Are you in Vancouver and want to go to the Penny Arcade Expo but you...
Don't have a vehicle?
Can't get a ride?
Don't want to pony up $60.00 for Greyhound?
Well, did you know you can get all the way to Seattle with public transit? That's right, all the local transit sytems between Vancouver and Seattle overlap, so if you're determined, you can actually travel all the way to Seattle! With this guide, you really can't say you don't have a way to get there. If you're in the Vancouver area, at least.
If you're anywhere after the start point at Surrey Central Station, just scroll below until you get to where you are. Try not to miss the buses at Surrey Central Station and Blaine going southbound because missing those will end your trip. Going northbound, missing ANY connection will result in you getting back to Canada a full six hours late. So carry extra cash in case you need to take plan b (Greyhound). Make sure to have exact change for the entire trip and the correct currency. Customs is generally pretty painless. You can still cross without a passport this year.
This guide will take you from Surrey Central Station in Surrey, BC to within two blocks of the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in downtown Seattle. This trip assumes a Thursday or Friday southbound trip and a Monday return trip. Returning on Sunday is not possible as there is very little transit and not possible on Saturday because there is a break in the service between Everett and Mount Vernon. If I feel like it, at a later date, I'll add some Google Earth diagrams to make it even more idiot proof.
South to Seattle, WA
Thursday or Friday
Surrey, B.C.
Served by TransLink
Surrey Central Station
Use TransLink's trip planner to determine how to get to Surrey Central Station from your current location.
http://tripplanning.translink.bc.ca
Board "321" White Rock South at Bay 9. Bus leaves Surrey Central Station at 5:57am.
Leave Newton Centre at 6:18am
Leave White Rock Centre at 6:51am
Fare: $2.25 CAD
Arrive at King George Highway at 8th Ave at 6:58am.
This will be right after the bus turns around using a roundabout.
Get off and walk the eight blocks south on Route 99 to the US border. There is a small side street on the left hand side if you're unconfortable walking with traffic on the freeway on the right hand side. (though, at this time in the morning, there aren't many cars and the shoulder is very wide.)
Blaine, WA
Served by WTA
See the Peace Arch? Good, walk right past it to the US customs. Follow the signs for walk across crossings and enter the building from the left side. Tell them exactly what you're doing and where your bus is. They do see people occasionaly do this, so someone walking across the border to catch a bus in Blaine isn't as far fetched to these guys as you think it may be.
Once you've cleared customs, walk into Blaine through the street in the middle of the interstate. There's a sidewalk you can use at this point. At the end of this street, go right and follow the street as it bends south and walk to H street. Cross the street and walk east on H street. On the north side of this street is Blaine City Hall and the bus stop.
Board "70x" Bellingham at Blaine City Hall. Bus leaves at 7:50am. Fare: $0.75 USD
Bellingham, WA
Served by WTA and Skagit Transit
Arrive at Bellingham Station at Boarding Zone B (On State St at E. Champion St.) at 8:35am.
You'll be here for around one hour. If you think this is bad, just wait. You can't really get stuck past this point, because even if you miss the next bus, all but the last 80x trip can still get you to connecting buses to Seattle.
Board "80x" Mount Vernon at Boarding Zone D (On E. Champion St.) Bus leaves at 9:40am
Fare: $0.75 USD
Mount Vernon, WA
Served by Skagit Transit
Arrive at Skagit Station at 10:22am.
You'll be here for about five hours. Get out, explore the town, or sit in the bus station (that big building by the railroad tracks). The bus station is also a Greyhound station and an Amtrak station. There's also a tourist info centre in the bus station so you can find a good place to eat and spend your five hours. Be sure to be back at the bus station by about 3:25 for the 90x.
*I realize you can get to Everett an hour quicker if you took the 411c and transferred in Stanwood to the 412 Everett express, but Stanwood looks like a pretty boring place to be for about four hours.
Board "90x" Everett Express. Bus leaves at 3:30pm.
Fare: $2.00 USD
Everett, WA
Served by Skagit Transit and SoundTransit
Arrive at Everett Station at 4:25pm
This city is served by Sound Transit, with buses into Seattle every 30 minutes or less.
Board "513" Seattle Express at Bay C1. Bus leaves Everett Station at 4:50pm.
Fare: $2.50 USD
Seattle, WA
Served by SoundTransit
Arrive at 5th Ave. at Pike St. at 5:45pm. You will have to be aware of where you're getting off as you'll be getting off at a bus stop in downtown Seattle, not a bus station.
The convention centre is two blocks south of this location. Congratulations, you made it! Find yourself a hotel and check in. Party hard at the expo!
North to Vancouver, B.C.
Monday
Seattle, WA
Served by SoundTransit
Board "513" Everett at 4th Ave. at Union St. Bus leaves at 5:55am.
