The chief executive of American bus giant Greyhound says the city of Chicago could face a major service disruption in the coming weeks if the city does not intervene.
Greyhound and other bus carriers are set to be evicted from their longtime station in the West Loop in mid-September. The city hasn’t offered a viable alternative with indoor accommodations.
The bus lines’ mostly low-income riders may soon find themselves waiting outdoors with their belongings and without restrooms or protection from harsh weather.
“It’s becoming urgent,” Kai Boysan, CEO of Greyhound and Flix North America, told the Sun-Times “We’re dangerously close to a major service disruption.”
Boysan said Greyhound has been working with the city and its Department of Transportation for more than a year to find a viable alternative with indoor amenities.
Stakeholders have zeroed in on one potential solution, Boysan said, but he refused to say what that was.
“We’ve been collaborating for over a year, and it’s time to make a decision,” Boysan said.
The city only has five or six weeks until bus operators are booted from the station at 630 W. Harrison, before Greyhound’s lease ends in October, to leave time for cleaning the station, Boysan said.
The transportation agency, which has the sole authority to designate curbside bus stops, did not immediately comment.
Greyhound has been losing its stations one by one since 2021, when its parent company sold the company and its stations to separate buyers. As a result, Greyhound is being evicted from stations across the country.
Some cities were caught off-guard by the sudden closure and relocation of Greyhound stations. They are warning signs of the mess that may soon face Chicago.
In Philadelphia, Greyhound lost its station in the summer of 2023 and moved to curbside service downtown. But bus companies were forced to move the stop again after only four months following complaints from nearby businesses. There’s concern that Greyhound will have to relocate its stop yet again because residents are now petitioning to move the stop.
Philadelphia is a warning of what could happen in Chicago if the city doesn’t intervene to extend the lease or purchase the station.
“We’re going to face that here,” Joseph Schwieterman, DePaul University professor and transportation researcher, told the City Council’s committee on pedestrian and traffic safety in July.
It’s not possible to move bus service to the curbs of nearby Chicago Union Station, Schwieterman said, because Amtrak has been clear that the Great Hall is not equipped for inter-city bus travelers, and the curb doesn’t have any more capacity.
Schwieterman said the city must follow the lead of other cities and purchase its own municipal bus station, as has been done in New York, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, L.A. and 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,” Schwieterman has told the Sun-Times.