Travel Washington Intercity Bus Plan Update - KFH Group
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Travel Washington
Intercity Bus
Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1
Inventory of Existing Services
Draft Report
July 5, 2018
Prepared for:
Washington State Department of Transportation
Public Transportation Division
Prepared by:
KFH Group, Inc.
Seattle, Washington
Bethesda, MarylandTechnical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services
Technical Memorandum #1
Inventory of Existing Services
INTRODUCTION
This technical memorandum presents an inventory of Washington’s existing intercity bus
services. Additionally, intercity rail passenger routes that operate through the state are
identified.
EXISTING INTERCITY BUS SERVICES
The intercity bus operators that serve Washington’s non‐urbanized and urbanized cities were
identified from Russell’s Official National Motor Coach Guide, 1 the American Intercity Bus
0F
Riders Association (AIBRA) national map of intercity services, 2 and carrier and third‐party
1, F
websites. Information collected included timetables, cities served, and web links to the route
operator. Greyhound’s internal Revenue Support website provides current Greyhound
timetable information, and was used to identify the Greyhound timetables, schedules, routes
and stops in Washington. Greyhound’s online scheduling and booking service was also used
to identify interlined services, such as Jefferson Lines. In addition, Washington’s Section
5311(f)‐funded intercity bus program, branded as Travel Washington, has current route,
schedule and stop information for the funded services. Two of the contract operators of
Travel Washington, Northwestern Trailways and Central Washington Airporter, operate
unsubsidized schedules serving Washington. Finally, Amtrak utilizes some of the existing bus
services as Amtrak Thruway bus connections, and contracts for some additional service, so
the Amtrak national timetables and Amtrak staff were consulted to include these Amtrak
services.
Based on a review of the two databases, Greyhound’s website, and the Amtrak timetables four
types of intercity bus services were identified:
1. Traditional (Legacy) Intercity Bus – Greyhound Lines Incorporated; Northwestern
Trailways; Bellair Charters & Airporter; CanTrail; and Jefferson Lines
2. Rural Intercity Bus – Travel Washington (Section 5311(f)‐funded rural service)
3. Regional Intercity Bus – Link Transit; Community Transit; Grays Harbor Transit;
Clallam Transit System; County Connector; Yakima‐Prosser Connector
1 Russell’s Official National Motor Coach Guide, Retrieved from http://www.russellsguides.com/
2 American Intercity Bus Riders Association, Retrieved from http://www.kfhgroup.com/aibra/
Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-1
Plan UpdateTechnical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services 4. Long Distance “Curbside” Intercity Bus – Bolt Bus; Wheatland Express Figure 1‐1 presents a map of all of these services, listed by carrier. In addition, the text includes a separate summary of the Amtrak Thruway services, though most of the Amtrak Thruway bus services are also legacy or rural intercity bus services included in the inventory of existing services. Traditional (Legacy) Intercity Bus Greyhound Lines Incorporated Greyhound is the longstanding interstate bus service provider, connecting non‐urbanized and urbanized cities throughout the United States. Greyhound is the only national intercity bus provider in the U.S., and is now owned by FirstGroup PLC of the United Kingdom. Greyhound is a member of the National Bus Traffic Association (NBTA), which is the national clearinghouse for interline ticketing. Through these arrangements, member carriers can sell single tickets that provide for travel on the services of other member carriers. Greyhound service is distinguished by the fact that it has designated stops with terminals or commission agencies, many staffed by agents who sell tickets, handle bus package express, and provide information. This is contrasted with “curbside” operators which are discussed in a subsequent section. Information about Greyhound services is available through several sources: on their website https://www.greyhound.com/, through their telephone information system, in Russell’s Official National Motor Coach Guide, and at staff station ticket counters. Greyhound is currently responding to competition from long distance “curbside” intercity bus express operators by providing Greyhound Express service between major points within its network. Greyhound Express offers few intermediate stops in smaller towns, and buses are equipped with Wi‐Fi, plug‐in power outlets, and leather seating. In another effort to remain competitive, Greyhound offers three online fare categories, and one terminal fare. Table 1‐1 displays the conditions of the four fare categories. In Washington, Greyhound operates both express and local service. There are three timetables that offer service in or through Washington. Greyhound serves seventeen cities in Washington along interstate and major US highway routes, including I‐5, I‐90, I‐82, and US‐ 395, corridors which encompass much of Washington’s population. Table 1‐2 identifies Greyhound’s four stop types – transfer; regular; curbside; and partner. Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-2 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services 1‐1: Washington Intercity Bus Routes and Station Stops Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-3 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services
Table 1‐1: Greyhound Fare Categories Figure
Economy Economy Extra Flexible Terminal
1 checked bag free 1 checked bag free 2 checked bags free 1 checked bag free
(2nd bag is $15) (2nd bag is $15) (2nd bag is $15)
Non‐ refundable Non‐ refundable Refundable
$20 fee to change $20 fee to change No fee to change
date/time before trip date/time before trip date/time before trip
date
Earn 1 road reward Earn 2 road reward Earn 3 road reward Earn 1 road reward
point each way points each way points each way point each way
Priority boarding Priority boarding
Free same day exchange Free same day exchange
Source: Greyhound, 2017
Table 1‐2: Greyhound Washington Station Stops by Type
Stop Type Description City
Bellingham, Everett,
Full service station with restrooms, seating and free
Greyhound Station Seattle, Tacoma,
Wi‐Fi
Olympia, Pasco
Curbside Stop Mostly a pick up or drop off, no staff or facilities Chelan, Colville, Kelso
Brewster, Colfax,
A service center, gas station or one of the Mount Vernon,
Partner Station
connecting company's bus stations Centralia, Moses Lake,
Ellensburg, Spokane
Source: Greyhound, 2018
For the three timetables, the routes that operate within Washington are identified and
include cities served, number of round trips, and whether the bus operates express or local
service. Unless otherwise noted, all services are operated daily.
Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-4
Plan UpdateTechnical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services
Timetable 601: Vancouver – Seattle – Portland (Oregon)
Timetable 601 includes service between Seattle; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Portland,
Oregon, including:
Two local trips from Vancouver to Seattle
One local trip from Vancouver through Seattle and Portland, and on to Los Angeles
Two local trips from Seattle through Portland to Los Angeles
Three local trips from Los Angeles through Portland and Seattle to Vancouver
One Friday‐only local trip from Portland to Seattle
Intermediate stops in Washington include Bellingham, Mount Vernon, and Everett—each
with four daily round‐trips; Tacoma and Olympia—each with five daily round‐trips; and
Centralia and Kelso—each with four round‐trips daily.
Timetable 502: Spokane – Portland (Oregon)
Timetable 502 includes one round trip per day between Spokane and Portland, Oregon, with
intermediate stops in Pasco; The Dalles, Oregon; and Hood River, Oregon.
Timetable 509: Missoula (Montana) – Spokane – Seattle
Timetable 509 includes services between Seattle; Missoula, Montana; and Stanfield, Oregon:
Two local round trips between Seattle and Missoula with intermediate stops in
Ellensburg; Moses Lake; Spokane; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; and Kellogg, Idaho
Two local round trips between Seattle and Stanfield, Oregon, with intermediate
stops in Ellensburg, Yakima, Sunnyside, and Pasco
Northwestern Trailways, Inc.
Northwestern Trailways is an intercity coach service based in Spokane. Part of the Trailways
Transportation System, the company operates two routes as Northwestern Trailways. These
routes connect Spokane to both western Washington and the Palouse region of Washington
and Idaho, and to Boise, Idaho. Northwestern Trailways also operates the Travel Washington
Apple Line, which connects northern central Washington with the US‐2 and I‐90 corridors.
Northwestern Trailways is an interline partner with Greyhound Lines; tickets may be
purchased through Greyhound’s online ticketing system. As a member of the Trailways
Transportation System, tickets are also available through the unified Trailways ticketing
system. The Travel Washington online ticketing service also sells tickets for all routes
operated by Northwestern Trailways.
Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-5
Plan UpdateTechnical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services
Table 1‐3 identifies the three stop types in Northwestern’s network.