Fare: $2.50 USD
Everett, WA
Served by Skagit Transit and SoundTransit
Arrive at Everett Station at 6:37am.
Board "90x" Everett Express (May say "Mount Vernon" ). Bus leaves at 6:50am
Fare: $2.00 USD
Mount Vernon, WA
Served by Skagit Transit
Arrive at Skagit Station at 7:35am.
Board "80x" Bellingham at 7:45am.
Fare: $0.75 USD
Bellingham, WA
Served by WTA and Skagit Transit
Arrive at Bellingham Station at 8:30am.
Board "15" Cordata at Boarding Zone A. Bus leaves at 8:55am.
Fare: $0.75 USD. Ask the driver for a transfer.
Arrive at Cordata Station at 9:18am.
Board "55" Blaine. Bus leaves at 10:00am.
Fare: forfeit the transfer you recieved on the 15.
Blaine, WA
Served by WTA
Arrive Blaine City Hall at 11:02am.
Walk north from the City Hall and follow Peace Portal Drive north as it bends east. Walk past the traffic lights and turn north on 2nd Street. Walk north until you get to a park. This is the Peace Arch State Park. Walk west through the parking lot until you see the washrooms, then follow the path until it leads to some stairs and down to the interstate. Cross using the crosswalk and walk north into Surrey, Canada.
Surrey, BC
Served by TransLink
Walk north and into the Canadian customs building. Speak with the customs officer and tell him what you've been up to. Once you're done. Walk out of the customs office and go north, walk along the side; it's very narrow and you'll be close to cars driving north, but they'll be going very slow as the road is very wavy. This is all due to construction taking place at the Canadian customs building. Once you get on the freeway, there will be a rest stop and a road after that you can walk on instead of the freeway. Walk up to 8 ave, cross the overpass and make your way to the bus stop on King George Highway.
Board "375" Guildford at King George Highway at 8th Ave. Bus leaves at 12:19pm (You can try for the 11:19am trip if you're quick)
Fare: $2.25 Surrey, Delta, Langley / $3.25 Richmond, New Westminister, Coquitlam / $4.50 CAD Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver
Arrive at White Rock Centre at 12:28pm
From here, depending on where you live, you can:
*stay on the bus to Guildford
*take the 321 Surrey Central Station to King George Station to take the SkyTrain
*take the 351 Vancouver
Use TransLink's trip planner to determine how to get from White Rock Centre to your final location.
http://tripplanning.translink.bc.ca
And there you have it. Don't get lost!
Posts
Or You could come with the Canadian Supertrip, since we'll be driving from Vancouver to Seattle the day before PAX, and you're going to get there on time!
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
Get the PAX 2008 Countdown widget and while away your sad, pathetic life watching it tick down the hours to PAX '08!
http://homepage.mac.com/ctishman
Well, so much for this idea. I was actually going to follow through with it too if it wern't for you meddling kids.
I'll figure out the details later. There's about five months to go.
ONE OF US
ONE OF US
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
Oh great, now I'm never going to get a ride. :x
Have fun taking the bus, you ass.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
Well, to be honest, I probably will join the supertrip going there. However, it might actually be EASIER to bus back unless I'm dropped off at White Rock Centre.
But, as all this is five months away, nothing is written in stone. One thing is for sure, however. Any vehicle with me in it, will have to deal with with my laptop, my psp and my addiction for loud music and Stepmania.
edit: oh and the fact that I say 'eh', a lot, eh.
This post didn't belong in any other thread.
Oh god you're one of them aren't you.
It shan't be a problem.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
I'll add you to the "needs a ride" section in the CST thread, we're still recruiting groups after all!
Trillian, you LIED to me!!!!!!
For those of you not in the know, I first met Trill at a party at PAX05, she proceeded to explain to us, for what reason my then-drunk mind could not retain, that no real canadians ever said "eh," or "aboot," and if they did say that, it was because they were fucking with you.
No real Canadians, eh Trill?
Hmm, "aboot" is rather exaggeterated. Defanately say "eh" a lot though. My first time down there on public transit, I didn't want to give away the fact I was Canadian. Of course, I didn't know the fare system and after the bus driver explained to be that getting a day pass would be cheaper than getting a single fare, I dropped the dredded "eh".
Two people from the back of the bus, who saw me on the bus from Blaine, asked me how it was possible to just "walk" across the border. D'oh. I didn't want to be known as the "Canadian" on a bus full of Americans.
Get the PAX 2008 Countdown widget and while away your sad, pathetic life watching it tick down the hours to PAX '08!
http://homepage.mac.com/ctishman
My American friends tell me I'm not a real Canadian because I say "about" and not "aboot". I think that might be more of an east-coast thing.