MTRWestern

06/17/2024

We're thrilled to announce the launch of our new website!

https://mtrwestern.com/

Be sure to also check out our new video highlighting what MTRWESTERN is all about - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NQJFl9IrSw

05/31/2024

Every mile starts with meticulous preparation. Our expert mechanics and safety team leave no nut or bolt unturned, ensuring our buses undergo a deep inspection before rolling out. It’s this unwavering attention to detail that keeps your journey smooth from start to finish.

05/28/2024

Freshly polished and ready to roll for another busy week.

05/20/2024

Ready to roll.

05/06/2024

We talk a lot about maintaining a culture of safety with consistent detailed focus on hospitality. None of that is possible without the dedication, professionalism and commitment that we rely on from our drivers - the heart and soul of our organization. Read more on the crucial role our drivers play in our latest post from our President, Jeremy Butzlaff.

At MTRWESTERN, our bus drivers aren’t just employees – they’re the core of our operations that keeps our company moving forward day after day. Without their dedication, professionalism, and commitment to excellent service, we wouldn’t be able to serve the millions of passengers who rely on u...

05/01/2024

PNW roots, true and through since 2003.

📍Seattle
📍Spokane
📍Portland
📍Eugene

04/15/2024

Big thanks to Busline for featuring this op-ed from our President Jeremy Butzlaff sharing insights and learnings on the transformation to a green fleet.

By Jeremy Butzlaff, President of MTRWESTERN As the President of MTRWESTERN, a leading Pacific Northwest based motor coach company committed to innovation and sustainability, I am keenly aware of the pivotal role our industry plays in shaping the future of transportation. With the growing urgency to....

04/04/2024

For 21 years, MTRWESTERN has been synonymous with excellence in the transportation industry. We have built a strong reputation for our commitment to safety, hospitality, client satisfaction, and sustainability.

As businesses evolve, it's essential to adapt and innovate to continually map to future goals and growth. With this in mind, we embarked on a journey to redefine our brand identity, keeping our core values intact while reflecting the modern needs and preferences of our customers. Our new branding embodies the essence of who we are – a premium transportation company distinguished by our superb drivers and deep roots in the Pacific Northwest.

Read More!
https://mtrwestern.com/news/riding-into-the-future-mtrwesterns-new-brand-journey/

04/02/2024

Behind every mile, there’s a story of craftsmanship and commitment. Here’s to our fine maintenance crew who tirelessly support the backbone of every journey.

03/18/2024

Safety isn’t just a priority - it’s our guiding principle, our unwavering commitment, our mantra.

To that end, we’re thrilled to announce our integration of Netradyne AI safety cameras on our fleet. From the driver’s seat, the dash-mounted monitor provides the driver with 360-degree external views eliminating blind spots and facilitating full views for backing up and maneuvering through traffic. A game-changer for our drivers and further enhanced passenger safety. Learn more...

Learn about the role that AI camera technology on MTRWESTERN's fleet of motorcoaches is playing in further enhancing a culture of safety.

03/14/2024

All charged up and ready to roll. ⚡️🔋

03/07/2024

Sun’s out. Wheels out. Polished up and ready to roll!

02/23/2024

While we continue our longer range focus on transitioning more of our fleet to electric buses, our immediate focus centers on our strategic decision to utilize R99 renewable diesel fuel as a transitional step in our quest for cleaner, more sustainable energy sources.

In 2023, 56% of MTRWESTERN’s monthly miles driven were operated with R99 as our fuel source for our buses with plans for increased operations utilizing R99 in 2024 and beyond. In this latest article, MTR president Jeremy Butzlaff provides insights into the company's R99 fuel transition.

MTRWESTERN president Jeremy Butzlaff offers insights into the bus company's transition to R99 renewable diesel to reduce carbon emissions.

02/16/2024

We're honored to have been present last night to celebrate the UW Huskies being awarded at the Seattle Sports Commission's ceremony for Sports Star of the Year (Michael Penix Jr.) and Seattle Sports Story of the Year. Congrats 'Dawgs on an unforgettable season!

02/09/2024

In our latest perspective post, MTRWESTERN President Jeremy Butzlaff shares 5 early lessons learned on the journey of electric bus transformation.

