Is There Public Transportation In Fort Worth, Texas? (What You Should Know)

Fort Worth, Texas is one of the largest cities in Texas today with over 900,000 residents. However, when you travel to a city this large it may be difficult to find your way around the city and if you are not familiar with the city, you may not be able to direct yourself even if you have your own car. This is where public transportation comes into play.

Fort Worth, Texas has an extremely well-developed public transportation system. By using this system, people are able to get quickly around the city and into neighboring cities. The bus and rail systems are easy to use. They also provide a trolley and bike system, giving visitors other options.

Each of these options has its own prices and ways that they are intended to be used. In order to help you out, I have broken each of these public transit options down with basic information about each, as well as tips on how to use them effectively.

How to Use the Bus

The bus system may be the most varied of the public transit options in Fort Worth. If you need to get to somewhere within Fort Worth, especially a location that is not in the downtown area, you will want to check out the city bus system. There are dozens of bus routes throughout the city, so we won’t be able to talk about all of them, but I will try to highlight some important lines to keep in mind. For each of these routes, a single ticket will cost $2. You can also purchase a day pass for $5 and ride as much as you want.

To head to the western edge of the city, try Bus Route 2. If you want to travel to Texas Christian University, use Line 53. To head south, use Line 6 or Line 1 if you want to reach the south transit area to transfer buses. Lines 89 and 4 both extend to the eastern side of Fort Worth. Line 15 will drop you at North Rail Station. Here is a mapOpens in a new tab. of all the different bus routes if you are interested.

How to Use Trinity Railroad Express

When traveling to Fort Worth, you may be flying into the city. What you might not realize is that the Fort Worth Airport is actually the Fort Worth/Dallas International Airport and is actually in Dallas. So, will you be able to get from the airport to Fort Worth?

That is where the Trinity Railroad Express comes in. It is a rail line connecting Fort Worth and Dallas. One of the main uses of the line is to connect the Airport to downtown Fort Worth and downtown Dallas. You can board the Express line from Terminal 2 at the Fort Worth/Dallas Airport or at one of the various stops within either of the cities.

One complicated thing about the Trinity Express is the fare. The rail line is divided into two different fare sections, with the airport station being the boundary between these sections. The fare to ride from downtown Fort Worth to the airport is $2.50 for a single ride or $5 for an unlimited day pass.

If you want to ride past the airport deeper into Dallas you will need to purchase a regional pass. The regional pass allows you to ride anywhere you want between Fort Worth and Dallas for one day. The pass costs $12. While it is extremely convenient to take one ride from Fort Worth to the airport it isn’t quite as convenient to use the Trinity Express to explore downtown Dallas. This public transportation method is probably best used to get you to and from the airport and not to be used as an everyday way to get around Fort Worth.

How to Ride Amtrak In Fort Worth

While there are a lot of destinations in Fort Worth to enjoy you may want to travel to some of the neighboring cities to visit or work. That is where the Amtrak lines that run through Fort Worth can come in. There are a total of 3 different Amtrak rail lines that run out of Fort Worth, each heading to a different city. The station can be found right in the center of downtown Fort Worth. Here is a little about each rail line like which cities they go to and estimates on costs to ride.

North Line

The North Line out of Fort Worth will head through several smaller cities in northern Texas and Oklahoma. Eventually, the line ends in the Oklahoma state capitol, Oklahoma City. If you would like to travel to Oklahoma City you can board Amtrak in Fort Worth and ride it north until the line ends. A one-time trip will take 4 hours and cost you around $31.

South Line

The South Line will take you from central Texas to some of the large cities in southern Texas. The two big stops along this line are Austin and San Antonio. If you would like to travel to Austin, the shorter trip, will cost you $30 and take just over 4 hours to travel between the cities. A trip from Fort Worth to San Antonio will take about 7 hours and 45 minutes and cost you $37.

East Line

By riding the East Line you can reach the neighboring city of Dallas easily. If you want to make a short trip over to this other large Texas city you can try the east Amtrak line. A trip on this line will take you an hour and only sets you back $9. For each of these lines make sure to show up at the station early and have your ticket and ID ready if you need to produce them to board.

How to Ride Molly the Trolley

If you want an easy way to get around downtown Fort Worth then you definitely need to check out Molly the TrolleyOpens in a new tab., and yes, before you ask, that is the official name of the trolley. The trolley runs in a loop around downtown Fort Worth helping riders to explore some of the most popular sites at the heart of the city. It runs from 10 am to 10 pm every day of the week.

Since it only runs until 10 pm, if you plan on spending time in the city late into the evening, make sure that you have another way to get back to where you are staying. The best part about this trolley is that it is completely free to ride, making it a great option to get on and off whenever you see something that interests you. Trolleys stop by each station every 15 minutes, so you don’t have to worry about rushing to the station at a particular time.

The trolley starts in the south down by the Fort Worth Water Gardens. From there it turns north and runs past the Fort Worth Convention center. The trolley runs north until it reaches the Sir Richardson Museum. Once here it turns to the west passing the Sundance Square shopping area before turning south on Houston Street. The trolley follows Houston Street until it hit the bottom of the area and turns to the east to return to its starting spot.

How to Use the City Bike Share System

Another way that you can get around the city is by using the city bike share system. What is a bike share system? Bike share systems have become a more popular form of public transportation in recent years.

While biking has been done for years, the price of buying and maintaining a bicycle kept this out of reach of some people. Now, with these systems, a private company will buy and maintain a collection of bikes for the city. In exchange, they will charge a rental fee for visitors and residents to use the bikes for short trips around the city.

Fort Worth has a slightly different system than many other cities, however. Usually, you are charged when you first rent the bike, and then an increasing fee the longer you use the bike. Here instead of doing that you buy a day or monthly pass for the bike. This pass allows you to ride the bike for 2 hours without any additional charge, each hour after this costs $4. A day pass can be purchased for $10.

A trick to keep in mind is that you have unlimited 2-hour rides for each day that you have a pass. What this means is if you plan on riding for more than 2 hours, what you can do is return the bike to one of the stations before you ride for 2 hours. You can then immediately take the bike back out of the station and ride for another 2 hours without incurring any additional charges.

Bike stations can be found scattered throughout the city of Forth Worth, with the majority found near the downtown area. While riding one of these bicycles make sure to wear a helmet and respect the rules of the road.

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