Population: City of
Austin:
963,981; Austin Metropolitan Area: 1,249,763
The Austin
metropolitan area is the 38th largest region nationally and the City
of Austin is 16th.
Area:
218 sq miles
Austin extends about
twenty miles from north–south and eighteen miles east–west, divided by
I-35 (between Dallas and San Antonio) to the east. The Colorado River
runs south of downtown.
Elevation:
550 ft
State:
Texas
Time Zone:
Austin is in the
Central Time Zone. When it is noon in New York City it is one hour
earlier (11:00 AM) in Austin. Daylight Saving time is observed
April-October.
Industry:
Austin has a
strong high-tech presence. Austin's high-tech employment represents
almost 15% of total non-agricultural employment. Although the region
is gaining numerous biotech and software firms, the anchor of Austin's
high-tech industry is hardware driven.
Climate:
The climate is
temperate, with 300 days of sunshine annually. Average temperatures
range from 42 to 62 degrees in winter and 75 to 95 degrees in the
summer. Rain falls evenly throughout the year. Snowfall is rare.
Average Temperatures
and Rainfall
|
Month
|
High |
Low
|
Av. Rainfall |
|
January
|
60F
|
41F |
1.66 |
|
February
|
64F |
44F |
2.06 |
|
March
|
71F
|
49F |
1.54 |
|
April
|
78F |
57F
|
2.54 |
|
May
|
85F |
65F
|
3.07 |
|
June
|
92F |
72F
|
2.79 |
|
July
|
95F |
74F
|
1.69 |
|
August
|
96F
|
74F |
2.41 |
|
September
|
90F |
69F |
3.71 |
|
October
|
82F |
60F |
284 |
|
November
|
70F |
48F |
1.77 |
|
December
|
63F |
43F |
1.46 |
Weather:
Check the weather at 512/451-2424 or www.kvue.com/weather/.
Find
the time and temperature at 512/973-3555.
Public Holidays:
1 January - New
Year's Day
Third Monday in
January - Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday
January 19 -
Confederate Heroes Day
Third Monday in
February - Presidents' Day
March 2 - Texas
Independence Day
Late March or April
- Easter
April 21 San Jacinto
Day
Last Monday in May -
Memorial Day
June 19 -
Emancipation Day
4 July -
Independence Day
August 27 - Lyndon
Johnson’s Birthday
First Monday in
September - Labor Day
11 November -
Veterans' Day
Fourth Thursday in
November - Thanksgiving
25 December -
Christmas Day
When to Go
Spring brings cool,
fresh, clear weather to Austin. In March and April, when temperatures
average in the 70s, short-lived wildflowers bloom in extravagant
color. March is also the month of the popular South by Southwest Music
Festival, when hotel rooms are in short supply. Summer is dry and
often very hot. Fall, finds temperatures falling back into the 70s
and 80s, and gorgeous foliage to be seen. Winter is mild.
Area
Code:
The telephone area code in Austin is 512.
Business Hours:
Banks and offices are usually open Monday to Friday 8 or 9am to 5pm.
Some banks offer drive-through service on Saturday 9am to noon or 1pm.
Specialty shops and malls open around 9 or 10am, Monday to Saturday;
the former close at about 5 or 6pm, the latter at around 9 or 10pm.
You can also shop at most malls and boutiques on Sunday from noon
until 6pm. Bars and clubs tend to stay open until midnight during the
week, 2am on weekends.
Dentist:
Call the Dental Referral Service at 800/917-6453.
Doctor:
The Medical Exchange ( 512/458-1121) and Seton Hospital (
512/324-4450) both have physician referral services.
Emergencies:
Call 911 if you need the police, the fire department, or an
ambulance.
Libraries:
Downtown's Faulk Central Library, 800 Guadalupe St. ( 512/499-7599),
and adjoining Austin History Center, 810 Guadalupe St. (
512/499-7480), are excellent information resources. To find the
closest local branch, check the Austin Public Libraries Web site:
www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/.
Liquor
Laws:
21is the legal age for drinking in Texas.
Lost
Property:
You can check with the police to find out whether something you've
lost has been turned in by calling 512/974-5000. If you leave
something on a city bus, call 512/389-7454; on a train heading
for Austin or at the Amtrak station, 512/476-5684; on a
Greyhound bus or at the station, 512/458-4463; at the
airport, 512/530-COPS.
Luggage Storage/Lockers:
At the Greyhound station, there's only one size locker. You can check
your luggage at the Amtrak station.
Police:
The non-emergency number for the Austin Police Department is
512/974-5000.
Post
Office:
The city's main post office is at 8225 Cross Park Dr. (
512/342-1252); more convenient to tourist sights are the Capitol
Station, 111 E. 17th St., in the LBJ Building, and the Downtown
Station, 510 Guadalupe St. For information, phone 800/275-8777.
Safety:
Austin has been ranked one of the top five safest cities in the United
States
Taxes:
The tax on hotel rooms is 15%. Sales tax, added to restaurant bills as
well as to other purchases, is 8.25%.
Transit Information:
Call Capital Metro Transit ( 800/474-1201 or 512/474-1200 from
local pay phones; TDD 512/385-5872).
Public
Transportation
Austin's public transportation system, Capital Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (www.capmetro.austin.tx.us), is
excellent, including more than 50 bus lines and a variety of ticket
prices. five (Arma) 'Dillo routes: Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, and
Silver are free. You'll need exact change or fare tickets to board the
bus; free transfers are good for 3 hours on weekdays, 4 hours on
weekends. Call 800/474-1201 or 512/474-1200 (512/385-5872 for
TDD) from local pay phones for point-to-point routing information.
Flights come in at
the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, eight miles
southeast of downtown at the intersection of highways 71 and 183, I
It takes about
twenty minutes to get downtown by taxi (Yellow Cabs; tel
512/462-9999; or by SuperShuttle vans 512/258-3826; while the #100
bus runs approximately once an hour to the campus and downtown
(Mon–Fri 5am–10pm, Sat 7am–9pm, Sun 8am–9pm)
‘Dillo Express, also
run by METRO, is a free downtown trolley system, running along
three routes, including one out to the UT campus, every ten to forty
minutes between 6.30am and 7pm on weekdays.
Bicycles
can be rented from Bicycle Sport Shop, 1426 Toomey Rd (Mon–Fri
10am–8pm, Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 11am–5pm; tel 512/477-3472).
Walking is an easy
and pleasant way of getting around; organized walking tours
leave from the south entrance of the capitol (March–Nov Sat 2pm, Sun
9am: 512/478-0098).
Telephones
The country code for
the United States is 1. The area code for Austin is 512.
Directory & Operator
Information
For assistance from
an operator, dial "0". To get a local or national telephone number,
dial 411; in a few places it is necessary to dial 555-1212. If you
want to charge a long-distance call to the person you're calling, call
collect by dialing "0" instead of "1" before the 10-digit number, and
an operator will come on the line to assist you (the party you're
calling, however, has the right to refuse the call).
International Calls
International calls
can be direct-dialed from most phones; dial 011, followed by the
country code and then the local number (the front pages of many local
telephone directories include a list of overseas country codes). To
have an operator assist you, dial "0" and ask for the overseas
operator.
Arriving
By Air
Austin-Bergstrom
International Airport (AUS)
( 3600 Presidential Blvd., 512/530-2242), This ultra modern facility
is 8 miles from downtown Austin on the site of the former Bergstrom
Air Force Base.
Some sample flying
times are: 2 hours from New York, and 9 hours from London.
Transfers Between
the Airport and Town
By Bus
Capital Metro Bus
( 512/474-1200; 800/474-1201 outside Austin) provides daily bus
service from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to several major
stops in town, where you can transfer to any one of the sixty other
bus routes that cover Austin and surrounding areas. Look for the
Airport Limited Route #100 bus at the Capital Metro bus stop on the
2nd Level Concourse of the Barbara Jordan Passenger Terminal. (Buses
run every 60 to 70 minutes, 5 AM to 10 PM weekdays, 7 AM to 9 PM
Saturdays, 8 AM to 9 PM Sundays.)
By Car
Take Route 71 (Ben
White Blvd.) heading west and U.S. 183 heading north to get to
downtown Austin. The drive time will be anywhere from 20 to 40
minutes, depending on the time of day.
By Shuttle Van
Super Shuttle
( 512/258-3826 in Austin; 800/258-3826 outside of Austin) provides
24-hour shared-van service from the airport to Austin. Expect to pay
from $8 to $15 per person, depending on your destination.
By Taxi
Austin has several
taxi companies; all provide 24-hour service at a standard rate .
By Bus
Greyhound Bus Lines () connects Austin with Dallas, San
Antonio, Houston, and other cities in Texas and beyond. The bus
station is located near the Highland Mall and I-35 at 916 E. Koenig
La. ( 512/458-4463).
Arriving
By Car
Austin is located
in central Texas at the intersection of Interstate 35, (running north
and south through the city), and Texas Highway 290 (east and west),
within easy driving distance of the other three major Texas cities.
From Dallas, Austin is about a three-hour drive south on I-35 (195
mi), and from San Antonio about an hour's drive north (78 mi). From
Houston, take Texas Highway 290 west; it's 166 miles to Austin.
Arriving By Train
Amtrak
(250 N. Lamar, 512/476-5684; 800/872-7245 for reservations) provides
passenger rail services aboard the Sunset Limited and Texas
Eagle, with routes linking Austin north to Chicago, south to San
Antonio, and to destinations between Orlando to the east and Los
Angeles to the west.
