ACL Music Fest: Can One Ditch The Car And Get To The Concert? Oh, Let Us Count The Ways

AUSTIN, TX — As many Austin City Limits Music Festival are painfully aware, there is no parking allowed at during the mega-concert at Zilker Park — the makeshift staging area for the event that is considered the crown jewel of Austin's park system — with precious few options nearby. Those pressing their luck to park in restricted areas thinking no one will notice will all but inevitably get their vehicles impounded and issued a $250 fine.

That's the bad news. The good news is that there are myriad transportation options available to get to the venue for the music-loving, mosh-participating, crowd-surfing throngs. Following are some of those alternative forms of transportation:

Public Transportation

Forget any preconceived notions you might have about mass transportation, often the butt of jokes in movies or sitcoms. Austin's CapMetro offers a fine fleet of buses to take you to the concert, each arriving within minutes of the other on a daily basis. This is a fine way to get around, buses invariably clean with comfortable seats — particularly the accordion-like express buses that feature cushioned seats. Cushioned seats, people. These longer buses also have fewer stops than their commuter cousins, getting people to their destinations more quickly.

What's more, CapMetro is offering late-night service on Friday and Saturday this weekend and next to accommodate the concert-going masses. Service on the Night Owl routes 481, 483, 484, 485 and 486 will run from 6th Street and Congress Avenue downtown until 3 a.m. E-Bus Routes 410, 411 and 412 will operate from 6th Street, between Lavaca and Colorado Streets, until 3 a.m.

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Also, it's cheap. A buck twenty-five will buy you a one-way ticket, but if you put in $3.50 in the slots, you'll have bought yourself a day pass that can be used until the next day at the same time of purchase.

Those unfamiliar with mass transportation should know that you must have the exact amount of money, as you won't get change if you put in more than what's required. One can also buy passes at a number of retail locations or through the CapMetro app. That latter option also eliminates the need to ensure you have the exact amount for boarding, so there's that.

Here's a handy video that helps to demystify the process of taking public transport as an option. Don't be nervous; it's fun to be traveling with fellow concertgoers, and you don't have to endure the traffic in your own vehicle.

Hours of operation for MetroRail hours also will be extended during the ACL Fest run. Trains will operate until 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and midnight on Sundays. And each night of the festival, MetroRapid trains will run every 15 minutes until 2:30 a.m. each night of ACL Fest.

For more information, visit the CapMetro website. Unfamiliar with routes? There's a route planner in the site, helping you to plot your trip and find your bus line by inputting your starting point and destination. It takes a tiny modicum of time and effort, and you'll be helping the environment to boot. Just think about it.

Shuttles

ACL Fest organizers will be providing free shuttle service from downtown Austin. Take the shuttle from the Republic Square station at the intersection of Guadalupe and 5th streets, and get dropped off right outside the Barton Springs West entrance. This is not for the late-night party animals, as shuttles run just to 11 p.m. daily. Shuttle service starts each concert day at 10:30 a.m.

Bicycles

Have you considered getting to the festivities by bicycle? Bike racks about at the entrance to Lady Bird Lake, south of Barton Springs East and West entrances. This is strictly BYOL (bring your own lock), and you must take your bicycle home before 11 p.m. as they could be impounded if left unattended past that hour on Sundays. The city also offers bicycles at various Austin B-cycle stations throughout our fair municipality, with a drop-off station conveniently located at Barton Springs Road and Kinney Avenue.

Bicycles are a nice, environmentally friendly transportation option. Many of our most beloved celebrities pedal on their bicycles to reach their destinations.

Motorcycles, scooters

Bicycles not cool enough for you? There is parking for scooters and motorcycles at the intersection of Sterzing Drive and Toomey Road.

Taxis

You could always hail a cab to ACL Fest. The phone number for Austin Cab is (512-478-2222), for Lone Star Cab (512-836-4900) and Yellow Cab can be reached at (512-452-9999) are the companies that operate in Austin.

Ridesharing Apps

There are a number of rideshare companies operating in Austin, including Fasten, GetMe, Lyft and Uber. But be aware such firms tend to jack up their prices depending on the time of use. There's another app named Wingz, but rides have to be scheduled ahead of time to use their service.

Consider using RideAustin, a nonprofit rideshare service that happens to be the official rideshare partner of ACL Fest. Their pickup/drop-off points are on Stephen F. Austin Drive under the MoPac bridge; Sterzing Street between Barton Springs Road and Toomey Road; and Lee Barton Drive between Lamar Boulevard and Riverside Drive. They're running a promotion during the music festival whereby travelers downloading the app entering the promo code ACLFEST17 can obtain $5 in credit for use during the festival which runs Friday-Sunday this weekend and the next one Oct. 13-15.

For the second consecutive year, RideShare Austin has partnered with Honda and the Central Texas Honda dealers to offer FREE rides to those going to the ACL Festival at Zilker Park. For more information, visit hondaaclfest.com.

So don't fret over the dearth of parking at Zilker Park. There are many other ways to get to the music fest, and we hope this little primer has been helpful. So party on your party people! Enjoy the music! And for the out-of-towners: Welcome to Austin!

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>>> Photo by Greg Noire courtesy Red Bull Content Pool