From collaborations with climate advocacy groups to charging infrastructure partnerships and investments and of course leaning on top-notch manufacturers, the insights gathered have been invaluable.

We look forward to charging ahead and continuing to share our learnings on this path to electrification!

MTRWestern President Jeremy Butzlaff shares insights and lessons learned in transforming a traditional bus operator to an electric bus fleet.

01/31/2024

Last year, MTRWestern's Colleen Laughton, an all-star driver based out of our Spokane operations, took first place at the annual Northwest Motorcoach Association annual driver competition. We look forward to cheering on Colleen as she competes next week at the United Motorcoach Association's International Driver Competition in Raleigh, NC on Feb. 6!

01/26/2024

MTRWestern is proud to once again be a sponsor at the Seattle Sports Commission's 89th Annual Sports Star of the Year Awards Ceremony! The event showcases Seattle's all-star lineup of athletes, coaches and community members behind the most memborable sports stories of the year.

We have the absolute honor of providing charter bus transportation services for the Seattle Seahawks, Mariners, Kraken, Storm, UW Football, UW Athletics, Thunderbirds and Tacoma Rainiers each year and are deeply invested into the continued growth and prosperity of Seattle's sports ecosystem.

“It was an incredible year to be a sports fan in Seattle,” said Seattle Sports Commission President and CEO Beth Knox. “From MLB All-Star Week and NCAA Women’s Basketball Super Regionals to the culmination of Megan Rapinoe’s career with the Reign, we plan to draw the energy and atmosphere into one giant sports party for our community.”

We couldn't agree more and look forward to celebrating these great achievements on Feb 15!

Learn More: https://www.seattlesports.org/sports-star-of-the-year-89th

12/20/2023

From launching our first EV bus in partnership with Amtrak and installing our DCFC charging infrastructure at our Seattle facility, to securing Oregon Department of Environmental Quality grant funding to create additional charging infrastructure at our Portland facility next year, to bridging the EV gap with rapid adoption of R99 fuel into our fleet...it's been an incredible year driving ahead on our environmental initiatives.

MTRWestern's President, Jeremy Butzlaff, reflects on key progress and more in this year in review:

https://mtrwestern.com/sustainability/mtr-western-bus-environmental-initiatives-2023/

10/28/2023

10/16/2023

A big thanks to Busline Magazine for the great feature in their latest edition, check it out!

By Harrell Kerkhoff Busline Magazine Editor It’s a brave new world for the North American motorcoach industry — one involving increased business, changing demands and a focus on a “greener” tomorrow. Such are the opportunities and challenges facing MTRWestern, a longtime Pacific Northwest bu...

09/14/2023

MTRWestern driver Charlie Jones joined our President Jeremy Butzlaff in Bellingham this week to meet Governor Jay Inslee as he traveled around Whatcom County to explore WA's efforts to electrify the transportation sector.

Gov. Inslee watched Charlie guide Amtrak 's first-in-the-nation electric bus come into the station in Bellingham operating daily on the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle. Our EV journey is just getting started!

Read More: https://mtrwestern.com/mtrwestern-electric-buses/

09/06/2023

We had the honor of joining Clean & Prosperous Washington and supporting partners this morning for a press conference hosted at our Seattle facility to help rally the call for increased incentives for electric vehicle purchases.

MTRWestern President Jeremy Butzlaff spoke in front of an all-electric VanHool motorcoach, newly acquired by MTR and launched to run the first all-electric Amtrak bus route in the country.

“This is a great start but as you can see, we have many more diesel vehicles we need to replace,” said Butzlaff. “At a cost premium of $600K apiece, we need an incentive partnership with the Federal and Washington state governments to acquire more of these fully electric motorcoaches and do our part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Business leaders and a group that advocated for Washington's carbon allowance market now want to get millions of dollars back into the hands of Washingtonians.

08/22/2023

We're excited to be attending the Green Transportation Summit and Expo in Tacoma this week!

Our very own VP of Sales, Amanda Emery, will be speaking on a panel (along with our friends from Climate Solutions) on Wednesday, August 23 at 1-2PM to discuss how small and medium sized organizations can decarbonize their fleets, and how the Fleet Decarbonization Accelerator helped to accelerate our progress.

