An Associated Press article found that the typical American household pays $4,155 a year to fill their gas tanks—or 8.4 percent of median family income. Research by the Center for Neighborhood Technology has found that living in location efficient places—walkable communities with access to amenities and transit—helps people keep transportation costs low compared with people [...]
Houston Gas Prices: Space City Transportation Costs
Despite the ongoing heat, we’re continuing our sojourn into the Sunbelt with this week’s city: Houston. The fourth-largest city in the United States, Houston is a cultural and economic hub; most famously, it’s also the home of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Houston’s average gas price is $3.58/gallon this week, as estimated by the U.S. EIA. When it comes to transportation costs, do Houstonians need to call Mission Control?
The first neighborhood we’ll look at is Montrose, in west-central Houston. This eclectic community was home to former president Lyndon B. Johnson in his days as a high school teacher.
Do Montrose residents’ transportation costs deserve a gold star?
The average Montrose family is paying $656 per month, only 12% more than their 2000 costs. Although Montrose is not on the rail line, the area does get bus service. It’s also very pedestrian-friendly—WalkScore rates it as a ‘walker’s paradise.’ Since residents have alternative transportation options, they are less susceptible to gas price shock, which is why their costs have only risen by 12% in the past decade.
Let’s try a suburb outside of Houston proper. Channelview, TX, is 17 miles to the east of the city. Channelview sits alongside the Port of Houston’s Houston Ship Channel—hence the name.
How shipshape are Channelview residents’ transportation costs?
The average family living in Channelview pays $1221 a month for gas, which is 23% more than they paid in 2000. Houston, we have a problem! Channelview is outside of the Houston transit system’s service area—even the nearest Park & Ride commute location is halfway to the city. Moreover, Channelview is not very walkable, with a Walk Score of 52/100. These factors combine to make Channelview residents car-dependent and, as a result, vulnerable to the effects of rising gas prices.
What are some ways to keep Houstonians’ transportation costs from skyrocketing?
Take off with transit: Houston is home to a developing transit system, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Houston, Texas—it’s a mouthful, so most just call it ‘the Metro.’ Within the purview of the Metro are a bus system, which covers most of the Houston area, and a fledgling rail system with one line known as ‘the Redline.’ Several of the outlying suburbs are served by the Metro’s Park & Ride program, which allows for transit to be incorporated into commutes; vanpools and carpools also serve to make commutes more cost-efficient.
Discover discounts: Use a reloadable Metro Q Card to pay your fare rather than cash; you get 5 free trips for every 50 taken, as well as free transfers. The ‘Q’ stands for ‘quick,’ which is all the more reason to use these cards! On top of that, the Metro Q Star program allows you to show your Q Card to participating merchants and receive discounts or free items. Houston employers should take advantage of the Mass Transit Tax Benefit through the Metro RideSponsor program so that they and their employees can use pre-tax dollars to pay for transit.
Two wheels, two feet, to infinity: Bike or walk wherever you can! Though cycling doesn’t immediately come to mind when one thinks of Houston, there are almost 300 miles of bikeways within the city and plans for more to come. Keep in mind that the key to making Houston a more bike-friendly city is in awareness of both the benefits of biking and what it means for cyclists and drivers to share the roads. For more info, check out BikeHouston and PedalHouston. WalkScore gives Houston a score of 72/100, meaning that it’s ‘very walkable.’ Of course, you’ll get a more relevant score by putting in a specific place or address within Houston, since, as we’ve seen, certain places are more walkable than others.
Do you live in Houston? Let us know how gas prices are affecting you!
I really enjoyed reading this information – it was well-written, too! I have lived in Houston for only two months (and will be leaving again in a few days). My Houston experience has been unusual because I’m working from home, but it didn’t take me long to learn about the traffic issues here! I have gotten stuck in major traffic jams just driving a few miles away from my apartment during the middle of the day. A few weeks ago, I had an appointment at a salon across the street, so I walked. The stylist thought I was crazy. She said no one walks anywhere in Houston!
I think your reporting is good but your analysis is awful.
The price of gas has more than doubled since 2000; but for the family in Channelview the cost of transport has risen only 23 percent. I would be scratching my head and asking why only 23 percent and not closer to 100 percent? People in Channelview have been making substitutions already. What interests me is the substitutions they made already to keep fuel costs down that much.
If you have ever lived in Houston, you do not want to walk, ever, except for a couple of weeks in April and a couple of weeks in October. The rest of the year it is either hot and sticky, hot and pouring rain or cold and pouring rain.
I lived in Montrose and the walkability stats are somewhat disingenuous. Yes, Montrose has homes and businesses mixed up so you could walk if you want to, but again, you do not want to. Only the vagrants and panhandlers walk in Montrose. Nobody walks in Montrose because the sidewalks are all broken and the city does not repair them and the homeowners and businesses don’t repair them either because then the vagrants would have a place to stand. Because the sidewalks are in such poor repair, Houstonians, especially in Montrose, are forced to walk in the street.
You are right though, the bus and rail service inside the loop is good though.