Table 1‐3: Northwestern Trailways Bus Stop Types
Stop Type Description City
Everett, Seattle,
Primary stations that serve as a connection to other
Transfer Station Spokane, Tacoma,
transit services. Restrooms and ticketing available.
Wenatchee
Malott, Monroe,
Okanogan, Omak,
Orondo, Pateros,
Curbside Stop Mostly a pick up or drop off, no staff or facilities
Pullman, Quincy,
Ritzville, Skykomish,
Spokane Airport
Brewster, Colfax,
A service center, gas station, or other business Chelan Falls,
Partner Station where passengers may wait, use restrooms, as well Ellensburg, Ephrata,
as purchase tickets George, Leavenworth,
Moses Lake
Timetable 7840: Spokane – Wenatchee – Seattle – Tacoma
Timetable 7840 includes one trip each way per day between Spokane and Tacoma, connecting
Spokane and eastern Washington with the Seattle metro via Stevens Pass. Buses make
intermediate stops in Ritzville, Moses Lake, Ephrata, Quincy, Wenatchee, Leavenworth,
Stevens Pass, Skykomish, Monroe, Everett, and Seattle. Connections to Amtrak and
Greyhound are available in Seattle and Tacoma. Transfers to and from Travel Washington’s
Apple Line are available in Wenatchee.
Un-numbered Timetable: Spokane – Pullman – Moscow – Lewiston – Boise
This timetable includes one round trip per day between Lewiston, Idaho and Spokane, and
one trip each way between Boise, Idaho and Spokane, with two arrivals and one departure per
day from Spokane Airport. Both the Spokane – Boise and Spokane – Lewiston schedules make
intermediate stops in Washington, at Colfax and Pullman. Moscow, Idaho is also served.
Bellair Charters and Airporter
This charter and tour bus company operates two regularly scheduled intercity routes. The
Western and Central Washington Airporter Shuttles link cities along the I‐5 and I‐90
corridors with SeaTac International Airport. Bellair operates two Travel Washington routes.
Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-6
Plan UpdateTechnical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services Central Washington Airporter: Yakima – Ellensburg – SeaTac Bellair’s Central Washington Airporter connects Yakima, Ellensburg, Chelan, and North Bend to SeaTac Airport and the Link Light Rail network with five round trips per day. The service is branded as an airport shuttle, but also operates as a regular intercity service, as well as connecting to local transit services in Seattle. One way fares are distance‐based and range from twelve to 52 dollars. Western Washington Airporter: Northern I-5 Corridor – SeaTac Bellair operates a SeaTac connection along the I‐5 corridor north of Seattle. This schedule offers eleven round trips per day and connects SeaTac to Marysville, Stanwood, Burlington, Bellingham, Ferndale, Birch Bay, and Lynden, with reservation‐only service to Blaine and the Alaska Ferry Terminal in Bellingham. One way fares range from five to 55 dollars. The Western Washington Airporter operates a spur route connecting Anacortes to the I‐5 corridor, with a transfer available in Burlington. The Anacortes spur connects to the San Juan Island Ferries in Anacortes. Jefferson Lines On January 17th, 2018, Jefferson Lines inaugurated service between Missoula, Montana and Spokane, replacing previous Greyhound Lines services. The Jefferson Lines service offers two daily round‐trips between Spokane and Missoula. The buses also stop in Coeur d’Alene and Kellogg, Idaho. In Missoula connections are available with Flat Head Transit, and with other Jefferson Lines service covering Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. In Spokane the Jefferson Lines stop is the intermodal station that also serves Greyhound, the Gold Line, and Northwestern Trailways. Jefferson Lines is a member of the National Bus Traffic Association (NBTA), the national intercity bus interline ticketing system. As a result schedules and ticketing are available through the Greyhound website as well as that of Jefferson Lines. Cantrail Cantrail Coach Lines of Vancouver, B.C., offers three southbound and four northbound trips per day between Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle. There are no additional stops in Washington, but the buses made additional stops in Surrey and Richmond, B.C. The Seattle stop location is the Amtrak station in downtown Seattle, and in Vancouver it is the Pacific Central Station. Cantrail sells tickets directly, but all schedules are also identified as Amtrak Thruway schedules and are included in Amtrak’s scheduling system and timetables. Tickets can be purchased either through Amtrak or directly from Cantrail. Cantrail also offers a ten‐ride commuter ticket ($300 Canadian) not available through Amtrak. There is no interline ticketing with NBTA members such as Greyhound, and the Cantrail buses do not serve the Greyhound station in Seattle. Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-7 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services Regional Intercity Services Local and regional services offer intercity connections that feed into the larger intercity transit network. They are operated by one or more local or regional transit system and often connect small urban clusters to an intercity transfer opportunity in a larger city. The services identified all traverse very low density rural areas to connect to urban areas; commonly the larger destinations will have opportunities to transfer to other intercity services, such as Greyhound and Amtrak. While these services are operated by local transit agencies and do not accept reservations, they do serve otherwise unmet intercity travel demand. Though none of these services offer interline ticketing with the NBTA national intercity network, and not all of them connect at intermodal facilities that also serve as intercity bus stops, they do represent additional intercity access and could potentially feed into the national intercity transit network. Grays Harbor Transit Grays Harbor Transportation Authority (doing business as Grays Harbor Transit, or GHT) is a County Transportation Authority (CTA) serving greater Grays Harbor County. It has a number of regional routes connecting towns in the county, and these services connect in Aberdeen at the GHT transit center. GHT has long offered service connecting to Greyhound in Olympia (Route 40), and via a connection to that service it also provides service to the Amtrak station in Centralia. Route 40: East County-Olympia Weekday service on Route 40 includes seven round‐trips between the Hoquiam Transit Center and the Olympia Greyhound Station. All trips stop at the Aberdeen Transit Center and the McCleary Transit Center, five of them stop at the Montesano Transit Center, and the Elma Transit Center. Eastbound two the trips stop at the Olympia Transit Center, while westbound all seven make that stop. Weekend service includes four round‐trips between Hoquiam/Aberdeen and the Olympia Greyhound Station—no eastbound trips stop at the Olympia Transit Center, but westbound all do. These services are not interlined with Greyhound, but do make a meaningful connection to the national intercity network in that they serve a common station at times allowing a relatively convenient connection. Route 45: Oakville-Rochester-Centralia This route actually operates between the Elma Transit Station and Centralia Amtrak Station. There are four daily round‐trips, weekdays only. The service is scheduled to connect with Route 40 at the Elma Transit Center, allowing a trip from Hoquiam or Aberdeen to Centralia Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-8 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services with one transfer. The service is not shown in Amtrak schedules as an Amtrak Thruway connection. Link Transit Chelan‐Douglas Public Transportation Benefit Area (doing business as Link Transit) is the local transit system in Wenatchee and Chelan and Douglas counties. Link offers local service in and around greater Wenatchee, and in addition offers five intercity routes connecting the small towns along US Routes 2 and 97. Link Transit classifies eight of their routes as intercity, although destinations along three of the routes are too contiguous to qualify in this study as intercity. Transfers to Northwestern Trailways and the Travel Washington Gold Line are available in Wenatchee. Link Transit uses a zone‐based fare system. The following routes all require a two zone fare ($2.50) when ridden end to end. Route 20: Wenatchee – Orondo – Manson Route 20 connects Manson and the Lake Chelan area to Wenatchee via Orondo, on the eastern shore of the Columbia River. There are intermediate stops in Chelan, Chelan Falls, Sun Cove, and Orondo; the route offers five round trips per day. Route 21: Wenatchee – Entiat – Manson Route 21 connects Manson and the Lake Chelan area to Wenatchee via Entiat, on the western shore of the Columbia River. There are intermediate stops in Wenatchee, Chelan, Chelan Falls, and Entiat; the route offers twelve round trips per day. Route 22: Wenatchee – Leavenworth Route 22 connects Wenatchee to Leavenworth and the settlements along US‐2. There are intermediate stops in Peshastin, Dryden, Cashmere, and Monitor, and Wenatchee; the route offers twenty round trips per day. Route 25: Wenatchee – Waterville Route 25 connects Wenatchee to Waterville, a small town east of the Columbia River on US‐2. There are intermediate stops in Orondo and Wenatchee; the route offers five round trips per day. Route 26: Wenatchee – Ardenvoir Route 26 connects Wenatchee to Ardenvoir and the Entiat River Valley, with intermediate stops in Entiat and Wenatchee; the route offers five round trips per day. Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-9 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services Clallam Transit System Clallam Transit System, a Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA), operates local transit services in Clallam County. There are a number of local routes serving cities and settlements across Clallam County, which is located across the northern end of the Olympic Peninsula. In addition to these in‐town routes, Clallam Transit operates one intercity route, The Strait Shot, which connects Clallam County to the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal. The Strait Shot This route connects Port Angeles to the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal, with two round trips per day. There are intermediate stops in Sequim, Blyn, Discovery Bay, Poulsbo, and Suquamish. Passengers can travel to Colman Dock in downtown Seattle via the Washington State Ferries Seattle / Bainbridge Island route. The one way fare is ten dollars to the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal. From Colman Dock, passengers can walk six blocks to the Pioneer Square Station and take Link light rail to connect to intercity services south of downtown Seattle, including Greyhound (at the Stadium Station) and Amtrak (about two blocks from the International District/Chinatown Station, and 11 blocks from Colman Dock itself). There are also King County Metro bus routes stopping along southbound 3rd Avenue (four blocks from Colman Dock) that stop within a block of King Street Station (Amtrak). County Connector The County Connector is a network of regional routes jointly operated by Island Transit, Skagit Transit, and the Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA). Routes connect to park and ride lots and to local transit stations in Bellingham, Oak Harbor, Mount Vernon, and Everett. From a regional perspective two routes might be considered as intercity because of their length and the fact that they could be used to access the national intercity bus network. It should be noted that Greyhound offers four round‐trips per day at Bellingham, Mount Vernon, and Everett. Route 80X: Bellingham – Mt. Vernon Route 80X connects Bellingham to Mount Vernon with nine weekday round trips. Operated jointly by WTA and Skagit Transit, it connects Skagit Station (Mount Vernon), three park and ride lots, Bellingham Station, and Western Washington University. Greyhound serves Bellingham, although the Greyhound stop is not located at the WTA Station, but is approximately three miles away. There are local fares. This service would not be considered to meet the standard of a meaningful connection to the national intercity bus network because of the fact that it does not serve the same station, but it would permit someone from Mount Vernon (and via connecting services from Oak Harbor) to get to Bellingham where they could take a taxi to connect. Additionally, Greyhound does serve Skagit Station. Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-10 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services Route 90X: Mount Vernon-Everett Route 90X is operated by Skagit Transit. Skagit Station is served by Greyhound, and Everett Station is an intercity bus stop served by Northwestern Trailways and Greyhound. It offers 11 daily weekday trips. Community Transit Community Transit, the PTBA serving Snohomish County with inter‐county service, also offers two routes that in some sense offer transit access to more rural communities, with one route connecting to the national intercity network at the Everett Station. Route 230: Darrington-Smokey Point This route links the community of Darrington with the Smokey Point transfer station in Arlington. There are two daily round trips with different stops, one going to the Smokey Point station, and the other to Arlington but not the station. There are morning and evening schedules to allow for work and other trips. Route 280: Granite Falls-Everett Twenty‐four weekday daily round trips are operated. All trips stop at Everett Station, which offers connections to Amtrak and Northwestern Trailways—two trips continue on to Boeing facilities in Everett (and return). Rural Intercity Section 5311(f) Services Travel Washington The Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) Travel Washington program is designed to take advantage of Greyhound’s offer of local matching funds for intercity services that feed into their own network. Four routes (Apple Line, Dungeness Line, Gold Line and Grape Line) operate under the Travel Washington brand, operated by three different companies (Northwestern Trailways, Olympic Bus Lines, and Bellair Charters & Airporter). All Travel Washington routes are interlined with Greyhound. Apple Line: Ellensburg – Wenatchee – Omak The Apple Line connects Ellensburg to Omak with one round trip per day. There are intermediate stops in Okanogan, Malott, Brewster, Pateros, Chelan, Wenatchee, Quincy, and George. Fares are fixed and distance‐based, ranging from $11 to $40. Connections to the intercity transit network are available, via Greyhound in Ellensburg and Northwestern Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-11 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services Trailways in Wenatchee. The Apple Line is operated by Northwestern Trailways, and is an Amtrak Thruway on the Empire Builder schedule. Dungeness Line: Port Angeles – Seattle – SeaTac The Dungeness Line connects Port Angeles and the northeast Olympic Peninsula to Seattle and SeaTac Airport with two round trips per day. There are intermediate stops in Sequim, Discovery Bay, Port Townsend (via shuttle to Discovery Bay), Kingston, Edmonds, and Seattle. Fares are fixed and distance‐based, ranging from $28 to $49, with half‐price fare for passengers younger than sixteen. Connections to Greyhound and Amtrak are available in Seattle, and to air travel at SeaTac. Until July 1, 2018 the route is being operated by Olympic Bus Lines; after that date the contract operator will be Greyhound Lines. Gold Line: Spokane – Kettle Falls The Gold Line connects Spokane with Kettle Falls and communities along US‐395 with two round trips per day. There are intermediate stops in Colville, Arden, Addy, Chewelah, the Chewelah Casino, Loon Lake, Deer Park, and North Spokane. Transfers are available in Spokane to Amtrak, Greyhound, Northwestern Trailways, and Jefferson Lines, as well as air travel services at Spokane Airport. Fares are fixed and distance‐based, ranging from five to 26 dollars. The Gold Line is operated by Bellair Charters & Airporter. The Gold Line is an Amtrak Thruway on the Empire Builder schedule. Grape Line: Walla Walla - Pasco The Grape Line connects Walla Walla to Pasco and the Tri‐Cities with three round trips per day. The Grape Line also makes stops at Tri‐Cities Airport, Burbank, Wallula, Touchet, and the Walla Walla Airport. Fares are fixed and distance‐based, ranging from six to fifteen dollars. Connections to Greyhound and Amtrak are available in Pasco, and to air travel at the airport stops. The Grape Line is operated by Bellair Charters & Airporter. The Grape Line is an Amtrak Thruway on the Empire Builder schedule. People For People Yakima-Prosser Community Connector People For People is a non‐profit community service organization in eastern Washington. They primarily provide employment and training services, non‐emergency medical transportation (NEMT), and senior nutrition programs. With operating assistance from WSDOT, People For People also operates an intercity transit route, the Yakima‐Prosser Community Connector. The Yakima‐Prosser Community Connector offers three round trips per weekday between Yakima and Prosser, with intermediate stops in Wapato, Toppenish, Zillah, Granger, Sunnyside, and Grandview. The service operates fare‐free. Transfers to Greyhound are available in Yakima and Sunnyside. Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-12 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services Curbside Intercity Services BoltBus BoltBus, a brand owned and operated by Greyhound Lines, is an express intercity bus service founded in 2008, with service on the West Coast and in Washington beginning in 2012. The majority of BoltBus stops are curbside pickups and drop‐offs, usually with few amenities. Online reservations are the main ticketing option, although passage can be purchased at the time of boarding (with a surcharge) if seats are available. Vancouver – Seattle – Portland There are four round trips per day between Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle, with two of the four continuing to Portland, Oregon. All four round trips stop in Bellingham. Seattle – Portland BoltBus operates four round trips per day between Seattle and Portland, Oregon, with no intermediate stops. One of the four trips continues to Eugene, Oregon. Amtrak Thruway Bus Service In order to expand the coverage of the intercity rail passenger network, Amtrak contracts with bus carriers to operate connecting intercity bus services. Amtrak Thruway passengers have tickets that include an Amtrak rail segment as part of the trip. Amtrak Thruway services serve the train stations directly to offer an easy connection. The services are of two types: interlined and dedicated. Interlined services are services that in addition to serving connecting Amtrak passengers, also serve passengers of the operating carrier who may not also be connecting to rail service on the same ticket. These interlined services may not wait for late trains, but operate on the schedule of the operating carrier. Dedicated Amtrak Thruway services carry only passengers holding Amtrak tickets, and they wait to make guaranteed connections with the trains. Amtrak Thruway schedules and ticketing for both types of service are included in Amtrak’s national reservation and ticketing system. In Washington the Amtrak