Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Seattle, Washington, to Portland, Oregon, by Bolt Bus



A close friend was going to be in Portland for the weekend. It was a solid opportunity for us to meet up and catch up, so I started planning how to travel. Driving to anywhere that keeps me stuck on I5 for ages and forces me through the Tacoma bottleneck traffic is not on my list of favorite things. I don't mind driving. I just really dislike that drive.

I use carsharing (Zipcar), so finding a less expensive way to go also sounded like a good idea. In the past, when I have been traveling between the cities for something longer than a day trip, Amtrak has worked well. The truth is, I love the idea of taking the train, and will grab the opportunity when presented. However, there is a newer option about which I had been curious: Bolt Bus.

The Bolt Bus is run by Greyhound, but it doesn't run from the sketchy looking Greyhound station. It starts the trip from 5th & Jackson, near Uwajimaya and the last stop of the metro tunnel. Trips are frequent throughout the day, and it is possible to get a last minute seat. The gimmick of Bolt Bus is the way the tickets are priced. They advertise a $1 trip, but these are rare and random. Book early, and your one-way ticket (no obvious discounts for round trip) might be $9. One week out, the southbound seats were between $17-$30, depending on the time of day. Compared  to Amtrak's cheapest option of $33 one-way ($56 at other times), Bolt Bus had something to offer for my trip. Using the best price options for my trip, I would spend half as much for the bus trip as for the train.

But did I really want to trade the train ride for a $30 round trip savings? I struggled with the idea of being stuck on a bus for over three hours, each way, until I realized that I could split the trip. I could take the bus outbound for research while having the train ride for the way back, save $10, and take advantage of Bolt Bus's better departure time.

The bus loaded quickly. Although the boarding is set up in groups (like Southwest Airlines), boarding group order didn't happen. I think the bus loaded up -- that is, people got on -- faster than a normal metro bus, even with riders stowing their bags.  The bus accommodates large bags in the luggage storage compartments and smaller bags in the overhead bins. We started boarding at noon; we left on time at 12:30. Most riders were in their seats early, but two or three boarded within five minutes of departure.

We arrived in Portland on time. The drop-off zone in Portland is as anonymous as the pick up zone in Seattle. It is conveniently located in Portland's Pioneer Square, downtown. This happens to the the same street as one of the many lightrail lines. You won't have far to go if you need to continue on out of downtown to, say, Lloyd Center.

Based on my trip, here are my tips for setting realistic expectations of the bus ride:

  • The boarding area is the sidewalk around the bus. There was no sign when I arrived, but there was a bright red Bolt Bus parked at the curb that then pulled away. The shelter available is from the tunnel station's street level structure.
  • It's a bus. You will be staying in your seat for three and a quarter hours. You can get up if you need the toilet, but it will be as inconvenient as on an airplane. General seating applies.
  • The seats are Seattle metro bus sized, not Sound Transit comfort sized, not modern movie theater sized. The arm rests do move out of the way for loveseat style seating (as in movie theaters), so if you travel with a snuggly friend, you can take advantage of greater comfort. A very large-in-seat person could purchase two seats. (Nothing can be done for leg room, but the head room seemed pretty good.)
  • The seats are a vinyl type material. Wear something that puts cloth between all of you and the seat. That much time on that kind of seat, without being able to shift due to being slightly stuck = should have worn pants.
  • Being bus-sized, you will be seated within smell distance of the restroom. Because of metro's new deboard procedure, I am trained to take a seat at the back of the bus. This time, I chose one in the middle. Still, the wafting odor in the first hour of the trip was unfortunate.
  • The seats recline. This means that the person in front of you may recline away your lap space.
  • There are shoulder seatbelts. Few riders used them. It's up to you.
  • Also unlike an airplane, there are no seatback trays to use as desks.
  • The power outlets are sensibly placed near the floor and between the seats. They are oriented vertically. Power and wifi will not be active until the trip begins. Settle in before your seat mate arrives because otherwise, plugging in could be awkward. (Or it could be a "cute meet"!)
  • The wifi will kick you off several times during the trip without warning. This seemed to be once an hour, to me. When it does, open another tab in your browser before re-establishing the connection, because the permission page will pop up on your existing tab. The usually consequences for navigating off your page will apply to the page you were viewing before re-connecting.
  • I recommend stowing away all baggage and keeping only light essentials at your seat, and listening to music or an audiobook for the ride. Reading would be OK. The same problems -- reclining guy, narrow seat space -- might apply to reading as to working on your laptop or tablet.
  • If you board early enough to get a window seat, you can freely observe people in their cars, because the windows are darkly tinted.


With reasonable expectations, I think that riding the Bolt Bus is a worthwhile way to travel. I certainly preferred it to driving, especially since both Seattle and Portland have good public transit, and a car becomes inconvenient once your in either downtown. The bus is also a better way to plan a day trip, if you can handle two long rides in one day, because it offers more trip times than Amtrak offers.
Still, I'm pretty excited about returning home on the train!

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