) 348-5223 transportation manager

(713) 348-5996 transportation department coordinator

Monday–Friday 6:30 a.m.–10:40 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.–3 p.m. (every 45 minutes)

Public TransitWhat's This?

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO)

The METRO serves the Greater Houston area.

(713) 635-4000 route and schedule info

(713) 658-0854 lost and found

(713) 658-0180 comments, compliments, complaints

1900 Main St.

www.ridemetro.org

Nearest AirportWhat's This?

William P. Hobby International Airport

Hobby is about 12 miles and approximately 20 minutes driving time from Rice.

7800 Airport Blvd.

(713) 640-3000

fly2houston.com/hobbyHome

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)

IAH is about 24 miles and approximately 40 minutes driving time from Rice.

2800 N. Terminal Rd.

(281) 230-3100

www.fly2houston.com

Nearest Passenger BusWhat's This?

Greyhound

The Greyhound bus station is in downtown Houston, approximately three miles from campus.

2121 Main St.

(713) 759-6565

www.greyhound.com

Nearest Passenger TrainWhat's This?

Amtrak

This station is located approximately five miles from campus.

902 Washington Ave.

(800) 872-7245

www.amtrak.com

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Most Recent Student Author View all

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Eli Spector

College Prowler is seeking talented student authors to assist with writing and updating the College Prowler guides to their schools. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain experience and tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college.

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