Getting Around in San Antonio

Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2001 10:05:07 -0500 
To: "The NewsLib mailing list" <newslib@listserv.unc.edu> 
From: Carolyn Edds <nrriverat@yahoo.com> 
Subject: [newslib] Getting Around in San Antonio 

For those of you attending the conference (and those that visit San Antonio on vacation), here are some transportation tips.

San Antonio has a streetcar service which is convenient for getting around the downtown area. The cost is 50 cents a trip. It has a stop at El Mercado/Market Square, an area some may want to visit. As you walk around downtown, you will see maps of the streetcar routes posted at each stop. Each route is a different color. To get your own copy of the streetcar service map and more information about the service, visit http://www.viainfo.net/route_schedule/streetcar.html


For information on the San Antonio bus system, visit http://www.viainfo.net/index.asp and for routes visit http://www.viainfo.net/route_schedule/routes_index.html The fare is 75 cents a trip. If you are going to transfer to another bus, ask for a transfer ticket when you get on the first bus. The fare for a transfer is five cents.

I'm not as familiar with taxis in town but I'm sure there will be some available near the conference center and at the hotels. Another good place to catch a taxi is near the Alamo, in front of the Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop.

Here is the ground transportation page from the San Antonio International Airport Web site: http://www.ci.sat.tx.us/aviation/page11.htm Another option that isn't listed is a shuttle service. When you go outside of the airport from baggage claim, there is a booth for this shuttle service, located to your right at the end of the building. I believe the name of this company is SA Trans and that name probably will be on the booth. One-way tickets to downtown are $8 or a round-trip is $14. They just told me they depart every ten minutes and reservations are not required. The future home of their Web site is at http://www.saairportshuttle.com/ and their phone number is (210)281-9900.

Some of you might be interested in taking a horse and carriage ride, which is available downtown.

Once in town, if you want transportation or other San Antonio information, there is a visitor's center located directly across from the front of the Alamo. If you stand in front of the Alamo and look across the way, you will see two buildings with a gap in between them. The San Antonio visitor's information center is located in the building to the right of that gap and you will be looking straight at it from the front of the Alamo. You can get down to the Riverwalk by walking down the stairs that are in the gap between the two buildings and the News Division suite is located in this area.

Looking forward to seeing you in San Antonio!

Carolyn Edds
News Researcher
San Antonio Express-News
P.O. Box 2171
San Antonio, TX 78297-2171
(210) 250-3278
(210) 250-3105 (fax)
riverat@afn.org

Addendum:

I called a couple of local taxi companies.  They estimate a trip from the
airport to downtown (one way) will be between $14 to $16, possibly more
depending on where you are going.  By the way, I believe the company that
runs the shuttle I mentioned yesterday does accept credit cards. 
 
If anyone is planning to rent a car, listen carefully to the driving
directions for returning the car.  If you rent a car from a company that
will require an exit to Jones Maltsberger upon returning the car, that can
get a little confusing because there are a couple of exits for Jones
Maltsberger.  If you don't pay attention to them when they give you a map
and explain this to you when you leave the lot, you might become confused
when you attempt to return the car.  :-)

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