Texas transit fares and toll roads, right now.

Transit fares by city

Adult full fares from each agency’s own fare page unless noted. “Reduced” usually means seniors, riders with disabilities, Medicare card holders and students, with an agency ID card. Several agencies now cap fares, so paying ride by ride with a card or app never costs more than a day or monthly pass.

Trinity Metro’s own fare page would not load for us, so its fares above come from the fare table on the TRE site, which Trinity Metro runs jointly with DART. The Brazos Transit figures are from the City of College Station’s 2025 transportation guide; confirm them with BTD before you rely on them.

Ways to pay less

• Use the card or app, not cash. METRO gives free transfers for three hours only when you pay by fare card, bank card or phone; cash fares don’t include transfers. METRO also gives one free ride after every 10 paid rides on its $2 reusable card.
• Let the cap work. DART charges ride by ride but never more than a Day Pass in a day or a Monthly Pass in a month. From January 2027 CapMetro caps local riders at $3.00 a day and $49.50 a month on the Umo app or a reloadable card. Each one tracks its own cap, so pick one and stick with it.
• Apply for reduced fare early. METRO’s half-price fare covers K–12 and college students, seniors 65 to 69 and riders with disabilities, and riders 70 and over ride free. Each needs an approved discount card. Trinity Metro’s reduced fare covers ages 5 to 19, 65 and over, riders with disabilities and Medicare card holders.
• Students in college towns. Texas A&M and Blinn students, faculty and staff ride Brazos Transit and A&M buses free with ID. In Lubbock, Wayland Baptist, Lubbock Christian and some other students can buy a $52.50 Citibus U pass.
• Free downtown loops. Metro McAllen runs free downtown connections on Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Intercity rail

Amtrak’s Texas Eagle leaves daily between Chicago and San Antonio, stopping in Texas at Marshall, Longview, Mineola, Dallas, Fort Worth, Cleburne, McGregor, Temple, Taylor, Austin and San Marcos. Through service continues to Los Angeles on the Sunset Limited, which runs three times a week each way between New Orleans and Los Angeles via Beaumont, Houston, San Antonio, Del Rio, Sanderson, Alpine and El Paso. Amtrak prices tickets by date and demand and posts no fixed fares, so we don’t list any.

Toll roads

On Texas toll roads you pay either through a toll tag account or by a bill mailed to the car’s registered owner, and the mailed bill costs more. One tag works statewide: TxTag, EZ TAG and TollTag are all part of the Central U.S. interoperability program with Kansas’s K-TAG, Oklahoma’s PIKEPASS, Colorado’s ExpressToll and Florida’s SunPass, which TxDOT says covers toll roads in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado and most of Florida’s. Keep only one tag on the windshield, or you can be charged twice.

Tag or pay by mail?

• North Texas (NTTA): without a TollTag you get a ZipCash bill at about twice the TollTag rate (KETR). The gap used to be 50% and doubled on Jul 1, 2023. NTTA adjusts tolls every two years. Its rate policy has staff send the board a proposal by July of each even-numbered year for a change the next year (NTTA policy), so plan on a possible increase in 2027. We have not seen a 2027 rate.
• Austin (CTRMA): Pay By Mail costs 50% more than the tag rate, plus a $1 processing fee. Most tolls rose 3.01% on Jan 1, 2026, in line with inflation. If you have a tag account but leave the sticker off the car, you pay 10% more than the tag rate.
• Houston (HCTRA) and TxDOT roads: HCTRA handles billing and customer service for TxDOT’s toll roads in the Austin and Houston regions. If your account runs short or your tag isn’t read, the bill comes at the higher rates plus added fees (TxDOT). TxDOT doesn’t text or email about overdue tolls, so treat any such message as a scam.
• Suburban Houston counties: Fort Bend, Montgomery and Brazoria county toll orders raise tolls each Jan 1 by at least 2% or Houston-area inflation, whichever is higher. Expect another small increase on Jan 1, 2027. Parts of the 288 Expressway accept EZ TAG only.
• San Antonio (Alamo RMA): the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority’s current projects, such as Alamo Ranch Parkway and Montgomery Drive, are arterial road work, and we found no Alamo RMA road charging tolls. The regional planning board debated dropping toll lanes from the Loop 1604 expansion back in 2018. A tag still matters if you drive to Austin, Houston or Dallas.

Tolls are part of what it costs to own a car here. Registration, inspection, insurance and gas are on Texas vehicle costs.

Downtown parking

We only list meter rates the cities publish themselves or that local news has confirmed. Garage prices vary by building and event and aren’t included.

Downtown Austin meters (I-35 to Lamar, Lady Bird Lake to 10th Street) are enforced until midnight Wednesday through Saturday (City of Austin). We did not find current official meter rates for Houston, San Antonio or Fort Worth.

Out-of-date numbers you’ll still find online

Getting around, by city

Each city page (Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, McAllen, Waco, College Station, Amarillo) has its transit fare next to rent and bills. Moving with a car? Start with Moving to Texas for registration deadlines.

How we check

Every figure links to its source and shows the date it applies to. We use each agency’s own fare or rate page where it loads and label anything from a news outlet or a partner agency. Read the full methodology.