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Transportation Services
Local transportation is provided by the People
Mover public transportation system. There are 42
peak-hour buses with 20 routes citywide. There are
1,400 bus stops and 45 covered bus shelters. Most
buses operate on 30-minute intervals during peak
times and 60-minute intervals in off-peak times. Bus
fare is $1 for adults. Transfers are 10 cents for
all passengers. Monthly adult passes, which provide
unlimited rides, sell for $30. Discounted fares are
available for seniors, disabled individuals, and
children.
In addition, the People Mover system is free in
the downtown area, and is a convenient way to move
around. Hop on a bus between 5th and 8th,
Eagle and K St. and it’s free. Call the
Share-A-Ride hotline at 1-907-562-7665 for carpool
and vanpool information. For people with
disabilities, transportation services are available
through AnchorRIDES at 1-907-343-8445.
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
is equidistant from Asia, Europe, and the lower part
of North America and attracts extremely high levels
of international cargo activity because of its prime
location.
Anchorage hosts more than 400 cargo flights
weekly and it ranked number one in the nation for
all-cargo aircraft landed weights and sixth in the
world as of first quarter 2000.
For August 2000, the airport saw 2,266
international cargo landings and 1308 domestic cargo
landings, a 10 percent increase over the past year.
Its ideal location on the globe draws carriers
for tech stops as well as for value-added functions
such as sorting and distribution. Anchorage serves
as a major sorting hub for Federal Express and
United Parcel Services.
Anchorage residents and visitors enjoy high
levels of passenger air service, averaging more than
160 domestic passenger flights per day. Several
factors drive this service. Alaskans fly more
frequently than the national average; there are
communities in the state without road connections,
and Alaska remains an attractive, exotic tourist
destination. International passenger traffic remains
strong with numerous flights from Asia, Europe, and
Russia attracting many visitors to the area.
The airport is currently undergoing major
renovations, which will be completed within the next
four years. Upon completion, the result will be a
new terminal, expanded baggage claim, more parking,
a new front face, and a railway connection.
Merrill Field Municipal Airport was the city’s
first airport, established in 1930, and is the 102nd
busiest airport in the nation with 201,057 flight
operations last year. The airport services the
majority of Anchorage’s small aircraft, those
weighing less than 12,500 pounds. With 436 acres
located only one mile east of downtown, it has about
1,268 tie-down spaces.
There are 9,246 licensed private pilots in
Alaska, and 47 percent of those reside in Anchorage.
Lake Hood is the world’s largest and
busiest seaplane base. It accommodates more than 800
take-offs and landings on a peak summer day, and
offers 315 lake spaces. Alaska has about six times
as many pilots per capita and 16 times as many
aircraft per capita as the rest of the United
States.
The Alaska Railroad is the only full-service
railroad in North America offering freight,
passenger and real estate services year round. Its
483 miles of mainline connects the southern ports of
Whittier and Seward with Anchorage and north to
Denali National Park and Fairbanks. Branch lines
extend to Eielson Air Force Base, 30 miles south of
Fairbanks; to the international airports in
Anchorage and Fairbanks; and to the Usibelli Coal
Mine near Healy in the interior of Alaska.
Created in 1915, the railroad was the only
railroad owned by the U.S. government for many
years. In 1985, it was sold to the State of Alaska
and was charged to be a self-sustaining entity.
In 1999, approximately 670,000 passengers rode
the Alaska Railroad, a 17 percent increase over the
previous year. Tourists visited such scenic places
as Denali National Park and Preserve and the ports
of Seward and Whittier in Prince William Sound.
In addition, the railroad hauled 83,382 carloads
of freight including petroleum, gravel, coal, pipe,
heavy equipment and other bulk items. The railroad
also operates a weekly rail-barge service, which
moves railcars by barge between Whittier and
Seattle, Wash.
More than three-quarters of the total consumer
goods utilized in Alaska and 90 percent of those
destined for the state’s rail-belt communities
enter Alaska through the Regional Port of
Anchorage. From there, the goods may be trucked,
hauled by train, flown, or barged to their final
destinations.
The Port of Anchorage, Alaska’s regional port,
is a key link between consumers and suppliers. It’s
the largest container and general cargo facility in
Alaska and the 16th largest container port in the
nation. The port is served by two U.S. container
lines on a regularly scheduled basis, CSX Lines
LLC and Totem Ocean Trailer Express Inc., which
bring four to five ships weekly from the Pacific
Northwest. It also accommodates naval vessels,
tankers, cruise ships and barges.
In 1999, the port handled nearly 11 million tons
of freight, and 43 percent of that was petroleum.
Since opening for business in 1961, the Port of
Anchorage has seen its annual tonnage increase by
more than 7,900 percent and it stands ready to
double that capacity.
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS)
provides the transportation of people, goods, and
vehicles with regularly scheduled service among 33
Alaska communities, plus Bellingham, Wash., and
Prince Rupert, B.C.
There are currently nine vessels in the AMHS
fleet. The system can transport any vehicle that may
be legally driven on a highway. It can also carry
some vehicles, which normally may not be driven on a
highway, such as construction equipment.
Finally, there are nearly 15,000 miles of highway
throughout Alaska. Anchorage has easy access to
three main "arteries." The Seward Highway,
recently designated as a National Scenic Byway,
winds along the Turnagain Arm southward to Seward
and the Kenai Peninsula. The Glenn Highway takes you
through the community of Eagle River and on to the
Matanuska Valley where you can take the George Parks
Highway northbound to Fairbanks.
Roads in the Municipality of Anchorage are
maintained by both the State of Alaska and the
Municipality. Except for rural drives outside city
limits, roadways throughout most commercial and
residential areas are paved.
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