Frequently Asked Questions — How to Ride METRO

METRO local buses make stops at the following locations

• Along city streets, at intersections where you see a METRO bus stop sign and/or bus shelter
• At select Park & Ride lots around the region
• At more than 20 transit centers around the region

All METRO buses have large, bright destination signs on the front of the bus above the windshield and along the passenger’s side, near the front door. These digital displays include the route number and destination.

Route Alerts or detours could affect your vehicle’s arrival time and/or the length of your trip. Subscribing to receive this information is a convenient way to know before you go.

On the METRO website, you can subscribe to receive notifications direct to your phone or email for the bus, rail, METRORapid and/or METRO curb2curb routes of your choice.

The quickest and easiest signup option can be found on each individual route page.

If you prefer, there’s also a Get Text and Email Alerts page where you can subscribe to multiple routes simultaneously.

All subscriptions are free and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you don’t wish to subscribe, you can use any of the following:

• Routes and Schedules tab on METRO website home page - it will transport you to your route page. If there are any active alerts, a link to view them will be visible near the top of the page.
• RideMETRO app (a red triangular icon will appear on the screen if your selected route is experiencing a service alert)
• Trip planning tool, which can be accessed in multiple places. More information about that can be found in the Trip Planning topic (see question titled "How do I plan my trip?")

METRO offers a rider tool called Next Bus Texting. To use it, you'll need to know your stop number. It's posted on the bus stop sign at every bus stop location. Just text that stop number to 697433. We'll then text you back the scheduled arrival time (SC) and estimated real-time arrival (RT) of the next bus for all routes that stop at your location.

Estimated arrival times can also be accessed on:

• METRO website home page (“Track Bus or Train” tab)
  
• RideMETRO app for your smartphone
• Automated phone line by dialing 713-635-4000
• Google or Apple maps

Increasingly, estimated arrival information will also be displayed digitally at bus stop locations and transit centers throughout the region. Transit centers are sheltered waiting areas where you can transfer to other METRO routes and services that provide access to even more destinations. They’re often found at the beginning or end of a bus route. 

These digitally displayed passenger information enhancements are part of the METRONext Moving Forward Plan, to create a better customer experience.