Intercity Bus Bulletin: April 19, 2023

City Action is Needed to Prevent the Loss of the

Chicago Greyhound Terminal

Transportation and planning professionals,

We released a Policy Brief today on the serious problems that will occur if the Chicago Greyhound Terminal is shuttered due to the property’s anticipated sale, possibly for residential use. We are concerned about the facility's future, as summarized in the coverage in today's Chicago Tribune. The terminal:

• Handles 55 buses daily, serving 400,000+ annual passengers, more than commercial airports in Bloomington, Champaign-Urbana & Rockford, IL.

• Serves passengers who are disproportionately low-income, unemployed, or disabled in addition to those lacking access to private vehicles. These travelers would suffer if operations shifted to a curbside spot without a secure, climate-controlled waiting room.

• Is a connecting point for travel involving several dozen bus lines across the United States.

• Is notable for still being privately owned, whereas most metro areas provide public facilities.

We call for a swift evaluation of the potential acquisition of the station by a public agency to forestall its loss. We are in touch with local officials about the issue.

FlixMobility did not purchase most of Greyhound’s real estate when it acquired Greyhound from FirstGroup plc in 2021. Late last year, FirstGroup sold the station site to a real-estate holding company, which in turn hired another entity to position the property for sale. The downtown site has room for two towers catering to Chicago's strong market for residential apartments.

In several other cities, bus lines have been suddenly evicted once buyers for station properties have been found, in some instances being given only a few weeks to relocate, with Tampa, FL being among the most recent examples. See our review of the status of bus terminals in the country’s 25 largest metro areas. Check out our nationwide station analysis here.

Shortly before our release, we learned that FlixBus has begun using the station in place of its previous Canal Street curb location.



We will have much more industry news in our quarterly Intercity Bus E-News edition in May.

The Intercity Bus E-News team

Joe Schwieterman, editor

This independently produced brief has been shared with both our Intercity Bus (IB) and Transportation listservs. If you want to be certain you are on the IB and not miss our industry coverage, please email us. The Chaddick Institute does not receive funds from transportation companies or affiliated industries