(The following story by Jared Paben appeared on The Bellingham Herald website on January 18, 2010.)
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Ridership numbers for the second daily Amtrak Cascades train to Vancouver, B.C., may be good enough to justify making the service permanent.
Between Aug. 19 and the end of December, the second train averaged nearly 67 passengers, and the original train on that route also had ridership increases, said Vickie Sheehan, spokeswoman at the state Department of Transportation’s marine and rail office.
The Canada Border Services Agency planned to charge a fee of $1,500 per day to recoup extra inspection costs at the border, money the state Department of Transportation didn’t have in its budget. (The DOT subsidizes Amtrak service in the state.) But the Canadian agency said it would waive those costs if enough people rode the second train.
They were looking at around 60 passengers per train, Sheehan said, and the numbers so far exceed that.
“That the ridership is this good so far is good news for us,” she said.
Sheehan didn’t immediately have numbers on how much ridership had increased on the original train. But the increase suggests that more people are choosing to ride because the second train allows for day trips to Vancouver and works better for their schedules, she said.
“If there’s more options for people, more train service and more frequency, it usually increases the ridership because it’ll be able to work with their schedule more,” she said.
The second train will operate at least through the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. The DOT is expecting to hear back from the CBSA sometime this month on their final decision, she said.
Officials at CBSA couldn’t be reached for comment.