September 17, 2024

Kevin Brubaker

Saving Chicago’s Bus Station is Critical for Equitable & Sustainable Transportation

Chicago is a hub for Midwest travel, but its bus station is at risk. Other cities have stepped up to create a publicly owned station. Chicago can too.

Chicago is the crossroads of America. Our position as a travel hub has sustained Chicago’s cultural and economic importance for generations. But we could be shutting the door on a huge segment of travelers if the city’s Greyhound station closes, making this the largest city in the northern hemisphere without an intercity bus station.

Take Action to Save the Station

Back in 2021, Greyhound split into two companies. One handled the direct bus operations, which sold to Flixbus, but the physical stations were sold separately. A private equity firm bought the station at 630 W. Harrison and is looking to redevelop it. Greyhound is just one of several bus companies that run up to 82 daily trips through Chicago. The city has no plan for where to put all these buses if the station closes, so we expect a decline in service, and riders left waiting out on street corners. Given Chicago’s notorious weather and key position as the transfer point for Midwestern travel, we cannot let that happen.

After the City Council on Pedestrian & Traffic Safety cancelled its hearing about the Greyhound station scheduled for September 23^rd, we have still heard no updates from the city’s Department of Transportation nor the bus companies. This week, ELPC and a coalition of local organizations sent a letter calling on the City of Chicago to figure out a long-term solution to save intercity bus service and ensure riders are safe and protected.

Read the Coalition Letter

Here’s why:

Transportation

Chicago’s central bus station serves about 450,000 – 560,000 people every year. As noted in a report by DePaul’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development, that’s a “level of passenger traffic greater than the commercial airports serving Bloomington-Normal, Champaign, and Rockford, IL.” We should not be making the journey more difficult for hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, family members, clients, and customers. Without a hub here, travel through Chicago become almost impossible. No longer, for example, will someone be able to take a bus from Grand Rapids, MI to Peoria, IL or Milwaukee, WI to Muncie, IN.

Equity

Intercity bus travel is critical for low-income communities, students, and people with disabilities. One study found that 15% of people with disabilities surveyed reported taking a bus trip in the past year, compared to just 6-9% of the general population. Two thirds of intercity bus riders have incomes below $40,000 and one third have incomes below $20,000. More than a quarter have no other viable travel option.

Environment

Taking the bus is one of the most environmentally-friendly ways to travel. One study found driving would create over 5x more carbon emissions compared to taking the bus, and flying would create 4x more emissions, not to mention other air pollutants and traffic congestion mitigated by people taking the bus. If you know ELPC, you know we love passenger rail, but the train is not an option for many Midwest cities, such as Des Moines, Madison, Green Bay, Fort Wayne, or Columbus.

Saving bus service is critical. Curbside service without safe and clean rest areas leaves riders stranded and neighbors angry. Let’s avoid the chaos that Columbus, Ohio, Philadelphia, and other cities have experienced with bus station closure.

The solution is for the city to buy the bus station and make it a public facility, available to all the other intercity bus providers who serve Chicago. New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, and other cities have stepped up to create a publicly owned bus hub. Chicago can too.

Tell Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson that we need a publicly owned intercity bus station, to ensure a safe and sustainable solution for intercity bus riders.

Take Action Here