Metro OKs plan easing link between Houston, Galveston

Transit officials in Galveston and Houston are about to make it easier to get from the island to the region’s central business district.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority board on Thursday approved its side of an agreement to share the Bay Area Park and Ride location near Interstate 45 with Galveston’s Island Transit. The agreement, when finalized, would allow for Island Transit to operate service from downtown Galveston to Texas City and then connect with Metro at the Bay Area stop.

“This is a considerably more convenient service,” said Metro board member Christof Spieler.

Service could start as early as mid-July, provided an agreement can be approved.

The connection between Houston and Galveston bus service now is a bothersome trek that includes a ride from the Bay Area park and ride to a shopping center where Island Transit picks up passengers at a stop directly behind a Hooters restaurant near Interstate 45 and NASA Parkway. A missed connection can mean a long wait under the awning of the nearby Burlington Coat Factory.

Tying the two transit systems directly could, officials have said, provide a valuable link that one day could entice more riders in both directions. Currently, however, Metro said it expects about 20 boardings daily, or 10 round trips, which would be an abnormally low amount of riders for a Houston area bus line.

Operating the new line will cost $120,000 per year, meaning each of those anticipated trips will cost about $24, though riders will pay $9 for a oneway ticket — $4.50 each to Metro and Island Transit. The Texas Department of Transportation last year agreed to pay half of the cost for two years, or $120,000 to get the service going. Galveston County, Galveston and Texas City each will pay a third of the remaining cost for the two years.

Buses would connect Galveston to the Bay Area location three times per day in each direction, Monday through Friday, with trips planned in the morning, afternoon and evening. Trips will take 90 minutes to two hours between Houston’s central business district and downtown Galveston.

Though many note the importance of Galveston connections to Houston, attempts to give people alternatives to driving solo have had mixed success of late. Previous public transit links have failed to justify enough riders to continue operating. Bus service largely has been limited to private shuttle lines. Metro experimented with opening HOT lanes along I-45 on weekends to ease traffic during peak beach season, but concluded the effort was not effective.