Intercity buses have been running in and out of Chicago since the dawn of the automobile age, and for a hundred years passengers have been boarding and alighting at the depot buildings.
That’s expected to end in about six weeks, when the Greyhound bus company closes its large station at 630 W. Harrison Street, as a prelude to clearing the site and redeveloping it for residential use.
The property was sold to developers two years ago, but as the Sun-Times reported this week, the city’s transportation department and bus company have been unable to find a location for a new stop in all that time.
So when the end comes, 500,000 passengers a year will exit or enter Chicago via a curb somewhere—but where?—near downtown.
That means there’s no waiting room – imagine that in Chicago during bad weather. No restrooms. Passengers traveling long distances to and from Chicago are picked up and dropped off like rideshare customers or CTA drivers.
“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.”
Greyhound and a number of other bus companies are scheduled to be kicked out of the depot in mid-September.
In fact, this situation should have been resolved by now. The fact that it hasn’t and the airlines still don’t have a new home is a slap in the face for bus travelers and a stain on Chicago’s reputation as the transportation capital of the United States.
CDOT applied for a grant through the federal government’s competitive Buses and Bus Facilities program in 2023, but was denied.
Closed long-distance bus stations are a nationwide trend
Once the 35-year-old West Loop depot closes, Chicago will be the largest U.S. city without an enclosed passenger hall for intercity buses. And moving bus service to Chicago’s Union Station is all but out of the question because Amtrak says the facility’s Great Hall isn’t equipped to handle it — and there isn’t enough curbside space nearby.
Even creating a curbside stop can bring its own difficulties. Philadelphia’s Greyhound station was set to close in 2023, and when riders were moved to a curbside location downtown, businesses began to complain and the stop was moved. Now residents want the new stop moved — and Philadelphia needs a proper bus station, just like Chicago.
Without a new, dedicated facility in Chicago, “we’re going to face a similar situation here,” Joseph Schwieterman, a professor and transportation researcher at DePaul University, told the City Council’s Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee in July.
Greyhound has been selling bus stations across the country in recent years. Twenty Lake Holdings bought the station in 2022 and owns 33 others that once belonged to Greyhound. The company wants to build residential homes on the properties.
But cities like New York, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Denver have fought the trend by creating municipally owned bus stops.
“They have all taken action to create high-quality bus service downtown,” Schwieterman said. “And we stand out from other major cities with our do-nothing approach.”
Is all lost? Boysan said there is a possible solution within the committee, but he would not reveal what it is. But given the late hour, now is not the time not to say it.
“We have been working together for over a year and it is time to make a decision,” Boysan said.
Boysan is certainly right. And Chicago, a city that so willingly spends millions to enrich developers – and invests billions in improving O’Hare Airport – must now realize that even the most humble traveler deserves a quality destination and departure point.
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