The Columbus Bus Station is an intercity bus station in
Downtown Columbus, Ohio
Downtown Columbus is the central business district of Columbus, Ohio. Downtown is centered on the intersection of Broad Street (Columbus, Ohio), Broad and High Street (Columbus, Ohio), High Streets, and encompasses all of the area inside the Inner ...
. The station, managed by
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
, also serves
Barons Bus Lines
Barons Bus Lines is an intercity bus company operating in the United States. It serves passengers in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Barons Bus operates GoBus, a federally funded b ...
, Miller Transportation,
GoBus, and other carriers. The current building was constructed in 1969. Since 1979, with the demolition of
Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
and a short-lived replacement, the Greyhound station has been the only intercity transit center in the city.
Columbus has seen intercity bus transit since 1929, when a
union station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
opened on Town Street. Sixteen companies, including a Greyhound bus company, operated there. In 1932, a competing bus terminal opened on State Street, operated by Greyhound. By 1940, the station was replaced by another Greyhound terminal, in a space neighboring the current bus station site. The 1940 terminal was lauded at its opening, though in following decades, it reportedly deteriorated and became a place of refuge for the homeless. The current bus station was built from 1968 to 1969 in a modern style, and featured numerous traveler amenities. Efforts to keep the station safe were successful early on, though the
Greyhound Corporation
Viad Corp provides experiential leisure travel and face-to-face events in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates via two divsions: GES and Pursuit.
Pursuit (formed in 2017) includes travel attractio ...
proposed its sale by 1988. In 2021, following a shooting incident and reports of frequent police visits, the property was declared a public nuisance. Agreements were made to increase security, and the local mass transit agency,
COTA, agreed to purchase and redevelop the site. Intercity bus services will move to a COTA facility in late 2021, and COTA plans to demolish the 1969 station and create a mixed-use development on the property.
Attributes
![Columbus Greyhound station 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Columbus_Greyhound_station_2018.jpg)
The current Greyhound station sits on a site, taking up most of a city block.
The terminal is roughly bordered by Town and Rich streets to the north and south, and 3rd and 4th streets to the west and east.
The property includes the station, two smaller buildings, and a parking area for the intercity buses.
The station is built of brick and concrete, and has 20 bays for boarding buses. A landscaped pedestrian mall connects the building's set-back entrance to Town Street.
The station is open 24/7, and has entrances at every side; some may be permanently closed.
The bus station, managed by
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
, also serves
Barons Bus Lines
Barons Bus Lines is an intercity bus company operating in the United States. It serves passengers in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Barons Bus operates GoBus, a federally funded b ...
, Miller Transportation,
GoBus, and other carriers.
Flixbus coaches stop on the south side of the station. In 2021, the station saw about 34 buses stopping per day.
The Greyhound site is considered an important property to city officials, given the scale of development taking place around it, as well as its location by
Columbus Commons
John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons is a park and Green infrastructure, green space in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, downtown Columbus, Ohio, located on the site of the former Columbus City Center mall. The park features gardens, a performance stage, car ...
and the busy 3rd and 4th streets.
History
Early stations
Among the first intercity bus stations in Columbus was the Union Bus Station, which opened around 1929 at 47 E. Town Street. 150 buses were estimated to use it per day, with platforms allowing for 12 buses to unload at once. The Union Bus Station was to have a 110-seat waiting room, restaurant, restrooms, soda fountains, news stands, tobacco shops, a barber, and a tailor. Sixteen companies operated out of it at opening, including the Greyhound Lines Columbus-Zanesville Transportation Company.
On April 23, 1932, a new Greyhound bus terminal opened at 45 W. State Street (some reports gave its address as 40 or 43 W. State). The building cost $55,000. Its opening included a series of events and celebrations, including a parade showing the evolution of road travel, reportedly including a Native American on a horse, an ox-cart pulled by oxen, a stagecoach, pony express, a
tally-ho
Tally-ho is the traditional cry made by the huntsman to tell others the quarry has been sighted. It may also be used with directions, including "away" and "back".
First used in fox-hunting, it was adapted in the 19th century to describe some hor ...
,
Victorian phaeton, covered wagon,
buck-board, horse and buggy,
tandem bicycle
A tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle (occasionally a tricycle) designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement (fore to aft, not side by side), not the number of riders. Patents relat ...
, early automobiles and buses, a
twin coach
Twin Coach was an American vehicle manufacturing company from 1927 to 1955, located in Kent, Ohio, and a maker of marine engines and airplane parts until the 1960s. It was formed by brothers Frank and William Fageol when they left the Fageol Mo ...
