Dallas - Transport

It is impossible to enjoy Dallas without some form of transport, partly because the city is too spread out but also because the heat is oppressive for much of the year.

Public transport buses and trains are operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) authority (tel: (214) 979 1111; www.dart.org). The urban light railway and the commuter line, which are separate lines in the south and north, combine to form a single route in the downtown area. The system operates 0400-2400.

Bus tickets must be purchased with exact change in cash. Alternatively, prepaid tickets and day passes can be purchased from vending machines at the station. Day passes may be purchased in advance online at www.dart.org.

DART has joined forces with the volunteer-run McKinney Avenue Transit Authority to operate the historic M-Line Streetcar, providing free, daily transit service in downtown and to connect downtown with the uptown neighbourhood. Schedules and detailed route information are available (tel: (214) 979 1111 or (214) 855 0006; www.mata.org).

Taxis operate 24 hours. Three of the main cab companies are Checker Cab and Yellow Cab, both at the same depot (tel: (214) 426 6262), and Terminal Cab (tel: (214) 350 4445). A tip of 10% is expected.

Driving in downtown Dallas at the weekends is feasible for the visitor, since the streets are relatively quiet. Morning and evening rush hour in the week is just the opposite and very frustrating - this is to be avoided by anyone who isn't familiar with the city.

Downtown Dallas is essentially on a north-south grid layout, although north of Pacific Avenue, the grid is skewed slightly and angled more on a northwest-southeast axis. The same happens south of Young Street. Circling the whole Downtown is a freeway, known as the Central Expressway at the northeast corner and east side, the Thornton Freeway at the southern edge, becoming Stemmons Freeway up the west side and then Woodall Rogers across the northern edge.

There are three toll roads in Dallas. One is the North Tollway, which goes from Downtown up into Collin County. There are tolls at various points along it. Exact change is necessary and can be thrown into a wide coin-catching basket. Locals will have automatic toll smart-cards attached to their windscreens, so they appear to be going through without paying. The other toll road is the Mountain Creek Bridge in southwestern Dallas County. The third is the George Bush Turnpike, an east-west route across the northern suburbs, with Garland at the east end and Irving at the west.

There are meters and parking lots all over Downtown, which can be expensive, except at weekends. Visitors should read meters carefully as timings will be enforced.

A foreign driver's licence, provided that it is in English, is valid in Dallas, although an International Driving Permit is also a good idea, as this carries a photograph, unlike old versions of the British driver's licence. Insurance will be part of the hire arrangement, although drivers should check what this entails. The minimum age for hiring a car is usually 21-23 years.

Car hire is available from Alamo (tel: 1 800 327 9633; www.alamo.com), Avis (tel: 1 800 230 4898; www.avis.com), Budget (tel: 1 800 527 0700; www.budget.com), Dollar (tel: 1 800 800 3665; www.dollar.com), Enterprise (tel: 1 800 261 7331; www.enterprise.com), Hertz (tel: 1 800 654 3131; www.hertz.com) and Thrifty (tel: 1 800 847 4389; www.thrifty.com). For something with a real local flavour, visiting drivers should try Exotic Car Rental of Texas (tel: (800) 979 2585 www.rentexoticcars.com/dallas.html).

Although Dallas is not the ideal city in which to cycle, bikes are available for hire from Richardson Bike Mart's White Rock Lake location, 9040 Garland Road (tel: (214) 321 0705; www.bikemart.com). Riding around the lake is wonderful in good weather.