Well. It's here. Again.
The music, film, education and tech-minded masses have descended on Austin. Here's a rundown of how to avoid traffic and get around during the festival 鈥� without wanting to claw your eyeballs out, unless you're looking for a parking spot.
Avoid these streets
As always, the surge of sponsored activations during the festival's Interactive portion mean streets around the convention center will be cordoned off. Across the river, the streets adjacent to Auditorium Shores will be closed for the free concerts during Music.
Take the bus
Cap Metro is extending its service hours into the wee hours during the festival, with its MetroRapid lines running until 2:30 a.m. Thursday through Sunday during SXSW weekends. It'll also expand its Night Owl capacity. Buses from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will be running every half hour, as well.
Routes 4, 17, 21, 22, 100, 122 and 484 will be detoured because of the festival.
Take a pedicab
Pedicabbers will be snaking through downtown over Interactive, with stands set up near the convention center, along Sixth Street at Red River and Sabine streets and another near Rainey Street.
Hail a ride
Last year's absence of Uber and Lyft by out-of-town SXSW attendees. ("We ended up having to stand on the street like it was 1995 to get a frickin鈥� cab.") While outfits like Fasten and RideAustin picked up the slack, both company's servers buckled under the weight of demand, which angered . With Fasten's recent departure from the city, RideAustin is the only local option in town. And, after the Texas Legislature passed statewide ride-hailing regulations last year, this year for SXSW.
Snag a bike
Austin B-Cycle has dozens of kiosks across the city. You can rent on an hourly basis or pay a flat rate for 24-hour access to bikes across Austin.
Rent a car
Car2Go has four drop-off stations during SXSW and is offering a $10 credit for festival attendees. Rent a four-person Mercedes-Benz for $19.
Take your car and (maybe) find parking
If, for whatever reason, you decide to take your car downtown, there are (in theory) some parking spots available. Check out the map below for a real-time look at available parking spots downtown.