, and a then-modern Greyhound overnight coach. The new station had loading space for six buses, as well as a waiting room, ticket office, information desk, restrooms, and offices. The station was operated by the Pennsylvania Greyhound Co., a subsidiary of Greyhound Lines. Five days after the new station's opening, Union Bus Station operators filed a lawsuit against Greyhound, alleging that Greyhound and other companies already entered into a contract to utilize the Union Bus Station from 1929 to 1939.
[https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=favorite%3ACOLUMBUS%21Columbus%2520Dispatch%2520Historical%2520and%2520Current&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=greyhound%20station&fld-nav-1=YMD_date&val-nav-1=1870%20-%201949&docref=image/v2%3A1467499E363272B3%40EANX-NB-1650A1B8DCC51D08%402426826-1650686418D2CE44%400-1650686418D2CE44%40 ]
On February 24, 1940, the Greyhound Terminal of Columbus opened at 81 E. Town St., at Town and 3rd streets' southwest corner. The new building was claimed to have the most complete layout of any Greyhound station, given thought-out passenger handling as well as an adjacent garage built to the rear of the station. The station was owned by the Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Atlantic Greyhound Lines. It featured a waiting room, restaurant, ticket offices, restrooms, bedrooms for dispatchers, a baggage room, and express office. By 1967, the station was owned by the
Pontifical College Josephinum
The Pontifical College Josephinum is a private Roman Catholic seminary and university in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded by Joseph Jessing in 1888 and was granted the status of a Pontifical College in 1892 by Pope Leo XIII, making it the only pont ...
.
Current station
![Columbus Greyhound station interior 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Columbus_Greyhound_station_interior_2018.jpg)
Plans for a new Greyhound station were announced in 1967.
[https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=favorite%3ACOLUMBUS%21Columbus%2520Dispatch%2520Historical%2520and%2520Current&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=greyhound%20station&fld-nav-1=YMD_date&val-nav-1=1960%20-%201979&docref=image/v2%3A1467499E363272B3%40EANX-NB-1622439D1D2FB1CA%402439576-162242A184D8BA57%4028-162242A184D8BA57%40 ] The new station was developed as part of an urban renewal project in the Market-Mohawk redevelopment area.
The project required the demolition of the historic
Central Market Central Market may refer to:
*Central Market, a 2009 album by Tyondai Braxton
Fresh food markets
* Adelaide Central Market, Australia
* Cardiff Central Market, Wales
*Central Market, Hong Kong
* Central Market, Casablanca, Morocco
* Riga Central ...
and an
A&P grocery store once used as the city's central
interurban
The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...
station, and owned by the Pontifical College Josephinum.
Initial plans also called for a 1,000-vehicle parking garage atop the new station, though this plan was dropped in 1967, seen as not economically feasible, and given that there were 1,000 spots within a one-block distance of the terminal.
Ground broke for the station in 1968,
[https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=favorite%3ACOLUMBUS%21Columbus%2520Dispatch%2520Historical%2520and%2520Current&sort=_rank_%3AD&page=3&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=greyhound%20station&fld-nav-1=YMD_date&val-nav-1=1960%20-%201979&docref=image/v2%3A1467499E363272B3%40EANX-NB-16228B5C2DC83FCE%402439893-16228A5383893AA1%402-16228A5383893AA1%40 ] and it opened on August 1, 1969.
The new terminal cost $2.5 million, and was five times larger than the prior facility.
[https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=favorite%3ACOLUMBUS%21Columbus%2520Dispatch%2520Historical%2520and%2520Current/year%3A1969%211969&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=greyhound%20station&docref=image/v2%3A1467499E363272B3%40EANX-NB-1623FF460C33A90C%402440432-162293B8556F6966%4027-162293B8556F6966%40 ] At its opening, the station had general offices and a Travelers Aid station.
Post House, a Greyhound restaurant subsidiary, operated a cafeteria, cocktail lounge, snack bar, gift shop, and game room in the new station.
By October 1969, a murder had already taken place outside the new station.
In 1972, Columbus policeman Thomas R. Stroud became known for keeping the station safe. Police and Greyhound officials were keen to keep the 1969 station clean and safe for visitors, as according to ''The Columbus Dispatch'', the old station had "deteriorated into a haven for a variety of undesirables ranging from vagrants and drunks to deviates." Stroud began patrolling the station around April 1972, and arrested or ticketed 105 people within two months.
In 1988, the
Greyhound Corporation
Viad Corp provides experiential leisure travel and face-to-face events in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates via two divsions: GES and Pursuit.
Pursuit (formed in 2017) includes travel attractio ...
proposed selling, leasing, or creating a joint-venture for the property. The corporation envisioned a multi-use space with office and retail functions, and potentially a hotel. At the time, the
Columbus City Center
Columbus City Center (known locally as City Center) was a , three-level shopping center in Columbus, Ohio. It was located in the city's downtown, near the Ohio Statehouse, next to the Ohio Theatre, and connected to a Hyatt hotel. The mall had a l ...
mall was being constructed adjacent to the property. A 1988 feasibility study for the proposed
Greater Columbus Convention Center
The Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC) is a convention center located in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States, along the east side of North High Street.
