- Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Agency (CCRTA) brought back Port Aransas Express for a third year
- The main reason for this service is to provide affordable and quick transportation for people who work in Port Aransas
- Costs $1.25 from Corpus Christi and costs $0.75 from Ingleside or Aransas Pass
- Bus runs until a little after midnight every night until Sept. 29
The Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Agency (CCRTA) brought back the seasonal Port Aransas Express bus for the third summer in a row. It costs riders $1.25 from Corpus Christi and costs $0.75 from Ingleside or Aransas Pass.
The Port Aransas Express route starts around 6:30 a.m. every day at the CCRTA Staples Street Station and makes stops at the H-E-B's in Ingleside and Aransas Pass before getting on the ferry to go to Port Aransas.
“It’s safer, it’s faster. Right now, during the holidays, this past holiday, the wait time was over 90 minutes to get onto the ferry, onto the island. With the Port Aransas Express, they have priority boarding onto the ferry, into Port Aransas,” Rita Patrick, CCRTA Managing Director of Public Relations said.
The Port Aransas Express gets to skip those long summer ferry lines. It stops at several destinations in Port Aransas to drop workers off at their workplaces, also making stops at the beach and other popular tourist attractions.
“So, we’ve also extended the hours in Port Aransas. This year is the first time we’ve extended the service hours til midnight," Patrick said.
The Port Aransas Express usually makes three full round trips per day, with the final drop off at the Staples Street Station being a little after midnight. The full Port Aransas Express schedule can be found here.
CCRTA does not typically have bus stops in the Ingleside and Aransas Pass areas, but the Port Aransas Express is a special exception.
“We service those because of the workforce. And we made special arrangements with the cities there to allow us to stop even though we do not service those areas. But, we do provide this particular seasonal service,” Patrick said.
While the main reason for starting the Port Aransas Express was to make traveling easier for people who work in Port Aransas, it can also be utilized by tourists and visitors as well.
“It’s just a win-win situation for anyone; tourists, or visitors, or residents," Patrick said.
The Port Aransas Express has been very successful in the first two years, and CCRTA expects it to continue to grow and expand.
Therefore, CCRTA made the Port Aransas Express a permanent seasonal service. It will be back in operation every year on May 1 through Sept. 29. There is free visitor car parking available at the Staples Street Station.
"The ridership has steadily increased every single year. We decided, along with the community, that this was a worthwhile endeavor and so we have made it permanent," Patrick said.
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