New system keeps rodeo fans moving at Reliant

10:47 AM CST on Wednesday, March 2, 2005

By Shern-Min Chow / 11 News

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It's a different kind of horsepower and cattle drive, but rodeo fans are riding in by the droves on Metro.

This year, a new computer system keeps track of who is coming from which lot.

KHOU-TV

A news computer system keeps tabs on how many people are coming and going and how many buses are needed to do that.

"We can look and say 'We brought 6,000 people from that lot and only 3,000 of them have returned, so we know we need this many more buses', so it allows us to put our allocations in place to make it smooth for everyone, " said Leroy Shaefer, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Metro's light rail is also helping get people to and from the show. Last year, 100,000 rode the rails in, and that's not just a number. It's very official business.

"I'm a Metro traffic checker," said Mary Young as she clicked her counter. When asked how many people had just gotten off the last train, "We are told that we can't give out that information," she said.

Volunteer Calvin Baird was helping direct traffic, dressed in atypical rodeo attire. "Red neck tennis shoes," he said of his unusual footwear. His belt buckle was "about the size of a hubcap" he said.

Women are much bigger slaves to fashion than men, so when told that her boots weren't official cowboy boots, one rodeo-goer said, "No, but they're pretty, aren't they?"

Attendance was relatively light Tuesday night, but visitors should still be prepared. When all of the transportation lines are full, it takes about 20 minutes to get from the front to the back.