Flix-Greyhound Announce Month-by-Month Lease Extension of Chicago Bus Terminal + Other Station News

Intercity Bus E-News Bulletin | October 16, 2024

News broke yesterday that Flix, the company that owns Greyhound, is in the process of extending its lease at the Chicago Intercity Bus (Greyhound) Terminal, allowing the downtown facility to remain in use temporarily. The company statement notes: “We will not leave the Harrison Street terminal on October 20. Our team is finalizing a month-to-month lease extension with Twenty Lake, and our operations will continue without disruption." The statement adds "This is a temporary solution, and we remain actively engaged with the city and other stakeholders to secure a long-term home for intercity bus service in Chicago.”

The move provides room for a longer-term solution to the city’s bus terminal woes. The terminal handles four bus lines, which have an estimated 84 bus movements daily that handle around 500,000 passengers annually. Last week, an Intercity Bus E-News visit found the waiting area bustling and long departure queues, with seven buses present (see photo).

Concern over the terminal's loss has galvanized the view among civic groups that Chicago needs a publicly managed station, much like those in Boston, MA, Miami, FL, New York, NY, and Washington, DC. The lack of a champion for intercity bus service among public bodies, including our regional planning agencies, has been apparent, posing a sharp contrast to those in several other regions, which have provided much technical and financial support for improving stations. 

The High-Speed Rail Alliance has recently called for the Illinois Department of Transportation to unify planning intercity bus and rail services by putting them in the same unit, as several other states have done. Two bus lines that do not use the privately run Terminal, one that currently serves and another that recently served Chicago, have voiced concern about the barren curbside stop under an Interstate 290 viaduct offered to them by the City, an area devoid of amenities.

Credit the Flix-Greyhound team for making the move to keep all options open.

News from Texas to the Tidewater

The Dallas, TX, and Richmond, VA stations are also on the brink. An investor has purchased the Dallas Greyhound Station, allowing the facility to remain in use for at least the near term. The City of Dallas may have facilitated the transaction. The investor’s intentions are unclear; however, this new owner appreciates the station’s historical significance (see above photo) and is committed to rejuvenating downtown Dallas. 

In late August, news emerged that the central Greyhound station in Richmond, Greyhound Station on Arthur Ashe Boulevard, would be closed. Bus activity would reportedly be moved to near Amtrak's New Street Station, where there is another heavily used intercity bus stop. Media reports indicate that added bus activity will occur in a parking lot or plaza area near the station. Nonetheless, bus schedules still show the Arthur Ashe station in use. We await details. 

In Philadelphia, no easy solution exists to the city’s bus-stop challenges. The struggle to find a permanent solution that does not involve curbside loading and alighting continues. Neighborhood concerns appear to have blocked a plan to use a retrofitted parking garage. Separately, we await news on the replacement for the Cleveland Greyhound Station, which is anticipated to close.

In short, it is a turbulent time for legacy bus lines in the intercity bus sector. The closing or impending closing of traditional stations has caught many local governments off guard. These problems occur at a time when passenger traffic appears quite strong. Stay tuned for our regular Intercity Bus E-News edition in November, featuring reports of our recent intercity bus rides, notable moves by state-supported lines, and exciting updates about new airport services.

Joe Schwieterman

Intercity Bus E-News editor

Captions: All photos by Chaddick Institute except Richmond, VA photos. Credit for aerial views of Richmond. Google. (2024). Accessed on September 11, 2024. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/maps.

Invite others to join Intercity Bus Listserv. 

Did you miss our early-August E-News release? Click here to view

Invite your colleagues to join our Intercity Bus Listserv. 

Reply to this email to join our growing Intercity Bus ListServ. You'll receive 8 – 10 emails per year. No spam. Free. Also, check out our recent studies, briefs, and podcasts. The Intercity Bus E-News team is Zaria Bonds and Joe Schwieterman.