How to get from Everett, WA to Vancouver, BC on public transit (on a Sunday)?

I live in Vancouver, BC and going to a concert in Everett, WA and while going south the only option is flying due to covid restrictions. However, coming back overland looks more sensible because the city is about two hours on public transit from SeaTac to the north already. Is there a way to get further north on public transit?

public-transport washington-state

Best Answer

One of the least known options for this is the Skagit-Whatcom intercounty connecting buses. Google Maps, Rome2Rio, busbud are just some of the services which do not show this pair of buses as an option when I search. The 90x gets you as far as north as Burlington -- or at least Skagit Station on Sundays. The 80x takes you from Skagit Station to Bellingham. The fare is quite low: only 2 USD on each leg so 4 USD total. There are, of course, Amtrak and Greyhound services but the price is much higher and the run time is not significantly lower although you save some time by not waiting for your connection. Note Amtrak drops you at Fairhaven Station south of Bellingham centre and Greyhound drops you at Cordata station north of Bellingham centre. Note Boltbus is not operational at this time, despite Rome2Rio still showing them.

From there, bus 75 takes you to Peace Arch in Blaine, however that doesn't run on Sundays. It seems the only option is to take a cab or similar to the border -- at the time of this writing, Red Cab offers a 60 USD fixed fare, Bellingham Taxi offers a 65 USD fixed fare and the Uber estimate says 57.18 USD and the Lyft estimate says 50-60 USD. Should you pick Greyhound to get to Bellingham, you might get a a little bit cheaper ride, for example Uber estimate is 49.23. While taking this cab ride is expensive, it still seems cheaper than staying the night in Bellingham and there doesn't seem to be any public transit taking you further north.

From there, walk across, take another cab/uber to NB King George Blvd @ 8th Ave and from there, the bus 321 drops you at the SkyTrain. Welcome home!

Ps. the Bellair airporter goes all the way from Seattle to the border in Blaine, however it's 80 USD no matter where you board it and the closest stop called Marysville is at the Tulalip resort and just getting there from Everett station takes two local buses which makes the whole thing rather pointless.