Transportaion

As the second- largest city in the state of Washington, and the largest between Seattle and Minneapolis, Spokane is an air, rail and trucking hub. Crisscrossed by interstate and US highways, Spokane is a prime location for distribution centers such as Food Services of America, URM Stores, Caterpillar Inc., Jensen Distribution Services and Inland Empire Distribution Systems.

Average car commute time for Spokane County residents is an easy 20.8 minutes. We have traffic “slow downs” during rush hour but rarely have bumper-to-bumper traffic jams.

Spokane Transit Authority (STA) provides public transportation with fixed-route service throughout the city of Spokane and nearby communities of Airway Heights, Cheney, Fairchild Air Force Base, Liberty Lake, Medical Lake, Millwood and Spokane Valley. STA also offers accessible buses and paratransit services for the disabled. Stretching further out, Amtrak, Greyhound and Northwestern Trailways buses all drop off and pick up passengers at the downtown Spokane Intermodal Center.

In nearby North Idaho, Citylink transports passengers throughout Kootenai and Benewah counties in partnership with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the state of Idaho, the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization and Kootenai County. Serving the region since 1998, Wheatland Express provides motor coach transportation from Moscow and Pullman to Seattle on weekends, during spring break, and over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Wheatland also runs daily shuttles from Moscow, Pullman and Colfax to Spokane International Airport.

Located ten miles from downtown, Spokane International Airport provides regional, national and international service for more than three million passengers each year. Alaska, Southwest, Delta, United and American Airlines all fly into and out of the area either through Spokane International Airport or one of the municipal airports including Felts Field, Deer Park and Coeur d’Alene.

Trains have chugged through the Inland Northwest since the mid-1800s and today Spokane is a hub for BNSF Railway and Union Pacific. Amtrak’s Empire Builder passenger train has traveled through Spokane on its Seattle to Chicago route since 1929 and continues the tradition today.

Bicycle commuters appreciate designated bike lanes along major arterials and recreational cyclists love the Centennial Trail. Popular with bikers, walkers and inline skaters, the Centennial Trail stretches 37 miles from the Washington-Idaho border, through downtown Spokane, to Nine Mile Falls. In North Idaho, the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, a 71-mile paved bike path, follows the Union Pacific railroad right-of-way through the forests and along lakes and rivers from Plummer to Mullan and a 65-mile paved trail meanders from Coeur d’Alene to Sandpoint.