Austin City Limits Music Fest Travel Guide: Ditch The Car!

AUSTIN, TEXAS — How to get to the second weekend of ACL? Let us count the ways.

Officials at ride-sharing companies and the city's bike-share program have deluged Patch's email touting their transportation options, with the former sweetening the pot with financial savings inducements. With parking nearly impossible during the popular festival at Zilker Park, these options are worth considering. Now that e-scooters are a part of our daily existence, for better or worse, many will likely grab the contraptions via their apps to get to the music.

So many ways to get to ACL. Let's study some of these options, shall we?

B-CYCLE

Pick up a B-cycle from one of the dozens of stations around Austin and drop it off at the B-cycle station at Barton Springs Road and Sterzing Street. Once done, it’s just a short walk to the festival entrance.

BICYCLING

Plan ahead and check out the alternate bike routes in the area. The city will provide racks for you to lock up your personal bicycle along Toomey Road. There will also be limited secondary parking areas along Azie Morton Road and along Stratford Drive. The Stratford Drive area is exclusively for personal bicycle parking (no dockless bicycle or scooter drop-off).

BIRD

One of a handful of dockless e-scooter companies, Bird recently launched Bird Delivery, enabling riders to request a scooter delivered to their home or business by 8 a.m. Then, throughout the day, these riders are guaranteed to have their scooters available. This scenario is ideal for ACL attendees. Sure, part of the fun of finding a Bird scooter is via the app. But time is of the essence during ACL, and efficiency is the order of the day.

CAPITAL METRO

Cap Metro’s high-frequency 801, 803, 2, 7, 10, and 20 bus routes stop regularly at Republic Square, where the shuttle picks up. Capital Metro is also extending its MetroRail schedule during ACL. Check the Cap Metro app or trip-planning website before you go, to see the most updated schedule.

car2go

The folks at car2go will have a drop zone again this year – this time at the new Carpenter Hotel, which will have dedicated free parking only for car2go members. The car2go Drop Zone is the closest free parking that allows members to drop off and pick up car2go vehicles throughout the festival. All car2go users pay for is the trip. This is like getting a VIP section at a club, given the dearth of available parking, mind you.

Officials provided some details:

• What: The car2go Drop Zone at Carpenter Hotel is for car2go members only and allows close, easy access to the ACL Festival and free parking.
• When: ACL Weekend 1 (10/5-10/7) and Weekend 2 (10/12-10/14). The lot will be staffed from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., though members arriving after 6 p.m. will still be allowed to park on-site.*
• Where: The Carpenter Hotel at 400 Josephine St, Austin, TX 78704. Parking / Drop Zone Entrance on Jessie St. Below is a map for reference.
• How: Registration is easy: Simply sign up at car2go.com or through the official car2go app with your driver’s license, and your registration will be processed within 1-2 business days.
• And even more fun!: To celebrate that this is the first time the public will be allowed inside the Carpenter Hotel, those who arrive in a car2go vehicle will get free iced coffee from the Carpenter Hotel’s coffee shop.

LIME

Another scooter provider, Lime, has teamed up with corporate partners in renting out the Toomey lot from the City of Austin, located northeast of the Barton Springs Road festival entrance. Lime officials call this spot the "mandatory" dockless mobility drop-off zone for scooter-riding ACL attendees. They add it's the closest and safest area to end their rides, and will offer discount codes and other sponsored giveaways as incentives for users to end their rides here.

LYFT

Lyft is offering $1 off rides while reminding ACL visitors how difficult it is to otherwise find parking at the venue, which is true. Passengers can claim the deal here.
Festival-goers can also drop by the Lyft Lounge located outside Zilkr on the Park Condos (Barton Springs Road, just before the bridge) to take a picture with the Lyft VW Bus and grab swag, refreshments, additional ride discounts, and more.
Wanna read Lyft's ACL blog post? You can do so here.

OFFICIAL FESTIVAL SHUTTLE

ACL shuttles operate from Republic Square on both weekends of the festival and will offer free rides to Zilker Park and the festival. Shuttle service begins at 10 a.m., and the final shuttle returns from the park at 11 p.m. each day of the festival.

PEDICABS

Hail a pedicab downtown on your way to ACL or hop into one as you leave, city officials advise. The staging area is on the northeast corner of Barton Springs Road and Azie Morton Road, near the festival entrance.

TAXIS

Hail a ride and get picked up or dropped off at one of three zones along either Wallingwood Drive, Lee Barton Drive or Veterans Drive, city officials advise. Additionally, there will also be a taxicab stand southeast of William Barton Drive.

UBER

The official ride for ACL, Uber will also be offering its JUMP electric bikes for use. "Take the stress out of riding during the festival with pickup and dropoff in the area," Uber officials write on their ACL page. "After the festival, walking further away from traffic and road closures (past Lamar Blvd.) will make it easier to connect with your driver and leave the area."

But wait. There's more:

• When you’re ready to go to the festival, type “Austin City Limits Music Festival” or “Zilker Park” into your app as your destination.
  • This will update your destination to the nearest dropoff point around the festival.
• After the festival, head east on Barton Springs Road away from Zilker Park.
  • The farther you walk from traffic and road closures, the easier it will be for your driver to reach you.
• You will still use your app to request a ride as normal.

Uber offers its customers various perks during ACL. Hence: "You’re in control of the playlist at Uber Radio Live with a larger-than-life radio on the path to the festival," officials write. "We’re blowing up a car radio to maximum proportions, featuring a live cover band playing your requests."

Uber officials add:

Stop by on your way to the festival to hear your song “arriving now” and enjoy exclusive Uber perks.

• Where: Barton Springs Saloon (parking lot) on the corner of Barton Springs and Lamar
• When: Friday, October 5 through Sunday, October 7 (Weekend 1 only), 11am – 4pm
• Vote for your favorite songs for Hanna Barakat & band to play live
• Enjoy special pop-up performances by Austin-based Uber driver-partner artists
  • Hot Cotton (Friday, 1pm)
  • Wes Paul (Saturday, noon)
  • Quentin & Shi (Saturday, 1pm)
  • Tameloop (Sunday, 1pm)
• Pick up an exclusive discount for your next Uber trip in Austin, TX*—and maybe some other special surprises!

Map via City of Austin

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>>> Top image: In getting to ACL music festival, the Bird is the word for many music lovers. Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff