DOWNTOWN — Greyhound will continuing operating out of its Downtown terminal temporarily, a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday — just days before the bus line was expected to vacate the facility.
A spokesperson for Flix North America, which owns Greyhound, said in a statement the company is negotiating a “month-to-month” lease to stay at the site with station owner Twenty Lake Holdings, a subsidiary of the Alden Global Capital investment firm.
Greyhound’s lease at the terminal, 630 W. Harrison St., was expected to end on Sunday. A company vice president previously said bus lines would have to vacate the facility by Sept. 20, but they have continued operating there this month.
But with no clear plan for where buses would go instead, the company is staying put — for now.
“We will not be leaving the Harrison Street terminal on October 20. Our team is finalizing a month-to-month lease extension with Twenty Lake, and our operations will continue without disruption,” spokesperson Merrill Leedom wrote in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “This is a temporary solution, and we remain actively engaged with the city and other stakeholders to secure a long-term home for intercity bus service in Chicago.”
The extension news was first reported by the Sun-Times. It comes after Ald. Bill Conway (34th) suggested last week that bus operations could temporarily be moved to the nearby migrant landing zone, a proposal Block Club reported on Tuesday morning.
Conway said in a statement Tuesday the temporary agreement is a positive development as officials continue looking for a long-term plan.
“I’m relieved a temporary solution was found for the Greyhound bus station, as a closure this weekend would have stranded thousands, including many women traveling to Chicago for reproductive healthcare,” Conway said in the statement. “I look forward to working together on a long-term solution to establish a permanent multi-modal transportation hub for the region.”
The Greyhound bus terminal has been in service since the late 1980s and serves about 500,000 people a year. Other bus lines, including Barons, Burlington Trailways and FlixBus, also use the station.
If the city’s Greyhound terminal does close, Chicago will become the largest city in the northern hemisphere — and one of only three of the 130 most-populous cities in the world — to not have an intercity bus terminal, according to a policy brief released this summer by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute.
The intercity buses operating out of the terminal provide an essential travel option for older adults, low-income riders, those with disabilities and people who can’t or don’t drive, experts say.
Last week, Chicago Chief Operating Officer John Roberson, who has been overseeing the city’s negotiations with Flix, did not have a definitive update to share about the status of the station or where buses may be diverted instead.
“We have been in conversations over many weeks and many months, doing our due diligence around a number of different options,” Roberson said Wednesday.
In a statement issued Tuesday, mayoral spokesperson Nefsa’Hyatt Brown said the city continues to work with “all stakeholders,” including Greyhound and the terminal owner, on a long-term solution to keep intercity bus service going in Chicago.
“The City of Chicago is working to ensure that we are helpful in the short and long term but remain dedicated to developing a sustainable and viable solution that will outlast this temporary solution,” she said.
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