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New Thruway bus services offer more options
April 25, 2008
For more information, contact Shelley Snow (503) 986-3430.
Willamette Valley travelers now have more options for getting to and from points north and south without their cars. Beginning May 12, the Oregon Department of Transportation is adding two new Amtrak Thruway buses that will provide better connections for passengers. In addition, ODOT will continue testing a successful weekend-only Thruway bus that connects Portland and Eugene.
“The timing on these new services is ideal with fuel prices increasing and people actively looking for different ways to get around,” said ODOT Rail Administrator Kelly Taylor. “We’ve been extremely pleased with the response to the new weekend service. Now we’re very excited about being able to offer two new daily routes as well.”
Improved daily connections
The two new bus schedules, 5516 northbound and 5513 southbound, will complement existing train/bus service by filling a gap in the current timetable. They also provide valley travelers with timely connections to Cascades trains 516 and 513 operating between Portland and Seattle. Bus 5516 will originate at the University of Oregon at 11:10 a.m. and make intermediate stops at Amtrak depots in Eugene (11:35 a.m.), Albany (12:35 p.m.), and Salem (1:00 p.m.), arriving at Portland Union Station at 2:10 p.m. Bus 5513 will depart Portland at 3:30 p.m., stop in Salem at 4:30 p.m., Albany 5:05 p.m., Eugene depot 5:55 p.m., and arrive at UO at 6:10 p.m.
These new routes will decrease wait times for passengers connecting with trains and buses at Portland and provide new options for travelers between Portland, Salem, Albany and Eugene. After May 12, riders will have three trains and three buses daily in each direction to choose from when making travel plans between Portland and Eugene. Two of the three daily buses begin and end their runs on the university campus in Eugene. There are five daily Amtrak trains between Seattle and Portland.
Popular weekend service to continue into summer
Last fall, ODOT began testing a Friday and Sunday-only Thruway bus operating roundtrip between Eugene and Portland. Bus 5588 originates at UO at 3:10 p.m., then stops at Eugene Amtrak station (3:35 p.m.) before operating non-stop to Portland Union Station. Operating as schedule 5577, the same bus returns from Portland at 7:30 p.m., making intermediate stops at Salem, Albany and Eugene depot only to discharge passengers. It terminates at UO at 10:10 p.m.
This experimental weekend service will be continued into summer but if patronage is low ODOT will cancel the route with two weeks notice and then start it again in the fall.
Tickets, schedules and fare information are available at Amtrak stations or at www.amtrak.com.
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