Educate me on traveling, regularly, between Austin and Dallas

[Hellraiser97 180]

It's looking so that I may be spending about 3 days a week ( leave Sun nigjht - return Weds night) in Dallas and 4 days (Thurs - Sun)a week in Austin for the foreseeable future.  So, I'm exploring how to make this travel in the most cost and time effecient way possible.  So far, here's what I've found:

Driving - doable, but I'll have a vehicle in Dallas, so I don't need to bring or rent one.  Really don't want to spend 6-7 hours a week driving back and forth though for both the wear and tear on my car and my mind.

Trains - Funk that.  Wish it was an option but I've heard nothing but horror stories about Amtrak in this part of the country.

Buses - I've checked out 2 options - RedCoach and Vonlane.  RedCoach is definitely the cheaper option, both claim to have business class style seats and lots of amenities.  RedCoach drops off both in downtown Dallas and DFW.  DFW is closer to where I need to be, so that's a plus.  Going up on Sunday nights, RedCoach is definitely an option, but the last bus leaves on Wednesday before I'll be available to leave, to it's not an option for coming home.  Vonlane stops at Love Field, not ideal, but there's a light rail between LUV and DFW, so it's do able.  A lot more options on Vonlane, but also a lot more expensive.  

Flights - AA has flights on the hour practically every hour between AUS and DFW while SWA has similar to LUV.  I see nothing but horror stories at AUS concerning security lately.  DFW and LUV, not so much.  It seems if I book far enough out, I can get flights for about $100 or so each way.  I have Clear and TSA-Precheck, so maybe that will help some with AUS.

Parking - I'll have to determine if it's cheaper to uber or park at each airport based on the days I'll be gone.  I remember DFW had some really cheap long term parking, but I'm sure the cost has gone up.  

 

Any other bus companies or flight options I might not be thinking of?  

 

Edited July 14 by Hellraiser97

[idigTexas 2,257]

I have zero experience with this, but could you take RedCoach on the AUS-DFW leg, and AA on the DFW-AUS leg?    

[Mittens 7,991]

I have friends that regularly use Vonlane and love it.

The times you would be driving will have minimal traffic and it's an incredibly easy drive.  Straight shot w/ minimal cops - I typically avg 85+mph on that run.

[Pato del Muerto 52,035]

2 hours ago, Hellraiser97 said:

RedCoach drops off both in downtown Dallas and DFW. 

I assume they drop in Dallas first, then DFW. Does that extra 30-60 minutes of drop off plus drive up 183 have any effect?  Or cost of parking downtown vs the airport?

[Hellraiser97 180]

yeah the go Dallas downtown, Richardson, then DFW.  Doesn't make a difference.  The place I'd be working is 5 min north of DFW and I'm going to be staying with my Dad that is another 20 minutes NW of that.  I looked at getting off downtown and taking the light rail over to to DFW, but it would actually take longer.

49 minutes ago, idigTexas said:

I have zero experience with this, but could you take RedCoach on the AUS-DFW leg, and AA on the DFW-AUS leg?    

That is looking the most likely scenario.  There are some Sundays I wouldn't be able to make the RedCoach bus and I'd either need to to Vonlane or fly.

[Hellraiser97 180]

32 minutes ago, Mittens said:

I have friends that regularly use Vonlane and love it.

The times you would be driving will have minimal traffic and it's an incredibly easy drive.  Straight shot w/ minimal cops - I typically avg 85+mph on that run.

I have driven that drive more times than I can count!  I generally don't mind it, but doing it 8 times a month I think would start to suck real quick.  Especially if I can sit on a bus and watch video, play games, read or sleep.

[luke duke 6,361]

My wife likes Vonlane. I’ve never ridden it.

[conVINCEd 21,468]

My sister, who is a bit of a snobby bitch who would normally turn her nose up at the thought of taking a bus, loves Vonlane.

[CooterBrown 17,724]

In 600+ flights out of ABIA, I don't ever remember waiting more than 5-10 minutes in TSA Pre-Check.  Security line problems are for the poors.

 

[jimmyjazz 45,162]

18 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

In 600+ flights out of ABIA, I don't ever remember waiting more than 5-10 minutes in TSA Pre-Check.  Security line problems are for the poors.

Concur, although I don't do the pre-check, because I never fly.  It was a nightmare when I finally hopped on a nonstop to SFO a couple of weeks back.  

That said, even if you buzz thru TSA aren't you still spending as much time driving to ABIA, getting thru TSA, waiting to board, flying, reverse?  I just can't justify flying much less than maybe 400 miles or so.  I'd just rather be driving.

If the OP drove, would there be mileage reimbursement?  Those usually pay all gas + wear and tear near as I can tell.

