If you’re attending the Formula One race at Circuit of the Americas, one way to get to the circuit is on the dedicated COTA shuttle buses.
These operate a ‘park and ride’ service from two different locations in the cities surrounding the circuit, but are not without their challenges. This article provides a guide to using the COTA shuttle service.
Contents
COTA shuttle pickup locations
There are two park and ride locations where the COTA shuttle picks up from in or around Austin:
- Downtown Austin @ Waterloo Park
- Northeast Austin @ Travis Country Expo Centre
There is no longer a direct shuttle from the airport, if you’re flying in you need to make your own way to the circuit.
Still need COTA F1 tickets?
If you still need tickets for the US GP at COTA I’d recommend buying them on StubHub where there will be a good selection available right up until the Sunday of the race weekend, even if they’re sold out elsewhere.
There are also lots of much more affordable single-day ticket options available there too.
I’ve used StubHub for F1 tickets a number of times over the last year, including for my visit to the Grand Prix in Vegas and Montreal, and have always had a great experience buying through them.
Their FanProtect guarantee is also very robust at protecting your money and tickets, and that gives me a lot of confidence when purchasing.
Waterloo Park - 3 days
- Collection: Buses pick people up directly outside the Waterloo Park entrance in Downtown Austin on Trinity St between E13th and E14th. Google maps pin here for collection location.
- Parking: Numerous public parking garages between Trinity St and San Jacinto Blvd, usually around $20 / day
- Drop-off and pick-up at COTA: Drops off directly outside the circuit gates at the Grand Plaza
- Journey time: 30 minutes no traffic, 1 hour plus on race day
- Cost: Advance purchases – 3 day weekend pass $170/person round trip, or $68/person/day.
Barton Creek Square Mall - Saturday & Sunday only
- Collection: Between Dillard’s and JCPenney at the south end of Barton Creek Square Mall, just off Highway 360
- Parking: Free parking anywhere in the Mall car park. Park near an exit for easier departure at the end of the day.
- Drop-off and pick-up at COTA: Mcangus Road shuttle depot, 15 minute walk from the Grand Plaza circuit entrance
- Journey time: 25 minutes no traffic, 1 hour plus on race day
- Cost: Advance purchases – 2 day weekend pass $85/person round trip, or $45/person/day. Same day purchase – $55/person/day
Travis County Expo Centre - 3 days
- Collection: Expo Centre main entrance
- Parking: Free parking in Expo Centre parking lot, enter the centre via Gate 1 off Decker Lane. Click here for Google Maps pin.
- Drop-off and pick-up at COTA: Near the Grand Plaza entrance gates
- Journey times: 20 minutes no traffic, 1 hour plus on race day
- Cost: Advance purchases – 3 day weekend pass $103/person round trip, or $45/person/day.
Nearby Accommodation
If you’re travelling to COTA for the Grand Prix (or another race) and looking for accommodation, finding a place as close to the circuit as possible helps you avoid the worst of the traffic bottlenecks on race days, which even the shuttle service can suffer from.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to make the most of your trip, staying in downtown Austin is ideal for sightseeing, great food, drinks and entertainment when you’re not at the circuit. And it’s close to the Waterloo Park shuttle pick up location.
The map below displays accommodation choices around the track (marked with the blue pin). Pan and zoom around the map to see places close to the venue, as well as options slightly further out in Austin.
Shuttle drop off location
The Waterloo Park and Travis Country expo shuttle services drop off next to the Grand Plaza Entrance gates, directly off COTA Blvd.
The Travis County Expo Centre shuttle drops off at the McAngus road depot, a 15 minute walk from the main entrance. The map below shows the drop off points in orange:
COTA shuttle tickets
The tickets for the COTA Shuttle should be purchased online in advance through the COTA website. More information here.
They have said that there will be a limited number of tickets available to purchase at the shuttle pickup location on the day but these aren’t guaranteed, so it’s best to pre-book.
Kids 3 and under ride the shuttle for free.
COTA shuttle times
The first shuttle buses will leave their collection points in the two locations 1 hour before gates open. See the entry gate opening times here.
To allow for traffic and queues getting in to the circuit entrances, aim to get to the shuttle pick up location at least 30 minutes before the first ride to try and grab a spot on one of the first buses.
On the Friday and Saturday the last inbound shuttle to the circuit is 6:30pm. On Sunday it’s 2pm.
The last shuttle out of the circuit is one hour after the concerts stop on Friday and Saturday, and supposedly they’ll keep going all evening Sunday until everyone has left.
Other transport options
Read my full guide to COTA parking for more information on driving yourself to the track, but to summarise, I’d recommend going for one of the private unofficial parking lots near the circuit. These are cheaper and normally have quicker exit routes to avoid the traffic, compared to the expensive official COTA lots.
Alternatively, if you’re staying Downtown and fancy burning some calories, you could hire an E-bike and ride, avoid all the traffic and deserve your hamburger and fries. There is a bike path most of the way to the circuit.
Or, for the best way to enjoy the weekend and avoid all of the traffic completely, consider one of the COTA camping options. You can stay a 10 minute walk from the track from Thursday to Monday, eat your own food and drink your own drinks all from the comfort of your own trailer or RV.
