Uber, transit, and getting around without your vehicle

A flooded car is also a transportation hole. Houston is not a small grid. If you lived in your driver’s seat, this week will feel like the city got bigger.

METRO buses and METRORail keep moving when they can. They also detour when a bayou crossing or a downtown tunnel is a mess. Ride-hail will exist and it will be expensive near dry hotels. Friends will offer a ride once. Employers will want a sentence, not a novel.

Make a three-day plan tonight. Work, kid pickup, pharmacy, and the adjuster visit. Everything else can wait or go to a bus.

Do this now

Check METRO and METRORail alerts before you promise a boss an on-time desk.
Ask the auto insurer if rental coverage exists and which companies still have cars.
Text one reliable person for a work-week carpool. Be specific about hours.
If you need a car seat, move it out of the flooded car and wipe it only if the manufacturer says that seat is still safe. Many are a no after floodwater.
Do not rent a car cash-only from a parking-lot guy with two keys and a story.

Transit that is actually running

METRORail is useful if you live near the Red, Green, or Purple lines and your destination is too. Buses cover more of the city and will be crowded. Screenshot delays. Park-and-ride lots may be wet or full of abandoned cars. Have a backup stop.

If you have never ridden, this is not a personality failure. Buy a fare the official way. Ask a rider. Do not bluff through a downtown transfer while holding a trash bag of wet files.

Ride-hail, taxis, and the bill

Surge is real after a flood. If the insurer has rental coverage, a rental is usually cheaper than a week of surges. If they do not, cap your own spending. Share rides with a coworker who also lost a car.

Keep receipts if you will ask an employer, a FEMA other-needs path, or a church fund to help. They will want a date and a reason, not a vibe.

Kids, night shifts, and medical trips

School buses may or may not run on your street. Check the district. A night shift in the Medical Center is a METRO plus walking problem if the rail is up, or a carpool problem if it is not. Dialysis and infusion trips come first. Ask the clinic what they are doing for flooded patients. They have seen this week before.

If 911 is the only safe way to move a person in crisis, that is 911. A flooded Corolla is not an excuse to drive a high-water road.

Bikes and scooters on wet feeders

A bike can save a short Midtown trip. It cannot save a dip on a feeder road at night. Wear something bright. Assume every puddle hides a wheel-eater. Shared scooters will be thrown in piles near the bayou. Do not pick one out of silt and ride it like a rental.

Houstonians often report underestimating heat plus humidity plus a long bus-plus-walk. Water and a hat are part of the transit kit.

Verify live. Status changes hourly. METRO’s official alerts, TxDOT closures, and your auto policy’s rental terms are the live sources. City 311 will not get you a car. It may confirm a flooded underpass rumor.