dont think union station can handle more passengers hanging around inside.I wonder whether Greyhound/Flixbus is expecting the piggyback upon their relationship with Amtrak to use Union Station as their passenger waiting area, with loading/alighting either on street or at the CTA bus terminal across the street.
Works for Mega Bus!!!I wonder whether Greyhound/Flixbus is expecting the piggyback upon their relationship with Amtrak to use Union Station as their passenger waiting area, with loading/alighting either on street or at the CTA bus terminal across the street.
Did it? Mega Bus is still around, but has a much smaller operation. Chicago seem to be a much small part of Mega Bus.Works for Mega Bus!!!
Did it? Mega Bus is still around, but has a much smaller operation. Chicago seem to be a much small part of Mega Bus.
Several years ago, a Greyhound CEO in an interview stated: “…the bus is the bargain basement of public transportation…”
This still holds mostly true. While government builds airports and train stations, the lower economic and political clout of intercity bus travelers mean their needs are mostly ignored.
Exceptions are places like Boston’s South Station Bus Terminal, where all intercity carriers are required to use, therefore cut rate operators desiring to use curbside loading cannot have an economic advantage.
Since airline passengers pay taxes on their tickets to help defray airport costs, perhaps the government should bring back tax on bus travel, but provide intermodal terminals in more places…
I found it interesting that something similar happenned with the intermodal centers in cities like Milwaukee and St. Paul. Initially serving Amtrak and Greyhound (with Mega stopping across the street), eventually they incorporated all bus operators, somehow, (either by negotiations, statute or fees.) This cleaned things up a lot. Why this didn't occur at the new bus center in Chicago, despite that being the expectation of city planners, befuddles. Perhaps financial repercussions. But, possibly, it was just too big of an operation for the site.
True. Looking back on the Union Station Master Plan, the transit center was supposed to have four lanes, not three, with separate vertical access to each boarding island. Some very early renderings even showed an electrified light rail or streetcars in the fourth lane (maybe the original intent of Loop Link?)The Union Station Transit Center isn’t even big enough for CTA, with a couple of peak hour routes (IIRC, 1 and 121) still stopping out on the street instead of in the terminal.
In point of fact, First Group first announced the sale of the remaining stations (including Chicago) in September 2022, a mere 11 months after Flix acquired Greyhound. Sale was finalized to Twenty Lakes Holdings, part of Alden Capital, in December, 2022.Greyhound properties with an estimated net market value of c.$176 million will be retained by FirstGroup; they will initially be leased back to Greyhound at market rates but are expected to be sold over the next three to five years.
Would be nice. They should put in a elevated walkway with moving walkways and a center hall for Chicago owned red caps to augment Amtrak red caps to transfer from train to bus facility as Clinton station is far from ADA compliance with elevators and escalators from turnstiles to street level. Those stairs are not good for this retired folk. Then station chicago PD there 24-7 especially when buses are loading and unloading have seen ruff raff come in on bikes and haul off bags in grand theft bag. Plus 1 more restaurant gift shop could reopen where greyhound food service was. Hope someone gets a plumber and re plumb the toilets there and sinks they were never maintained by Greyhound. Odd that Chicago has the money to buy this.The City of Chicago is seeking to purchase the Chicago station, to use it as a common bus terminal facility for operarors including but not limited to Flix/Greyhound:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/6...on-chicago-terminal-transportation-department
The apparent alternatives are not appealing.
It's ridiculous that a city the size of Chicago and a key hub in the intercity bus system could lose its station and have passengers loading on the street.The City of Chicago is seeking to purchase the Chicago station, to use it as a common bus terminal facility for operarors including but not limited to Flix/Greyhound:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/6...on-chicago-terminal-transportation-department
The apparent alternatives are not appealing.
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