[Skipper 5,961]

I do Vonlane once or twice per year for Texas football games and it's a great experience.

[Hellraiser97 180]

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Concur, although I don't do the pre-check, because I never fly.  It was a nightmare when I finally hopped on a nonstop to SFO a couple of weeks back.  

That said, even if you buzz thru TSA aren't you still spending as much time driving to ABIA, getting thru TSA, waiting to board, flying, reverse?  I just can't justify flying much less than maybe 400 miles or so.  I'd just rather be driving.

If the OP drove, would there be mileage reimbursement?  Those usually pay all gas + wear and tear near as I can tell.

No mileage reimbursement, this is going to be solely on me.  I'm not a fan of all that goes into getting to the flight, but like I said, I'd rather not drive.  I'll probably end up driving it at least once a month for various reason, but I'd like to keep it to a minimum.

Appreciate all the responses!

[PilotsError 2,237]

Vonlane is fantastic, but I’m not sure I’d do it weekly. That gets pricey. 
 

I flew southwest last week and tsa pre check was five minutes. They have it all the way on the right now. In April pre check was all the way on the left. 

[Dbeasy 14,756]

I had a job in Dallas for three years while living in Austin. I found that mixing up all three modes of transportation was best. Sometimes I drove, sometimes I used Vonlane, and sometimes I flew. The mix should be based on where you live in Austin and where you work in Dallas. I live in North Austin and worked in North Dallas, so the bus and driving were used more often than flying. 

[Dembele 0]

.

Edited July 15 by Dembele

[Shaddie 1,628]

Problem with bus or airplane is if you’re ready to leave and weather, maintenance or other issues cause major delays. When I’m ready to go I don’t want to wait. 

Edited July 15 by Shaddie

[Hellraiser97 180]

2 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

I had a job in Dallas for three years while living in Austin. I found that mixing up all three modes of transportation was best. Sometimes I drove, sometimes I used Vonlane, and sometimes I flew. The mix should be based on where you live in Austin and where you work in Dallas. I live in North Austin and worked in North Dallas, so the bus and driving were used more often than flying. 

The office is literally 5 minutes north of DFW airport.  I live in South Austin.

[MalibuSheriff 1,084]

I used to ride Vonlane to Dallas all the time during my time in Austin.  Kids were little and my wife would take them to in-laws in Dallas.  Friday would roll around and I’d Uber over to Vonlane pickup less than 5 minutes before departure and was off.  No hassle whatsoever - comfortable seats, great wifi, and unlimited mixers for resident drunks or dudes having to put up with in-laws in Dallas for the weekend.

[royiv 9,044]

Vonlane is fantastic and if you buy a prepaid Vonlane card you get a discount that varies depending on your spend and, even better, free booze. 

[immamac 41,615]

Vonlane and flying unless you are taking a bunch of shit with you. 

I can't imagine doing that drive that often now. 

 

[bluto 4,804]

Shooting from the hip but make sure you really dive into the dart rail between airports… schedule and the actual ‘stations’ for each. 

[Hellraiser97 180]

1 hour ago, bluto said:

Shooting from the hip but make sure you really dive into the dart rail between airports… schedule and the actual ‘stations’ for each. 

Yeah, I've been checking that out.  Probably do a test run in the next week or two.

[Firemans4Horn 17,004]

Are you working in both places or just in Grapevine/Coppell?

 

Anything keeping you in South Austin every weekend? No idea about the relationship with your dad but if it were me I’d get an apartment in Grapevine and drive back to Austin on as needed basis. 

[Firemans4Horn 17,004]

6 minutes ago, Hellraiser97 said:

Yeah, I've been checking that out.  Probably do a test run in the next week or two.

it sucks. DART leaves DFW every 30 minutes at best (the station is poorly marked at the ass end of terminal A with not much internal connections) and it crawls through Irving for about 50 minutes until you get to the Love Field station which is a). Not connected to the airport b). Nowhere near the Doubletree where the Vonlane leaves. Which means you’ll have to Uber between stations. 
 

Trust me, this is not even a thing you want to try unless you don’t value your time at all. 

[Hellraiser97 180]

52 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

Are you working in both places or just in Grapevine/Coppell?

 

Anything keeping you in South Austin every weekend? No idea about the relationship with your dad but if it were me I’d get an apartment in Grapevine and drive back to Austin on as needed basis. 