The convention center was predominantly designed by Peter Eisenman, constructed i ...
suggested Greyhound Lines relocate there, which Greyhound officials supported.
In 1990,
the Dial Corporation
Henkel Corporation, doing business as Henkel North American Consumer Goods, and formerly The Dial Corporation, is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is a manufacturer of personal care and household cleaning products, and is a ...
put the station up for sale, asking $4.2 million. Greyhound planned to move elsewhere in the city, preferably downtown, if the station building was sold.
[https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=favorite%3ACOLUMBUS%21Columbus%2520Dispatch%2520Historical%2520and%2520Current&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=greyhound%20station&docref=news/10E07D9516D780F0 ] A local realty company began negotiations to purchase it in 1995, with the possibility of Greyhound relocating.
[https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=favorite%3ACOLUMBUS%21Columbus%2520Dispatch%2520Historical%2520and%2520Current&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=greyhound%20station&docref=news/10E07E6AEA1F91C0 ]
A 1995 article detailed the lack of security in the building, partially because all of its entrances were kept open. Homeless residents would stay there and use its coin-operated lockers, leading Greyhound to remove seats and replace the lockers with computer-coded ones with a higher user cost.
By 2000, the station became a "gritty gathering point" for visitors, looking worn and grimy. At the time, it saw 1.4 million passengers travel through per year.
In July 2021, the station was the final filming site for ''
Bones and All
''Bones and All'' is a 2022 romantic horror film directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by David Kajganich, based on the 2015 novel ''Bones & All'' by Camille DeAngelis. The film stars Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet as a pair of ...
'', a 2022 film starring
Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Hal Chalamet (; ; born December 27, 1995) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a ...
.
Throughout the early 21st century, the station has not been well maintained, and has attracted crime, including stabbings, gun-related complaints, drug overdoses, and assaults. Police made 1,200 visits to the station in 2020 and 300 in the first half of 2021, and often multiple times per day.
A May 2021 shooting left a victim in critical condition. In June 2021, a city of Columbus attorney declared the property a public nuisance, requesting a hearing where the city could force the facility's closure for up to a year.
An agreement made in the county municipal court required Greyhound to have at least two 24-hour private security guards, to maintain security cameras, and enforce additional security measures.
A few months later, in July, the
Central Ohio Transit Authority
The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA ) is a public transit agency serving the Columbus metropolitan area, Ohio, Columbus metropolitan area, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. It operates Transit bus, fixed-route buses, bus rapid transit, microtr ...
(COTA) purchased the property for $9.4 million.
The transit agency plans to demolish the bus station and create a multi-use development, including a transit center on-site, to serve regular buses in addition to planned east-west and northwest BRT routes. COTA officials believe transit should be a secondary feature of the new development.
The city government and Columbus Downtown Development Corporation will partner in planning the site.
''The Columbus Dispatch'' reported that there are no plans to move the COTA headquarters there, though the agency's chief development officer suggested COTA could move its offices there and sell its current headquarters.
Intercity bus service was set to move to COTA's South Transit Terminal in fall 2021.
Strikes
Greyhound has a history of its workers going on strike. Some of these have affected service at the station, though a strike in 1941 across the Central Greyhound Lines did not directly affect Columbus, which at the time serviced only the Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines and the Ohio and Atlantic Lines.
An unauthorized strike took place in November 1971, a walkout by about 150 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union. The act halted service between Columbus and most local and major cities, though not on the Lake Shore Line, operated by an independent company.
[https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=favorite%3ACOLUMBUS%21Columbus%2520Dispatch%2520Historical%2520and%2520Current&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=greyhound%20station&fld-nav-1=YMD_date&val-nav-1=1960%20-%201979&docref=image/v2%3A1467499E363272B3%40EANX-NB-162631349C2CC967%402441268-16262F47F15F3F8E%400-16262F47F15F3F8E%40 ]
See also
*
Social services and homelessness in Columbus, Ohio
*
Public transit in Columbus, Ohio
Public transit has taken numerous forms in Columbus, the largest city and capital of Ohio. Transit has variously used passenger trains, horsecars, streetcars, interurbans, trolley coaches, and buses. Current service is through the Central Ohio Tra ...
References
External links
*
{{Transportation in Columbus, Ohio
1969 establishments in Ohio
Buildings and structures in Columbus, Ohio
Bus stations in Ohio
Greyhound Lines
Transport infrastructure completed in 1969
Transportation buildings and structures in Franklin County, Ohio
Transportation in Columbus, Ohio