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    New Texas Bus Service

    New bus service zeroes in on travel across Texas with Uber-like efficiency

    Clifford Pugh
    Aug 15, 2016 | 9:00 am

    Beginning this week, it's going to be easier to get to and from five Texas cities, thanks to a new bus service that promises to Shofur travelers around the Lone Star State with Uber-like efficiency.

     

    The new service, which offers 12 daily routes between Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Waco starting August 15, offers amenities such as reclining seats, Wi-Fi, power outlets, and the option to select your seat on the bus in advance just as you would on an airplane.

     

    Just as with Uber, riders can track their bus in real time on a mobile app and will receive an automatic notification if their bus is late. And like the ride-sharing service, it doesn't own its buses but uses charter services under the Shofur name and asks for riders to rate the bus driver and the experience on the app.

     

    The brand, called Shofur — a play on the word "chauffeur," promises to revolutionize bus travel, says founder Armir Harris. His family launched a large bus charter service for the Democratic National Convention in 2012 by aggregating bus companies and now provides such services for South by Southwest, the Super Bowl and major conventions, using more than 400 bus companies in more than 100 locations nationwide.

     

    From that experience, Harris came up with a similar concept for personal bus travel."There's a stigma to bus travel. Our goal is to change that," he said during a Houston stop to tout the new service.

     

    He picked Texas to launch the service because of the relatively close proximity of major cities. "Texas is a great market because there are cities that are a little too far to drive to and too close to fly," he says, positioning Shofur as an alternative to flying Southwest Airlines.

     

    Riders can book bus tickets on the website, via the mobile app, or by calling 1-800-436-8710. A one-way ticket from Houston to Dallas costs between $20 and $50, depending on how far in advanced it is booked, Harris said. A sampling of one-way fares on the Shofur website are $9 for Austin-San Antonio, $11 Waco-Dallas, $19 Houston-Austin, and $33 San Antonio-Dallas.

     

    In each of the five Texas cities, Shofur does not have brick-and-mortar buildings, but rather has on-the-street pick ups in central locations. In Houston, it's 1200 Louisiana at Clay in downtown, in Austin it's at 35 Brazos Street, in Dallas at 1010 Ross Avenue, in San Antonio at 879 East Commerce, and in Waco on Kendrick.

     

    Later this year, Harris hopes to expand the service to other Texas cities, including several college towns, and adjoining states.

    Shofur offers such amenities as reclining seats, Wi-Fi, power outlets, and the option to select your seat just as you would on an airplane.

    Shofur bus interior
      
    Photo courtesy of Shofur
    Shofur offers such amenities as reclining seats, Wi-Fi, power outlets, and the option to select your seat just as you would on an airplane.
    transportationapps
    news/innovation

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    the future of surgery

    Houston hospital performs first fully robotic heart transplant in the U.S.

    Laura Furr Mericas, InnovationMap
    Jul 3, 2025 | 9:30 am
    Baylor College of Medicine Robotic Heart Transplant
    Courtesy of Baylor College of Medicine
    Dr. Kenneth Liao and a team at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center used a surgical robot to implant a new heart in a patient.

    A team at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, led by Dr. Kenneth Liao, successfully performed the first fully robotic heart transplant in the United States earlier this year, the Houston hospital recently shared.

    Liao, a professor and chief of cardiothoracic transplantation and circulatory support at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of cardiothoracic transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, used a surgical robot to implant a new heart in a 45-year-old male patient through preperitoneal space in the abdomen by making small incisions.

    The robotic technology allowed the medical team to avoid opening the chest and breaking the breast bone, which reduces the risk of infection, blood transfusions and excessive bleeding. It also leads to an easier recovery, according to Liao.

    "Opening the chest and spreading the breastbone can affect wound healing and delay rehabilitation and prolong the patient's recovery, especially in heart transplant patients who take immunosuppressants," Liao said in a news release. "With the robotic approach, we preserve the integrity of the chest wall, which reduces the risk of infection and helps with early mobility, respiratory function and overall recovery."

    The patient received the heart transplant in March, after spending about four months in the hospital due to advanced heart failure. According to Baylor, he was discharged home after recovering from the surgery in the hospital for a month without complications.

    "This transplant shows what is possible when innovation and surgical experience come together to improve patient care," Liao added in the release. "Our goal is to offer patients the safest, most effective and least invasive procedures, and robotic technology allows us to do that in extraordinary ways."

    ---

    This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

    medical researchbaylor college of medicine
    news/innovation
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