In Austin, I'm working from home.  My kids are in Austin and short of a massively expensive court fight, which I may not win, my proposed schedule of Weds/Thurs and every other Fri-Sun time with them requires me to be in Austin (my ex is amicable to reorganizing from our current week on week off).  I'm not willing to reduce my custody to less than 50% nor make them travel.  My dad and I are fine.  He's an ornery old bastard, but frankly I'll barely see him.  I'll get in late Sundays, work all day Mon-Tues, go to the gym after work, get home, go to sleep, and wednesday work all day then head back to Austin.  Also, my girlfriend lives in San Marcos, so as long as that continues, even my off weekends with the kids I'd be coming back.

[Hellraiser97 180]

51 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

it sucks. DART leaves DFW every 30 minutes at best (the station is poorly marked at the ass end of terminal A with not much internal connections) and it crawls through Irving for about 50 minutes until you get to the Love Field station which is a). Not connected to the airport b). Nowhere near the Doubletree where the Vonlane leaves. Which means you’ll have to Uber between stations. 
 

Trust me, this is not even a thing you want to try unless you don’t value your time at all. 

I used to ride the light rail every day to work about 20 years ago.  I see the quality and speed has not improved!  Really, anything to do with LUV would be in a situation where I just can't make anything else work for that specific trip.  So it would suck for sure, but it would be a last resort.

[Firemans4Horn 17,004]

Your commute is really more Aus-DFW. I’d probably just try and get as high of status with American Airlines and fly with them. 
 

love field/vonlane/other bus lines don’t really make sense based on where your job is and where your housing situation is. 

[Pato del Muerto 52,035]

3 hours ago, Hellraiser97 said:

The office is literally 5 minutes north of DFW airport.  I live in South Austin.

Grapevine or coppell?

[Hellraiser97 180]

 

21 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

Your commute is really more Aus-DFW. I’d probably just try and get as high of status with American Airlines and fly with them. 
 

love field/vonlane/other bus lines don’t really make sense based on where your job is and where your housing situation is. 

RedCoach drops off at DFW airport.

4 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Grapevine or coppell?

Coppell

[Firemans4Horn 17,004]

10 minutes ago, Hellraiser97 said:

RedCoach drops off at DFW airport.

it’s 4 hours and 15 minutes from 5th street in Austin (with 2 stops) and it drops you off at: “Crossunder #2 (Between Terminals A and B), DFW Airport Dallas , TX 75063”

 

not sure what you can do from there. 
 

AUS-DFW is 50 minute by air. Your south Austin house to your dad’s house is probably 3:15 by car. Buses are not a legitimate option for the route you are taking. 

[Hellraiser97 180]

1 minute ago, Firemans4Horn said:

it’s 4 hours and 15 minutes from 5th street in Austin (with 2 stops) and it drops you off at: “Crossunder #2 (Between Terminals A and B), DFW Airport Dallas , TX 75063”

 

not sure what you can do from there. 
 

AUS-DFW is 50 minute by air. Your south Austin house to your dad’s house is probably 3:15 by car. Buses are not a legitimate option for the route you are taking. 

My plan is possibly to leave my truck at long term parking (not sure how much that is these days) or even at the office and take an uber there.  I won't be traveling with anything more than a backpack, so I'm not lugging anything around.  I don't think the bus is an option on Wednesdays, but for Sundays going up, that's 4 hours and 15 minutes I can be doing something.  I've only flown between AUS and DFW a handful of times, but my experience flying has been that it's not much faster overall when you factor in security, getting to the flight before take off, getting on the flight, flight time, taxing, getting off the plane, exiting the terminal, and the only real time do do anything is most, but not all, of that 50 minutes in the air.  I appreciate the input, but I think at least for Sunday, it's somewhat feasible (and a lot cheaper than flying)

[RollLeft 5,038]

22 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

My sister, who is a bit of a snobby bitch who would normally turn her nose up at the thought of taking a bus, loves Vonlane.

wheelhouse...pics?

[Ghost of LL 15,244]

Do you have any status on American?  Because if so, then the security situation at AUS is just fine.  I was there at the butt-crack of dawn Saturday morning, when the regular security line wound around the ticket counter area and was probably at least 45 minutes.  But the premium line was deserted, and I was through in less than five minutes.

Flying those kind of miles is going to get you status in a hurry, not to mention miles.  Vonlane and RedCoach don't have a frequent-flyer program that is worth much of a shit.  So for that reason, if you don't want to drive then I'd say fly American.

 

I will say that while I was commuting between Austin and Dallas for nine months, I just drove.  But I also wanted to have my car wherever I was, so the situation is slightly different.

Edited July 15 by Ghost of LL

[Hellraiser97 180]

1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

Do you have any status on American?  Because if so, then the security situation at AUS is just fine.  I was there at the butt-crack of dawn Saturday morning, when the regular security line wound around the ticket counter area and was probably at least 45 minutes.  But the premium line was deserted, and I was through in less than five minutes.

