Houston

===Transit===

[[File:METRO Light Rail3.jpg|thumb|right|[[METRORail]] light rail]]
The [[Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County]] (METRO) provides [[public transport]]ation in the form of buses, [[light rail]], [[High-occupancy vehicle lane|high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes]], and [[paratransit]] to fifteen municipalities throughout the Greater Houston area and parts of unincorporated Harris County. METRO's service area covers {{Convert|1303|mi2|km2}} containing a population of 3.6 million.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |url=http://www.h-gac.com/taq/regionally-coordinated-transportation-plan/documents/Appendix-D-Transportation-Resource-Inventory.pdf |title=Gulf Coast Regionally Coordinated Transportation Plan – 2016 Transportation Resource Inventory Update |date=2016 |website=Houston–Galveston Area Council |page=62 |access-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321192527/http://www.h-gac.com/taq/regionally-coordinated-transportation-plan/documents/Appendix-D-Transportation-Resource-Inventory.pdf |archive-date=March 21, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

METRO's local bus network services approximately 275,000 riders daily with a fleet of over 1,200 buses.<ref name=":4" /> The agency's 75 local routes contain nearly 8,900 stops and saw nearly 67 million boardings during the 2016 fiscal year.<ref name=":4" /> A [[park and ride]] system provides commuter bus service from 34 transit centers scattered throughout the region's suburban areas; these express buses operate independently of the local bus network and utilize the region's extensive system of HOV lanes.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |url=http://www.h-gac.com/taq/plan/2040/docs/2040-RTP-revised-April-2016.pdf |title=2040 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) |date=March 2016 |website=Houston–Galveston Area Council |access-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908161824/http://www.h-gac.com/taq/plan/2040/docs/2040-RTP-revised-April-2016.pdf |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Downtown and the Texas Medical Center have the highest rates of transit use in the region, largely due to the park and ride system, with nearly 60% of commuters in each district utilizing public transit to get to work.<ref name=":5" />

METRO began light rail service in 2004 with the opening of the {{convert|8|mi|km|adj=on}} north-south [[METRORail Red Line|Red Line]] connecting Downtown, Midtown, the Museum District, the Texas Medical Center, and [[NRG Park]]. In the early 2010s, two additional lines—the [[METRORail Green Line|Green Line]], servicing the [[East End, Houston|East End]], and the [[METRORail Purple Line|Purple Line]], servicing the [[Third Ward, Houston|Third Ward]]—opened, and the Red Line was extended northward to [[Northline, Houston|Northline]], bringing the total length of the system to {{Convert|22.7|mi|km}}. Two light rail lines outlined in a five-line system approved by voters in a 2003 referendum have yet to be constructed.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Vote-against-Metro-referendum-could-mean-more-rail-3923747.php |title=Vote against Metro referendum could mean more rail |last=Smalley |first=George F. |date=October 5, 2012 |work=Houston Chronicle |access-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321130407/https://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Vote-against-Metro-referendum-could-mean-more-rail-3923747.php |archive-date=March 21, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[METRORail Uptown Line|Uptown Line]], which runs along Post Oak Boulevard in [[Uptown Houston|Uptown]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 23, 2020|title=Metro's Silver Line starts, first of many bus rapid transit planned in region in lieu of rail|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/Metro-s-Silver-Line-starts-first-of-many-bus-15508912.php|access-date=October 21, 2020|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|language=en-US |last1=Begley |first1=By Dug }}</ref> was under construction as a [[bus rapid transit]] line—the city's first—while the [[METRORail University Line|University Line]] has been postponed indefinitely.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/University-Line-federal-funding-pledge-pulled-7846885.php |title=Federal funding pulled for light rail line construction along Richmond Avenue |last=Begley |first=Dug |date=May 24, 2016 |work=Houston Chronicle |access-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321130304/https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/University-Line-federal-funding-pledge-pulled-7846885.php |archive-date=March 21, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The light rail system saw approximately 16.8 million boardings in fiscal year 2016.<ref name=":4" />

[[Amtrak]]'s thrice-weekly Los Angeles–New Orleans {{line link|Amtrak|Sunset Limited}} serves Houston at a [[Houston station (Texas)|station]] northwest of Downtown. There were 14,891 boardings and alightings in FY2008,<ref>{{cite web |title=Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2008, State of Texas |work=amtrak.com, Amtrak |access-date=March 28, 2009 |url=http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/TEXAS08.pdf | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227012831/http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/TEXAS08.pdf |archive-date=February 27, 2009 }}</ref> 20,327 in FY2012,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2013/02/brookings-institution-study-amtrak.html |title=Amtrak ridership up in Houston area, Brookings Institution reports |newspaper=[[Houston Business Journal]] |access-date=November 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111022338/http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2013/02/brookings-institution-study-amtrak.html |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> and 20,205 in FY2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=State of Texas Fact Sheet FY2018 |url=https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/statefactsheets/TEXAS18.pdf |publisher=National Passenger Railroad Corporation (Amtrak) |date=June 2019}}</ref> A daily [[Amtrak Thruway]] connects Houston with Amtrak's Chicago–San Antonio {{line link|Amtrak|Texas Eagle}} at [[Longview, Texas|Longview]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Texas Eagle Thruway Motorcoach Schedules |url=http://texaseagle.com/thruway.php}}</ref>