Northwestern Stage Lines Celebrates 80 Years in Business

Northwestern Stage Lines, a household name in the transportation industry in the Pacific Northwest, is celebrating its 80th year of business. To honor the milestone, the company kicked off the celebration this year with a gathering where many shared stories about the company, including former and longtime owner Cleto Achabal. The company will continue its year-long celebration with new buses, refreshed branding, and additional events.

“I’ve been fortunate to be a part of a successful family company that’s been in business for nearly a century,” said Cleto Achabal, former owner of Northwestern Stage Lines and Boise-Winnemucca. “I’ve worked with excellent employees and served amazing customers. We’ve always concentrated on the customer, one customer at a time, by keeping the basics in focus. Providing a clean bus that’s on time and delivers a safe and uneventful trip.”

Cleto’s father, A.J., bought the company in 1978 when they only had five buses. As a company, they tried many new things to help grow the business, including getting into the tour business in 1986, where they ran up to 15 buses every summer. This eventually led to focusing on charters, which proved to be a worthwhile investment for the company.

Northwestern Stage Lines moved into their own building in 1989, which proved to be fortunate as the space they had been renting was permanently closed in 1990. By 1992 they had started running a bus to Seattle through Wenatchee and Tacoma, which they still operate today.

“For his entire life he has been in the transportation business with his father,” said Greg Hendricks, director of safety & compliance, when speaking about Cleto. “He was the type of owner that answered the phone every day and every night of his entire career. His drivers knew to call him if they needed assistance because he wanted it that way. He wanted to be the one to help them instead of a middle manager. ”

Salt Lake Express acquired Northwestern Stage Lines along with Boise-Winnemucca Stages in a deal that closed on October 4th, 2022. The acquisition included further expansion of routes and destinations offered by Salt Lake Express.

“It was really important to us that we kept the Northwestern name and reputation and standard of service intact,” said Jacob Price, current owner of Northwestern Stage Lines. “We’ve never looked to come in and change everything. All we hope to do is continue to provide transportation solutions to the good people of Washington and Idaho while improving the customer experience through technology and better connectivity throughout the west.”

“I looked it up,” said Achabal. “Did you know that only about 0.5% of companies in the US remain in business for more than 80 years? What we’ve built here is really special.”

For more information about this addition to the Salt Lake Express network, contact Lisa Young, the company’s regional relations director, at 509-838-4029 ext. 6145 or at lisa.young@busnws.com.

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