Flying those kind of miles is going to get you status in a hurry, not to mention miles.  Vonlane and RedCoach don't have a frequent-flyer program that is worth much of a shit.  So for that reason, if you don't want to drive then I'd say fly American.

 

I will say that while I was commuting between Austin and Dallas for nine months, I just drove.  But I also wanted to have my car wherever I was, so the situation is slightly different.

Thanks.  I don't have status on AA right now.  I think one of the credit cards you can get with a high fee gives you some type of status, so I'll check into that before I start flying.

[Vegas64 640]

17 hours ago, Hellraiser97 said:

In Austin, I'm working from home.  My kids are in Austin and short of a massively expensive court fight, which I may not win, my proposed schedule of Weds/Thurs and every other Fri-Sun time with them requires me to be in Austin (my ex is amicable to reorganizing from our current week on week off).  I'm not willing to reduce my custody to less than 50% nor make them travel.  My dad and I are fine.  He's an ornery old bastard, but frankly I'll barely see him.  I'll get in late Sundays, work all day Mon-Tues, go to the gym after work, get home, go to sleep, and wednesday work all day then head back to Austin.  Also, my girlfriend lives in San Marcos, so as long as that continues, even my off weekends with the kids I'd be coming back.

So many questions. I must have missed a whole part of your life from shaggy to today, but it sounds like an extreme change and series of life events happened.

17 hours ago, Hellraiser97 said:

In Austin, I'm working from home.  My kids are in Austin and short of a massively expensive court fight, which I may not win, my proposed schedule of Weds/Thurs and every other Fri-Sun time with them requires me to be in Austin (my ex is amicable to reorganizing from our current week on week off).  I'm not willing to reduce my custody to less than 50% nor make them travel.  My dad and I are fine.  He's an ornery old bastard, but frankly I'll barely see him.  I'll get in late Sundays, work all day Mon-Tues, go to the gym after work, get home, go to sleep, and wednesday work all day then head back to Austin.  Also, my girlfriend lives in San Marcos, so as long as that continues, even my off weekends with the kids I'd be coming back.

So many questions. I must have missed a whole part of your life from shaggy to today, but it sounds like an extreme change and series of life events happened.

Anyways, Vonlane is awesome and I hear they are UT guys too? 15% off discount w/ Texas Exes: https://www.texasexes.org/membership/member-benefits/vonlane

Edited July 15 by Vegas64

[Shaddie 1,628]

6 hours ago, Hellraiser97 said:

Thanks.  I don't have status on AA right now.  I think one of the credit cards you can get with a high fee gives you some type of status, so I'll check into that before I start flying.

Nope. CC will get you free bag check and slightly higher boarding spot. No status until you spend lots of money on CC (and on stuff they want you to) or buying tickets. Loyalty points are the currency for AA. Best bet is to make an appointment at a PreCheck kiosk and sign up for that. 

[Hellraiser97 180]

15 hours ago, Shaddie said:

Nope. CC will get you free bag check and slightly higher boarding spot. No status until you spend lots of money on CC (and on stuff they want you to) or buying tickets. Loyalty points are the currency for AA. Best bet is to make an appointment at a PreCheck kiosk and sign up for that. 

I have PreCheck.  I realized after I posted that about the loyalty points.  Good news though, I have one property still going on (and may do them as one off, side work in the future) and I can easily charge $70k as we finish that build.  That would get me Platinum status and then with the amount I'll fly, maybe I can maintain it.

 

18 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

So many questions. I must have missed a whole part of your life from shaggy to today, but it sounds like an extreme change and series of life events happened.

Anyways, Vonlane is awesome and I hear they are UT guys too? 15% off discount w/ Texas Exes: https://www.texasexes.org/membership/member-benefits/vonlane

Yeah, here's a short run down - 2015 moved from NYC to Austin, started business, 2016-2017 hit problems with banks, 2017-2019 worked through them, 2019 told wife things were good now, 2 days later she files for divorce, 12 months of divorce (including finding out all sorts of bad stuffI was oblivious to), business hits trouble due to divorce, as divorce wrapping up, try to scale business back up, but literraly come to agreement on divorce first week of COVID, made it through a couple years more, but the speed we could move, largely due to COVID crap, started killing us and tying up capital, 2022 rates spike, and business starts declining, through if we got through 2023 we could turn it around, decided at the beginning of the year that no, it was time to wind it down, been job searching since, can't find job in Austin for what I am best qualified to do (and can't get jobs that I'm reasonably qualified to do either), so now I'm looking at travelling, but at least I won't be broke.

Started dating girlfriend about 2.5 years ago after doing the requisit dating crazy after crazy. 

Thanks for the link!  Didn't know about that.