The Big Easy? The efficient, simple and colorful public transportation
is one of our favorite no-brainers.

Riverfront Streetcar

Louis Armstrong International

Airport Service

The New Orleans Airport is located just 15 miles from the Central Business District and the French Quarter, a quick trip no matter which means of transport you choose.

Bus: $1.10 will get you from the airport to Tulane Avenue near Elks Place, a few blocks from the Superdome and Canal Street. Departs approximately every 10 minutes from 6-9 am and 3-6 pm and every 20-25 minutes otherwise.

Airport shuttle: $13 each way, departing about every 15 minutes from the airport, 504-522-3500.

Taxi: $28 flat rate for one or two people. An additional $12 per person is charged, up to a total of five passengers.

Airport limousine: Walk-up limousine and sedan service is available to the CBD and the French Quarter. The rate is $35 for one or two people and $10 per additional passenger for up to 8 passengers (total vehicle capacity). Limousine information desks are located on the lower level in baggage claim areas.

City Service

VisiTour: Start with a free VisiTour Guide, including a great pictorial city map with hundreds of landmarks and entertainment venues along with bus and streetcar schedules. Available at selected hotels and visitor information kiosks, and at the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) office, 2817 Canal St., 1st floor, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, call 504-827-2600; for group rates call 504-248-3894. See www.norta.com for other locations. One-day VisiTour passes – good for Regional Transit Authority bus and streetcar rides – are available for $5.00. Three-day Visitour passes can be purchased for $12.00, and monthly TransPasses for $55.00.

St. Charles Avenue streetcar: For just $1.25, the St. Charles Avenue streetcar is a unique way to view national historic landmarks while riding in a national historic landmark. Because of damage to the cantilever system by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Regional Transit Authority has temporarily stopped service along the historic St. Charles Avenue line. A portion of the line from Canal Street to Lee Circle is back in operation, but repairs to the line, which will be done in segments, will not be entirely completed until 2008. Once completed, the St. Charles streetcars, which have rumbled along St. Charles Avenue since 1835, will recommence a route that runs over 13 miles downtown from Canal Street along St. Charles, past Greek Revival mansions and raised cottages, Tulane University and Audubon Park and beyond the shops at the Riverbend, where it takes a right-hand turn onto Carrollton Avenue. The St. Charles Avenue streetcar made its inaugural run as the Carrollton Railroad, which shuttled passengers between the French Quarter and the resort town of Carrollton. Once it returns to service, thousands of residents will again commute to work on the 35 olive-green electric cars.

Riverfront streetcar: For $1.25, you can ride the two-mile route along the Mississippi that includes stops at all the right places: the Convention Center at Julia Street, Riverwalk, the Aquarium of the Americas, the French Market and the Old Mint on Esplanade. While hurricane damage to the St. Charles Avenue streetcar cantilever system is repaired (expected to take through 2007), that line’s historic green Perley Thomas cars are serving the Riverfront route. They replace the usual red Riverfront cars, the hurricane damage of which is also in repair.

Canal Sreetcar: After a 40-year absence, streetcars returned in 2004 to Canal Street, a central artery of New Orleans that forms one of the boundaries of the French Quarter. On the Canal streetcar line, passengers can ride over four miles from the Mississippi to the city’s famed cemeteries, with a “spur” near the end leading to the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park. The 24 new streetcars on the line closely resemble the historic Perley Thomas 900 Series cars that usually operate on the St. Charles Avenue line, and which ran on Canal Street until that line was discontinued in 1964. Traditional in appearance, they offer two welcome updates: wheelchair accessibility and air conditioning.

Parking Tips

Read signs and meters before you park. Note: downtown meters are usually short-term, 12 minutes for a quarter, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. No parking is permitted in rush-hour zones, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. There is no parking at meters covered by bags.

All parking citation fines can be paid at 400 N. Claiborne Ave., weekdays from 8:30 am. – 5 p.m., or mailed to: P.O. Box 5282, New Orleans, LA 70152. You may also pay citations online at www.cityofno.com.

Need a temporary handicap placard for a rental car? Call 504-483-4610.

Tow away zones include rush hour routes (see above); driveways; yellow fire lane rectangles; within 20 feet of corners and crosswalks; within 15 feet of fire hydrants; and in street-cleaning, loading, and service zones. There is no parking on sidewalks or medians. Think you’ve been towed? Call the Claiborne Auto Pound, 504-565-7450, at 400 N. Claiborne Ave. Have cash, your ID and proof of ownership handy when you pick up your car.

Handy Numbers

Questions about paying citations:
504-525-0088

Administrative Hearing Center:
504-826-1200

Parking Enforcement:
504-658-8100

This material may be reproduced for editorial purposes of promoting New Orleans. Please attribute stories to New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau.