Transit advocates make final push to save Greyhound station, blame city for inaction

Transit advocates are ramping up pressure on the city of Chicago to save its Greyhound bus terminal before riders get kicked to the curb.

Greyhound is set to lose its home at 630 W. Harrison St. when its lease ends in October. The city made an initial attempt last year to study alternative sites and applied for a federal grant to help buy the station.

The grant was denied and Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration and its new transportation commissioner have not made a significant effort to save the station, transit advocates say.

"Since Johnson came into office, basically nothing has happened," said Micheál Podgers, policy lead at Better Streets Chicago. "Leadership at the Chicago Department of Transportation and the mayor's office just don't seem bothered one way or another."

Without the city's intervention, Greyhound and other bus companies may move to curbside service, possibly near Union Station, transit advocates said. Passengers would likely lose indoor accommodations, such as restrooms and a waiting area.

That could lead to chaos and confusion among some passengers, as it has in other cities where Greyhound lost its indoor stations and was forced to make pickups in parking lots and strip malls.

"The city needs to get a plan together," said Rick Harnish, co-founder of the High Speed Rail Alliance. "As far as I can tell, they don't have one."

Some transit advocates want the city to buy the bus terminal and run it like the city does its airports, charging fees to the companies that use them. Those fees could help recover the reported $30 million price tag to buy the property.

"O'Hare isn't owned by United. The city owns it," Harnish said. Chicago is one of a few major American metro areas without a municipally owned bus station.

It's also in the city's interest to invest in buses, one of the more environmentally friendly modes of transit, said Kevin Brubaker, deputy director at the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

"The city and state should be doing everything they can to encourage it to take this climate-light form of travel," Brubaker said.

In a statement, the city's Transportation Department said it is continuing to "collaborate with Greyhound and other bus companies to assess potential locations for bus staging, ensuring that services continue uninterrupted."

"The city of Chicago fully recognizes the important role intercity bus services play for Chicagoans and visitors, providing an accessible and affordable mode of regional travel," CDOT said.

Johnson's office did not reply to a request for comment. Amtrak, which owns Chicago Union Station, did immediately have a comment.

A Greyhound spokesperson said: "We are diligently working with relevant stakeholders to find an acceptable solution so that we can continue to serve the people of Chicago and provide our customers with an affordable, convenient, and safe way to travel."

Advocates have been sounding the alarm for over a year about the importance of saving Chicago's Greyhound bus terminal.

DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development has published two reports since April 2023 about the threat facing Greyhound's Chicago terminal and the city's ambivalent attitude toward saving it.

"Many disadvantaged travelers depend on bus travel and could literally be pushed to the curb if the station is lost," said Joe Schwieterman, the institute's director and veteran transportation researcher.

Chicago's station serves other bus companies as well, making it a hub for bus travel in the Midwest.

"It's hard to imagine that continuing without a station," he said.

"We would become a real hardship case without a downtown station. Look around the country: New York, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, L.A., Denver. They've all taken action to create high-quality downtown bus facilities. And we stand out among other great cities for our do-nothing approach."