As someone who regularly travels between Bellingham and Seattle without a car, BhamByBus has a lot to say about regional connectivity using trains and buses. (That was one of the reasons for jumpstarting BhamByBus.) From our perch in the City of Subdued Excitement, Bellinghamsters not only should be grateful for our local intercounty bus routes from the Whatcom Transit Authority and Skagit Transit — and the associated opportunities for transit-oriented tacos at key transfer points — but also our Amtrak Cascades train and bus connections to Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., and other regional transportation providers, like Bellair Airporter Shuttle, Greyhound, and Flixbus.

Compared to many states, Washington has a fairly robust network of state-supported, non-profit, and for-profit intercity bus services, including the Travel Washington Intercity Bus Program, which the state first established in 2007. While Bellingham isn't connected to the four current Travel Washington routes, the Apple, Dungeness, Gold, and Grape lines connect communities in rural areas like Ellensburg, Kettle Falls, Omak, Port Angeles, Pullman, Walla Walla, and Wenatchee to the state's urban hubs, like Seattle and Spokane.

The Washington State Department of Transportation, through its Connecting Communities intercity bus service study, is currently seeking survey input as it examines the existing Travel Washington network, potential expansions, and ways to make the intercity bus services in the state more accessible and easier to use. Currently, WSDOT is in Phase 1 of its Connecting Communities work, where "the project team will gather information about how intercity bus riders use existing services and which improvements riders and current non-riders would like to see to improve intercity bus services." 

Additionally, the Connecting Communities study "will explore where potential service expansion will be most cost-effective while addressing the goal of linking rural areas to the existing intercity network, transportation hubs, and urban centers. One focus of this update will be to explore service expansion in the Yakima Valley and along the I-90 corridor." 

With that focus, don't expect any new Bellingham-centric intercity bus routes to emerge anytime soon given our existing connections, although BhamByBus would certainly get behind a seasonal North Cascades-Methow Valley bus route connecting Bellingham and/or Mount Vernon with Diablo Lake, Winthrop, Twisp, Chelan, and Wenatchee via State Route 20! BhamByBus hopes that the state, county governments, and local communities can partner, develop, and support rural transit connections that also foster car-free opportunities to access outdoor recreation and help reduce vehicular pressures on parks and crowded trailheads. 

Despite WSDOT's focus on the Yakima Valley and I-90 corridor for new intercity bus development, that doesn't mean Bellinghamsters should eschew providing input about our existing regional transit connections, especially advocating for earlier morning bus (or train) departures heading south toward Seattle from Whatcom County. On Thursday, June 27 from 10–11:30 a.m., WSDOT will be hosting a Connecting Communities online public meeting for the Northwest Region, which includes Bellingham and Whatcom County.