intercity rail passenger routes include the Washington portion of the Cascades service between Eugene, Oregon and Vancouver, B.C., with stops in Washington at Vancouver, Kelso‐Longview, Centralia, Olympia‐Lacey, Tacoma, Tukwila (Sea‐Tac airport), Seattle, Edmonds, Everett, Stanwood, Mount Vernon, and Bellingham. Not all trips cover the entire corridor—the frequency varies by segment, with Amtrak Thruway buses used to cover non‐rail segments in many cases. In addition, this corridor is served by the Coast Starlight, which is a long‐distance train operating between Seattle and Los Angeles. East‐west rail Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-13 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services passenger service is provided by Amtrak’s Empire Builder long‐distance train, which operates between Chicago and both Seattle and Portland, Oregon. Westbound the train is split in Spokane, with one set of through cars continuing to Seattle via Ephrata, Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Everett and Edmonds; and a second set continuing to Portland via Pasco, Wishram, Bingen‐White Salmon and Vancouver (all in Washington). Eastbound the two sections are combined in Spokane. The service is daily. In Washington there are a number of Amtrak Thruway bus services included in the Amtrak network for the state, though all but one are interlined and so have been included in the description of intercity bus services presented above. Amtrak Thruway bus services in Washington include: Seattle‐Vancouver, B.C.: Three daily southbound and four northbound Amtrak Thruway bus trips are operated between Seattle Amtrak Station and the Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, B.C. These are operated by Cantrail and are the same three trips described above under that firm’s service description. The service is of the interline type‐Amtrak can ticket the service for passengers continuing to or from a train, but a passenger with no rail connection can buy their ticket directly from Cantrail. Amtrak shows a fourth southbound Amtrak Thruway schedule which is not offered separately by Cantrail. Bellingham‐Seattle: Amtrak contracts with MTR Western to operate connecting schedules as part of the Cascades service. Northbound there is a single trip on Saturdays, Sunday, and Holidays connecting from Train 502. Southbound there is a daily trip connecting to Train 507. MTR Western does not sell separate tickets on these schedules—the service is dedicated to Amtrak passengers. Port Angeles‐Seattle: The Travel Washington Dungeness Line is an Amtrak Thruway service as well, as it serves the Amtrak Station in Seattle. This puts the schedules into the Amtrak scheduling system and allows Amtrak riders to purchase through tickets. Kettle Falls‐Spokane: Travel Washington’s Gold Line is also an interlined Amtrak Thruway service, connecting to Trains 7/8, and 8848/9. Omak‐Wenatchee: The Travel Washington Apple Line is an interlined Amtrak Thruway Connection to the Seattle section of the Empire Builder. Walla‐Walla‐Pasco: The Travel Washington Grape Line is an interline connection to the Portland section of the Empire Builder. Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-14 Plan Update
Technical Memorandum #1: Inventory of Existing Services CONCLUSIONS This inventory of intercity bus services presents what appears to be a comprehensive network of services that can be used to make intercity trips across the state and to destinations elsewhere. The unsubsidized legacy and curbside bus services focus on the major population centers in the north‐south corridor between Vancouver, B.C. and Portland, Oregon, but there are also key east‐west connections across the state operated by Greyhound and Northwestern Trailways. The same pattern is true of the Amtrak rail passenger services. The four Travel Washington routes connect rural areas to these basic networks, and can be accessed (information and ticketing) through either the Greyhound ticketing system or Amtrak’s ticketing system. There are a number of other long‐distance regional transit services that can be used to reach the intercity bus and rail networks, but their role as intercity connectors is not clearly defined because they do not always connect at the same stations and there is no interline ticketing. Information about potential intercity connectivity is only available if the carriers have supplied General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data about services to allow Google Transit and similar services to supply trip planning information. The next technical memorandum (Tech Memo #2) will combine data on population, density, demographics, and key potential intercity destinations with this network to assess the coverage provided by these routes. Travel Washington Intercity Bus 1-15 Plan Update
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