The Gold Line, a new federally subsidized public bus service between Spokane and Kettle Falls, is set to launch here early next month, says Bill Brannan, the line's Spokane-based general manager.

The service will offer two round-trips a day on new 28-passenger buses equipped to accommodate wheelchairs, luggage, and bicycles, Brannan says. It will include stops at Spokane International Airport, the Spokane Transit Authority Plaza and Spokane Intermodal Center downtown, Deer Park, Chewelah, Colville, and Kettle Falls, plus Loon Lake, Addy, and Arden as needed, Brannan says.

Typical fares will be $20 for a passenger traveling between Colville and Spokane and $38 for a round-trip, and $15 for someone traveling between Spokane and Deer Park and $29 for that round-trip, he says. Passengers can buy tickets online at www.gold-line.us or at the Amtrak or Greyhound Bus Lines ticket office in the Spokane Intermodal Center, he says.

Public transportation hasn't been offered along that route since 1985, when Empire Lines Inc. went out of business, Brannan says. He says three drivers have been hired for the route, and one of the three buses has been delivered, with the two others expected to arrive shortly.

Named to honor northeast Washington's rich mining history, the Gold Line will be the fourth established under the Travel Washington Intercity Bus Program administered by the Washington state Department of Transportation.

The Grape Line was the first and has been providing service between Walla Walla and Pasco, Wash., since December 2007. The other two are the Dungeness Line, connecting the Olympic Peninsula with Edmonds, Seattle, and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport since September 2008; and the Apple Line, which has been providing service along a 160-mile route connecting Omak, Wenatchee, and Ellensburg, Wash., since October 2008.

WSDOT Intercity Program Manager Steve Abernathy, says, "We are eager to offer this new public transit service to communities in northeastern Washington, many of which have had no intercity bus service for decades.

With the Gold Line, we are continuing to reach across the state into areas that need service."

Travel Washington uses Federal Transit Administration funds and local matching funds from Greyhound Bus Lines to develop rural intercity bus routes. Brannan says fare box receipts are expected to cover 30 percent to 40 percent of the cost of providing the service, with federal and matching funds covering the rest. Federal stimulus funds are being used to buy the midsized buses, which cost around $180,000 each, he says.

CWA Inc., of Ferndale, Wash., won a two-year, competitive-bid contract from the state DOT to operate the Gold Line, says Brannan, who is employed by CWA.