Trip 2: Route 238
Date: Friday November 10th
I left my house a little before noon to avoid missing the 238. According to Google Map’s trip planner it was scheduled to arrive at 12:11 pm. The bus stop is a few minutes walk from my house, but I generally try to make sure I’m at least 10 minutes early to any bus stop in Austin just in case the bus is early. Lo and behold, at noon, I was less than a block away from stop 2361, when I see the 238 zoom by! Because I was so early I figured, can’t be the 12:11, but by 12:15 trip planner assures me that the next 238 will arrive at 12:40. This whole ordeal would have been painstakingly inconvenient If I was trying to commute to work. Under those circumstances I’d have to choose between being late, or ordering a rideshare. Fortunately I’m going on joy rides, it’s not that big of a deal to just wait for the next bus.
Since I’ve been in Austin (6/2/17), I’ve mostly used Google Maps to navigate the city. Unfortunately, sometimes their Trip Planner returns inaccurate results. Now that I have CapMetro’s app, I can use their Trip Planner for navigation. However, sometimes that can be inaccurate too! Sometimes you‘ll find yourself waiting a lot longer than you anticipate, even if you take precaution. Currently, that’s just the sad truth about Austin’s bus system. So, I’ve decided, I’m gonna start issuing report cards. Each route will be graded on Cleanliness, Connectivity, Convenience, Frequency, and Punctuality.
Route 238 is a short route. It starts at “Westgate Mall.” The only map I’ve found that calls it that is Capital Metro’s. Westgate Mall is more of a shopping center if you ask me. Check out all the featured stores available at the center.
If you live on the 5, 30, 238, 311, 331 or 803 lines, and you need to get to any of the above places, then you’re in luck because all of those routes will take you to 4477 S Lamar Blvd (which is the official address of all the stores). If you don’t live on any of these lines, then you’ll most likely need to transfer. As I get further along in the project I’ll create a blog post strictly for transfers.
Points of Interest around Westgate Shopping Center (that aren’t listed above):
FOOD
Health & Wellness
- Allergies & Asthma Clinic
- Austin Foot and Ankle Specialist
- Austin Heart — South
- AOMA Herbal Medicine — South
- Black Swan Yoga
- Castle Dental
- Christian Life Church
- Mary Kay Becher, DDS, PA
Home
- Chaparral Apartments
- Western Trail Apartments
RETAIL
There’s a few places at Westgate Shopping Center where you can catch the 238 from:
- 2700 Western Trails & Sagebrush | Stop ID: 4219
- 4631 West Gate/Western Trails | Stop ID: 4220
- 2422 Western Trails/Roundup | Stop ID: 1747
- 2554 Western Trails/Tejas Trail | Stop ID: 1748
Boarding at Western Trails & Sagebrush allows you to avoid looping around the shopping center, whereas boarding at West Gate/Western Trails will loop you around the shopping center before heading south
The 238 Travels from Western Trails Blvd, turns left onto West Gate Blvd, and stays on it for 4.4 miles. There weren’t very many people on the bus. So,unfortunately I didn’t get to talk to anyone on this trip. Better luck next time!
Points of Interest between Western Trails Blvd and Aftonshire Way:
- Westgate Family Dental — Steven L. Yarbrough
- 6800 West Gate Blvd: Ali Bleu Flowers & Gifts, Altitude Trampoline Park, Bamboo Bistro, Chris’ Liquor, Cuba 512, Dollar General, La Posada, Paragon Jiu Jitsu Academy, Planet Fitness, Quarter to Ten, Quick Wash Laundry, Starbucks, The UPS Store
- Dentalsaurus
- The Better Hearing Center of Austin
- Shaved Ice Island
- Westgate Lanes
- Foundation Communites/Community Financial Center
- Wide Awake Defensive Driving School
- Cowan Elementary School
- West Oak Rehabilitation and Healthcare
- Stassney & West Gate is a busy intersection, it’s also a stones throw from Foundation Communities/Community Financial Center. One thing I noticed, and don’t really understand about this intersection is why bus stop 5753 is so far from the intersection. It would be really helpful to either move stop 5753 to someplace right before the intersection, or right after, that way it would be a shorter walk to stop 4223 along Stassney for the 311 heading to ACC Riverside. Because here’s the thing, lets say I’m on the 238 headed south, and I need to transfer to the 311 at Stassney & West Gate. In some cases there’s a 7 minute window to walk from stop 5753 to stop 4223. I’ve not timed this walk, but according to Google Earth it’s a 4 minute walk, I say add on another minute to that because there’s a cross walk with a light. In a perfect world, riders should always get from stop 5753 to 4223 within that 7 minute window. HOWEVER, we’re talking ATX here, where buses are early, buses are late, and some cases buses are MIA. All I’m saying is lets make an effort to streamline transferring routes. One time on my way to a work, a woman runs up to me in a panic at this very intersection after getting out at stop 5753, and by the time she figures out that she needs to be at stop 4223 for the 311, she nearly missed the bus!
Moving forward on the route, the 238 makes a left at Aftonshire Way, traveling southeast past Kocurek Elementary School, then turns Right on Curlew Dr.
I got out at Curlew & W Slaughter Ln, while the 238 continues down Curlew, makes a right on Slaughter, looping around to get back on West Gate going northbound.
Once off the bus, I start walking to Lindshire Park. On the way there, I take a few photos of the Tanglewood neighborhood.
Thanks for reading this blog, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave feedback here, or send me an email at bustheglobe@gmail.com
-Jonny
