If the 6:40 am Amtrak Empire Builder departure from the Pasco train station to Portland seems a little early for you, there’s now an alternative – the new FlixBus to Portland leaves at 2:10 pm from the same location. With two stops, a five-minute one in The Dalles and what is listed as a “0 minute” break at the Mount Hood Railroad, it doesn’t appear that a potty stop is included in the four-hour trip. FlixBus does have bathrooms onboard, according to their website.

The FlixBus arrives in Portland at 6:10 pm and leaves from Portland at 9:50 am so a round trip on the same day for doctors’ appointments or other errands won’t work like the Empire Builders’ 11:17 am arrival in Portland and 4:45 pm departure does.

The $30 and up round-trip bus fare compares favorably to Amtrak’s $50 and up round-trip fare unless it means a night in a hotel.

FlixBus, an international bus company, acquired Greyhound Lines in October 2021.

The Greyhound Pasco to Portland bus route was dropped some years ago. To take the bus to Portland, a traveler would have to go to a stop on I-82 to catch the Boise to Portland bus. That route has been eliminated and replaced with the Pasco to Portland route.

An area on the side of 1090 NW Station Way, in Portland serves as a “curbside bus stop.”  It is about a block north of Union Station, home of Amtrak. The Greyhound bus station which was south of the train station was sold some years ago and has been boarded up ever since.