As someone who has taken "Executive Class" busses in Mexico, we are not even close!.
Yes, which means that Flixbus drivers are never Flixbus employees, while Greyhound drivers are. So Greyhound is more Flix than Flix.Except, if I understand it correctly, Flixbus contracts with independent carrier's to operate schedule's, while Greyhound runs them itself...?
Does Flixbus actually own and operate any buses, besides what's left of Greyhound?
As far as I know, the Greyhound drivers are still unionized Greyhound employees. The gradual shutdown of Greyhound, combined with the national driver shortage, should avoid triggering layoffs. Flix service in the Pacific Northwest is run by MTR Western, which also operates Amtrak Thruway service for Oregon!Yes, which means that Flixbus drivers are never Flixbus employees, while Greyhound drivers are. So Greyhound is more Flix than Flix.
(Unless Greyhound drivers are also subcontractors, at this point).
I didn't think to write down the date, but early this month a lonely Greyhound trip from Seattle to Sacramento showed in the Flixbus booking system, one trip, one day, one way. It was the end of the Greyhound marque in Oregon, after over 90 years.
Salem Fairgrounds via US99E to Portland with my dad and younger brother was my first Greyhound trip. I think our mother deadheaded our Studebaker home, but I wasn't interested in that part of the evening. It was exciting.That makes me sad---when I was 16, I used to ride from Salem to Portland to visit friends on Greyhound. I felt like quite the world traveller at the time!
At the time, I remember it being about $7 for a Greyhound ticket between the cities. Easy to go and pop off and have an adventure!
I also hope that Flixbus, whatever they call themselves, increases service. Some of their decisions would probably benefit from having local expertise. I don't know where they are making decisions from, but there is probably ways they can work with the Cascades service, not against it. Especially with something like Kelso and Centralia---those might be better left to the Cascades service, which doesn't have to get on and off the freeway. But Olympia, on the other hand, is a lot more convenient from bus than from train.
Here's the PDX to SEA line-up for Sunday, March 10th as of Wednesday night. Note that some train times have been adjusted for the slide repairs. Train 14 is adjusted for the DST change. Also note the double-headed 0800 departure on Flix has been split up.
0645 AT $37/$87
0700 FB $31
0820 AT $66/SO
0830 FB $32
1040 FB $40
1040 AT SO/SO
1200 FB $33
1350 AT SO/SO
1500 FB $34
1656 AT $59/--/$298
1755 AT $42/$72
1910 FB $32
1925 AT $37/$87
2115 FB $33
Since there was some bus discussion upthread, thought I'd share my experience from yesterday. I arrived into PDX (airport) at 5:20 p.m. and needed to get to Salem. One might think that light rail-->Amtrak would be a good option, but no. By the time I de-planed and made it to the MAX station, it was clear I wouldn't get to Union Station in time for the 6:09 p.m. southbound Cascades departure (train 507), which (unfortunately for me) was running on-time.
The next (and final) southbound Amtrak Thruway bus of the day wasn't until 9:35 p.m., making Amtrak a very unattractive option.
So I booked a Flix Bus, departing at 7:25 p.m. from an unsheltered curb stop just north of Union Station that also happens to be on the other side of the fence from the platforms (allowing me to observe the on-time arrival and departure of northbound 508).
The bus was very full and the seats were cramped compared to the buses used for the Thruway service. The ticket was a few pennies shy of $20, making it twice as costly as the train I was unable to catch.
This bus appeared to have originated in Portland and was headed all the way to Sacramento. I assume this was a vestige of Greyhound service. We received not one, but two lectures before departure about how smoking/vaping/drug use would result in us being deposited on the shoulder of the highway (do they actually do that? Seems like dumping someone on the shoulder of I-5 at night could be deadly.)
Loud phone conversations or failure to mute phone notifications, on the other hand, would merely result in us being forced to disembark at the next stop (since I was headed for Salem, the next stop, I suppose I could have chatted away to my heart's content!)
Of course, anyone attempting to have a phone conversation would have to compete with the blaring Disney movie that began showing on the overhead screens starting around the time the bus whooshed through the Terwilliger Curves. Unfortunately I was only able to enjoy the first half of "The Princess of the Frog" before the bus arrived in Salem. I had planned on reading a book but between the loud movie and lack of reading lights, that was impossible.
To their credit, the bus arrived "on the advertised" in Salem. It was nice to have the Flix Bus option to fill in the huge gap in evening Amtrak/Thruway service out of Portland, but definitely not something I'm hoping to repeat anytime soon.
The bus was very full and the seats were cramped compared to the buses used for the Thruway service. The ticket was a few pennies shy of $20, making it twice as costly as the train I was unable to catch.
This bus appeared to have originated in Portland and was headed all the way to Sacramento. I assume this was a vestige of Greyhound service. We received not one, but two lectures before departure about how smoking/vaping/drug use would result in us being deposited on the shoulder of the highway (do they actually do that? Seems like dumping someone on the shoulder of I-5 at night could be deadly.)
Loud phone conversations or failure to mute phone notifications, on the other hand, would merely result in us being forced to disembark at the next stop (since I was headed for Salem, the next stop, I suppose I could have chatted away to my heart's content!)
For a while, there was a Flixbus that went to Corvallis and Eugene that left at 8 PM, slightly after the 7:30 departure to Sacramento.
I believe just dropping bus or train passengers on the shoulder of the highway in an uninhabited area is illegal. I could be wrong on that. Perhaps it was just an empty threat.
My wife's on the Rose Fest Board, I'll have to ask if she knows.Oregon DOT has refreshed their Cascades website. I'll bet that till now few people knew that the corridor trains are the official railroad of the Portland Rose Festival!
https://amtrakoregon.com/?msclkid=0ce06f086c6c185d8098092c2ee81051&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search Ads Location Seattle to Portland&utm_term=amtrak train from seattle to portland&utm_content=Seattle to Portland
Good idea! It'd be interesting, too, to know if ODOT has done more than having an attractive website and buying some MSN ads.My wife's on the Rose Fest Board, I'll have to ask if she knows.
Looks like a special day for all aboard the Portland.Good idea! It'd be interesting, too, to know if ODOT has done more than having an attractive website and buying some MSN ads.
For readers unfamiliar with the Portland Rose Festival, it's focused on the second biggest floral parade in the U.S. and with over a week of events it generates transport activity.
1961 - Check the billboard for the SP's idea of promotion.
View attachment 36544
1968 - One of the highlights is the Rose Festival Fleet, also known as the Navy coming upstream to spawn. Next time you ride Amtrak over the Steel Bridge, picture the cruiser U.S.S. St. Paul squeezing through.
View attachment 36545
1968 - Cruiser assisted by sternwheeler Portland clears the Broadway Bridge. The fleet's arrival and departure make for interesting traffic on the bridges.
View attachment 36546
Thanx! Something that All Aboard Washington ought to do is to get the night Tacoma/Seattle <> Spokane bus run by Northwestern into the Amtrak Thruway system. It's already doing every darn thing needed, except for the paperwork. (Evergreen's daylight bus via Wenatchee is in the Thruway system.)Just wanted to say that this information about bus and train schedules and fares between Portland and Seattle, Portland -Pasco-Spokane and Portland-Seattle-Spokane is much appreciated! It saves me a huge amount of work, since the transportation companies involved make it so hard for people to get their schedules. Same for the reverse direction.
Enter your email address to join: