Houston METRO Bus Route 2 Bellaire is a local bus service that travels from east to west via Bellaire Boulevard in Houston Texas. This route passes through several vibrant communities (and many great restaurants) in Houston. The communities that this buses passes by are:
- Texas Medical Center (TMC)
- West University (or West U.)
- Bellaire
- Chinatown
- If you want to eat some great Chinese or southeast Asian food, visit this area.
- Sharpstown
- Little Saigon
- Mission Bend
In addition, Route 2 is one of the most highly usage bus routes in the Houston METRO Bus System. Route 82 Westheimer is the most highly usage bus routes in the system.
Riding Route 2 Bellaire to Mission Bend Transit Center (TC)
Route 2 Bellaire is a Local Bus Service and the full fare to ride this bus is $1.25. The full ride is around one hour and 10 minutes. This route accepts cash (exact change; no change given), show your METRO Q Mobile Ticketing App to the bus operator, or tap your valid METRO Q Fare Card (or METRO Money).
Type of Trips
Route 2 Bellaire has two type of trips (or direction):
- Westbound
- Texas Medical Center TC Bay F to Mission Bend TC.
- Eastbound
- Mission Bend TC Bay C to Texas Medical Center Bay F.
Transit Centers (or major stops)
Texas Medical Center TC (Stop Number: 11025)
TMC TC is one of the largest transit centers in Houston METRO system and is located south of TMC. At TMC TC, you can transfer to other METRO Local Bus or Park & Ride (Commuter bus; long distance) or METRORail Red Line. Route 2 is located at Bay F. In addition, this is the stop where the bus cleaners does a quick bus interior clean.
Bellaire TC (Stop Number: 74)
Bellaire TC is located at the intersection of Bellaire Boulevard and Bissonnet Street. This small TC is located in the middle of Bellaire Boulevard. Right beside the TC is a small historical museum called Bellaire Street Car Line. This streetcar was in service in the early 1900s.
Mission Bend TC (Stop Number: 94)
Mission Bend TC is located further west of Houston near the Westpark Tollway and near Texas State Highway 6. This TC is located in the residential area of Alief.
This transit center also have a huge parking lot to park your vehicle. There is no cost to park your vehicle at this TC.
Route 402 – A compliment route for Route 2
In the early 2000s, METRO created a route that compliments route 2, which is the 402. At that time, this express bus was called “Signature” Service. METRO planned to expand more Signature bus routes throughout the system, but they weren’t able to accomplish the goal
Route 402 Bellaire Quicklime is an express bus for route 2. This route bypasses several bus stops and stops at major intersections. In addition, this route operates between Monday – Friday. As of 2022, the fare to ride this express bus is $1.25. The travel time between TMC to Chinatown (vice versa) is around thirty minutes (half of the travel time of Route 2).
Restaurants
There are many great restaurants that are located by this route. Here are one of my favorites:
- Kim Son (Chinese)
- They have good and high quality buffet
- Bun Mang Vit Thanh Da – The Duck House (Vietnamese)
- Sweet Memes – Houston
My Opinion
Southwest Houston is a highly density area mixed with residential and businesses area (mixed). This route is simple because it travels east or west on Bellaire Boulevard.
I’ve noticed that there are few passengers between TMC TC through Bellaire TC. On that stretch, it’s mostly residential neighborhood. Also, most passengers board on the TMC TC (due to METRORail Red Line, other METRO Bus, and TMC).
After this route departs from Bellaire TC and heads to Mission Bend TC, this is where most people board or exit the bus. The problem about this route is that it stops almost every block. Sometimes, a person will exit the bus and then the next block, someone is going to board. I’m not complaining, people need to get to their destination. Creating Route 402 (that complements Route 2) is a good start, but not fully utilize.
It would be nice if METRO expands Route 402 Quickline to Mission Bend TC. As of right now, Route 402 stops at Chinatown. Mission Bend TC has a huge parking lot where patrons can park their vehicle. From there, they can travel to Bellaire TC or TMC TC in less than 40 minutes. This may not hurt Route 2 ridership number because it makes several stops. Route 402 Quickline bypass multiple stops and only stops at major street intersection. This is somewhat similar like the New York City MTA Subway trains. There is a local and express train that travels to the final destination.