(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A new report from DePaul has called out the city of Chicago and state of Illinois for not doing more to keep a Greyhound bus terminal open.
The station, located at 630 W. Harrison St., could be closed in October when its current lease expires, and a report from DePaul's Chaddick Institute said city and state leaders don't appear to be taking any action to prevent that or come up with other solutions.
Joe Schwieterman was one of the report's authors.
“Greyhound was purchased by a different company, called FlixMobility, and that company did not buy the station, so the station is now owned by private real estate companies — and they're basically selling the station to the highest bidder,” he said.
Schwieterman said it's important that action is taken sooner rather than later.
“The risk is: If the station closes and bus lines are forced to move out to a curb somewhere, to a neighborhood, there's going to be a lot of impacts,” he said. “People waiting on the street out in the cold with their luggage, a sense of confusion that can happen when you don't have a nice, climate-controlled waiting room, and we're seeing that in other cities.
The closure would affect low-income riders, unemployed riders and disabled riders the most, Schwieterman said, as they tend to rely heavily on the bus.
“Intercity buses go lots of places that airlines and Amtrak don’t go,” he said. “[It’s] the lowest cost of travel, as well.”
He's hoping the city or state will purchase the property to keep the station open.
“Governments have to wake up to see they have responsibility here,” he said.
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