We’ll see you there! https://gtsummitexpo.com/program

08/21/2023

A special thanks to Amtrak, Seattle City Light and Washington State Department of Transportation as well as Rep. Rick Larsen for joining us to celebrate the launch of the first intercity electric bus last week! A beautiful day in Washington operating a nearly 200-mile round trip route on a single charge and zero emissions.

“The future is electric, and we are committed to delivering carbon-free intercity and group transportation throughout the Pacific Northwest. We consider the collaboration on this route a transformational step towards even greater EV regional transit,” said MTRWestern President Jeremy Butzlaff.

It's the first-ever EV in the Amtrak National Network.

08/16/2023

Today marks a monumental step forward in the MTRWestern EVolution towards electrifying our motorcoach fleet. Starting today, we are proud to operate the first fully electric bus on an intercity route in the U.S.!

In partnership with Amtrak and WSDOT, our new bus will service a connector route with daily round trips between Seattle, WA and Bellingham, WA. The nearly 200-mile round trip will be serviced on a single charge and save approximately 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year, cutting CO2 emissions by 109 tons annually.

The charging hub, installed at MTRWestern’s Seattle facilities, sits on land once used to store large petroleum tanks. That’s progress we are proud of and look forward to continued advancement of our zero emissions fleet!

Learn More: https://media.amtrak.com/2023/08/amtrak-rolls-out-first-electric-bus

08/09/2023

Thanks for the support Western Washington Clean Cities!

As Clean Cities, we take immense pride in supporting our coalition members' efforts towards sustainable transportation solutions. Today, we are thrilled to spotlight MTRWestern, one of our esteemed members, as they make strides in embracing the electric revolution with their latest milestone - the i...

07/27/2023

This week we installed three brand new DC Fast Charging (DCFC) stations at our Seattle facility!

These Level 3 chargers are critical to our facility infrastructure to “juice” our new fully electric bus and to provide capacity as we transition and grow our electrified fleet. These 150kW fast charge stations mean we can top-off one of our electric buses, from 10% to 80% charge, in just 3.5 hours, versus an entire day on your standard Level 2 charger. With our 250 miles of range, that’s about 1 mile for every minute of charge time on our Van Hool CX45E bus.

Park. Plug. Charge. Easy enough.

A special thanks to Columbia-Willamette Clean Cities Coalition, Western Washington Clean Cities Coalition, Boone Electric, Seattle City Light for the hard work in getting this baseline charging infrastructure in place before we start operating the very first fully electric intercity route in the U.S.!

07/26/2023

We could not be more excited to welcome our very first fully electric bus to the MTRWestern fleet this week!

This Van Hool CX45E model can carry 50+ passengers and travel 250 plus miles between charges with ZERO emissions. EV charging stations are being installed at our Seattle facility this week. The bus will be servicing the very first ever intercity fully electric bus route in the U.S. right here in Washington State. Stay tuned!

11/11/2022

MTRWestern honors the brave heroes who serve and have served our Country. 🇺🇸

09/30/2022

Our service is more than driving - it’s hospitality. It’s game day and we are proud to join the path to greatness.

01/23/2017

Join American Cruise Lines this Summer and relive the journey of Lewis and Clark down the Columbia and Snake rivers. Enjoy the riverboat cruise and the shore excursions provided by MTRWestern. We look forward to seeing you there.

01/18/2017

Meet your driver, Danele! One of our many OUTSTANDING Oregon Point drivers. Way to go Danele!

Meet Danele Welsh! She has been driving for the Oregon POINT for three years and has been a commercial driver since 2005.

Here's what she has to say:

"Even though I do the same route every day there are always new people as riders who interact with me and are just real nice people. Just yesterday, after my work day ended, I met with a former regular commuter who was commuting to her job every Tuesday. About 10 months ago she stopped the commute and took another job in Eugene. We keep in touch and meet about every other month for coffee or a treat of some kind just to keep connected. Some of my regular riders have been a joy, but I am really disappointed when I don't get to see them again."

Her advice for riders is: if you fall asleep, set an alarm so that you are awake for your scheduled stop. "We will get you back to where you should have gotten off, but it will be a delay for you."