Date:  Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Contact: Noel Brady, WSDOT Communications, 206.464.1183 (Seattle)
Stephen Abernathy, Intercity Bus Program Manager, 360.705.7929 (Olympia)

WALLA WALLA –Three new buses funded by federal stimulus dollars for the Grape Line have arrived and soon will begin carrying passengers between Walla Walla and Pasco.

The new Grape Line buses are the latest fruits from $1.9 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grants for the Travel Washington Intercity Bus Program. Indiana-based bus maker Turtle Top Inc. manufactured the vehicles, each of which will carry up to 20 passengers.

“Federal stimulus funding is giving Travel Washington’s intercity bus service a great boost to meet growing needs and demand,” said Stephen Abernathy, WSDOT’s Intercity Bus Program Manager. “The program is linking travel hubs and providing travel options that commuters in Washington’s rural areas have been lacking.”

The buses are equipped with high-back reclining passenger seats, a wheelchair lift, two wheelchair stations, a bike rack for two bicycles and luggage storage areas. The same model is already in use on the program’s Dungeness Line on the Olympic Peninsula, and has proven to be economical to operate and comfortable to ride.

The new buses are getting new Grape Line paint and other final preparations. They will start operating on the Grape Line next month. A fourth bus is scheduled to arrive in February for Travel Washington’s Apple Line service between Omak and Ellensburg. Five more new ARRA-funded buses will join the Travel Washington fleet by springtime.

Providing more accessible transit options is one way WSDOT manages transportation demand, one of the three primary strategies of the department’s 10-year congestion-management program known as Moving Washington .

This month marks the second year of operations for the Grape Line, which now offers three scheduled round trips daily between Walla Walla and Pasco in southeast Washington under a partnership with WSDOT and Greyhound. It provides efficient and reliable connections in Pasco with Greyhound , Amtrak , and Ben Franklin Transit , and in Walla Walla with Valley Transit , Milton-Freewater Bus, and Columbia County Public Transportation.

Transportation projects funded by federal stimulus grants are providing jobs and making investments to return Washington to a strong economy and assist families through difficult times. For more on how Washington State has delivered Recovery Act projects, including employment and payroll data, visit http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/funding/stimulus.

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