F1 fans taking advantage of shuttles

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Thousands of Formula 1 race fans took advantage of the free shuttle service Friday from downtown to the Circuit of The Americas track.

More than 450 buses were on hand helping people get to the track without having to worry about parking.

“It's been pretty easy. This is so organized. It's unbelievable how organized," said  Robin Virglio, an F1 fan from the Chicago area.  “Well done Austin. Well done."

Karla Villalon, a spokeswoman with the Austin Transportation Department, said lines were constantly moving. Fans had to wait about 10 minutes at a time to get on a bus.

F1 area command said there were minor delays in the morning, including a back up on Martin Luther King Boulevard. Organizers said on average it took shuttles about 30 minutes to get to the track. Originally officials estimated it would take about an hour to get there.  

People started arriving at 5:30 a.m. to beat the traffic. They filed along a guardrail lining and were taken in groups of 50 to their designated bus.

"That's the whole idea -- I figured if I get out here early I could figure out how the whole thing goes so tomorrow I will be more prepared," said John Heverlang from Orlando, who arrived about an hour before the shuttles started.   "Well, I'm doing like everybody else, luckily the people in Texas are very nice."

A subcontractor with CoTA was in charge of the shuttles and directing them.

There are two shuttle stops. One is at the corner of 15th and Trinity streets, the other location is at the Travis County Expo Center.

By midday there were 9,500 people who used the free service just from the downtown location.

Villalon said the city didn’t expect the amount of people to show up on Friday with just the practice runs at CoTA.  They predict the numbers will triple in the next three days.

She said there was still parking for people in the area, but it was filling up. There’s a total of 22,840 parking spots throughout the city including The University of Texas, the city, private garages and state facilities.