Inter-city bus station relocating to new Philadelphia location won't fix current problems, riders say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The inter-city bus station in Philadelphia is on the move once again.
But the problems are left unresolved by the move.
Instead of Center City at 6th and Market Streets, the inter-city bus companies for Greyhound, Peter Pan, and other bus companies are being relocated again to Northern Liberties at Spring Garden Street and Christopher Columbus Blvd.
As we get closer to the holiday travel season, people will no longer be dropped off or picked up at the curbside station in Center City starting on Thursday morning.
"Just unprepared," Rashad Samad, a Greyhound customer, said. "They're just throwing stuff together. They're not treating their customers 100%."
The current station services four bus companies and one of the biggest issues riders say they have is not having access to bathrooms or indoor seating.
"I went and looked around and I couldn't find any bathroom," Michael Samura, a Peter Pan customer, said.
But those same issues won't be fixed at the new location until the city's Office of Transportation and Infrastructure can put in portable bathrooms.
However, that won't be until after the beginning height of Thanksgiving travel.
"They're allowed to rely on the fact that there are bathrooms on the buses," Michael A. Carroll, the deputy managing director of the city's Office of Transportation and Infrastructure, said.
One of the closest bathrooms will be across the street inside of the Lukoil gas station where employees say they're looking forward to the uptick in business.
Riders will be dropped off along Christopher Columbus Blvd and will have access to a parking lot, too.
But until the bus companies can secure leases for customer service offices, there still won't be an indoor waiting area.
"It's about to get cold out. You're just going to have people standing outside in the freezing cold and that's not good at all," Samura said.
However, the city said they're working to find a better permanent solution that combines a big enough space, close proximity to public transportation and away from residential areas.
"Once you go through this list of requirements, the set of places that work well is narrow," Carroll said.
And the window of time will start to narrow as well because the city has the area permitted until March 31, 2024.
Greyhound responded to CBS Philadelphia's request for comment with the statement below:
"Greyhound and FlixBus are working diligently with the City of Philadelphia to successfully relocate intercity bus service from Market Street to the corner of Spring Garden and Christopher Columbus Boulevard. Greyhound remains committed to providing safe, affordable, and equitable access to intercity bus travel, and we can accomplish this through continued collaboration with the City. We will work diligently to ensure the location move does not create service interruptions for the more than 50 daily trips to and from this location."