FlixBus: Vancouver to Seattle bus service launches in June with $18 fares

A new coach bus operated by FlixBus in North America. (FlixBus)

Transportation options between Vancouver and Seattle will be strengthened by a new highly economical intercity coach bus option operated by FlixBus starting next month.

The service announced earlier this week was originally planned for a launch on Thursday, May 26, but Sean Hanft, a spokesperson for FlixBus, told Daily Hive Urbanized the launch has been pushed to Thursday, June 2 due to unforeseen, last-minute regulatory issues.

As a result, the first date available for trip bookings is June 2, with fares as low as $18.00 each way, not including service fees and optional fees for additional baggage and seat selection. For some perspective, this fare is far lower than the cost of an average Uber ride across the city of Vancouver.

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FlixBus’ Vancouver-Seattle service will initially operate five days per week in each direction on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays.

The Vancouver stop is located on Richards Street outside Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver, while the Seattle stop is located at the intersection of 6th Avenue and S Lane Street in downtown Seattle — near King Street Station, Lumen Field, and T-Mobile Park.

Seattle-bound buses will leave Waterfront Station at 12:45 pm and arrive at 3:55 pm, and Vancouver-bound buses will leave downtown Seattle at 7:30 am and arrive shortly before noon.

Along the way in both directions, the bus also makes stops at Pacific Central Station near downtown Vancouver, and in Bellingham and Everett.

FlixBus’ Vancouver-Seattle service uses new coach buses, featuring passenger amenities such as free WiFi, power outlets for every seat, and tech solutions using the FlixBus smartphone app.

The ultra-low-cost intercity bus company also launched a Canadian domestic route network within Ontario in April and a cross-border route between Toronto and New York City earlier this month.

In October 2021, FlixBus, an international intercity transportation giant based in Munich, spent $78 million to acquire Greyhound, which had been struggling from the pandemic’s collapse on travel demand and the prolonged US-Canada border closure.

Greyhound’s Canadian division permanently shuttered in May 2021 amidst mounting financial losses. The Canadian division of Greyhound already withdrew its operations from British Columbia and Alberta in October 2018 with the company stating at the time this was due to falling ridership and increased competition. In response, in June 2018, the BC provincial government launched BC Bus North’s public intercity bus services to fill in some of the major transportation gaps between communities as a direct result of Greyhound’s withdrawal.

Greyhound continues to operate in the United States, with FlixBus now added as an ultra-low-cost option.

In November 2021, Greyhound resumed some of its major bus routes between Canada and the US, including Vancouver-Seattle, Toronto-Buffalo, and Montreal-New York City.

Besides flying to and from major international airports, other options between Vancouver and Seattle include the daily Amtrak passenger rail service. But Amtrak indicated earlier this month it is not able to restart this route until the end of 2022 at the earliest due to a labour shortage.

Also earlier this month, Harbour Air resumed its floatplane flight route between Coal Harbour in downtown Vancouver and Lake Union near downtown Seattle. It has at least one scheduled flight daily.

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