Houston, believe it or not, has a public transit system. I know, I know, I couldn’t believe it either. This city is a place where not owning a car can condemn you to second-class citizenship. But the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority, or METRO, exists just the same, and hundreds of thousands take it every day to get to work or to just get around.
More Houstonians may find out about METRO when the FIFA 2026 World Cup descends on our fair city, which is hosting seven matches beginning on June 14. If FIFA and local organizers’ projections are to be believed (and that’s a big if), some 500,000 people could visit Houston over three weeks.
Houston is hosting matches between Germany, Curaçao, Portugal, the Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia. At least some of the tourists visiting Houston will be from these nations, all of which have forms of public transit nicer than the United States’ (although Saudi Arabia has lots of highways, it’s very Houston-like in that regard). German tourists in particular will be in for a shock; Berlin, the capital, has a higher population than Houston in half the space and a much more robust metro system to boot.
So whether you’re a confused Uzbek or just trying to avoid traffic on the way to NRG, here’s your guide to using METRO.
What services does METRO offer?
METRO runs 113 bus routes, three light rail lines, a paratransit system, a handful of park-and-ride bus lines to and from the suburbs, and some electric golf cart circulators. For tourist purposes, most people visiting Houston will likely take the METRO Red Line train, though all light rail lines will be the most useful for visitors. METRO also runs the 102 bus service that goes from George H.W. Bush Intercontinental Airport to Downtown Houston. (More on that in a bit.)
How do I buy METRO fares?
METRO’s website offers a more comprehensive breakdown, but the most useful way to pay is to download METRO’s new-ish RideMETRO app. Once upon a time, METRO had two apps: one for checking bus and train schedules, and one for actually buying the damn ticket. It was really annoying. The new RideMETRO app combines both, allowing (mostly) real-time tracking, trip planning and ticketing. The RideMETRO app lets you buy and load a virtual fare card on your phone, meaning that you don’t need a physical card or ticket like you once did. METRO also just installed tap-to-pay readers on all of its buses, so now you can just pay your bus fare with Apple or Google Pay…