Amtrak’s president expressed “significant concerns” to Mayor Brandon Johnson about the potential use of Chicago Union Station for Greyhound buses, about a month before the intercity bus company could be evicted from its West Loop terminal.
In a letter Tuesday to Johnson and Transportation Commissioner Tom Carney, Amtrak President Roger Harris urged the city to consider another location.
Harris said Union Station, owned by Amtrak, does not have the capacity to handle the expected 50 additional buses per day.
Amtrak should also be reimbursed for any additional costs incurred by accommodating bus passengers using the station’s Great Hall, Harris wrote.
We “believe that the challenges of this site raise significant safety, operational and financial concerns for Chicago Union Station users, tenants and the surrounding neighborhood,” Harris wrote.
“We have significant concerns about this potential site.”
Greyhound and other bus companies will be evicted from their longtime station in the West Loop in mid-September. The city has not offered a viable alternative with indoor accommodations.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file
Instead, Harris asked the city to consider another location for an intercity bus stop, suggesting either the Ogilvie or La Salle Street Metra stations, both of which are commuter rail stations with restrooms, waiting rooms and unused ticket booths.
The Ogilvie Transportation Center at 500 W. Madison has two CTA bus lanes on Washington Boulevard that are protected by trolley tracks, Harris wrote. The La Salle Street Station at 414 S. La Salle has one CTA bus lane with partial coverage at Financial Place.
“These and other locations would certainly provide greater safety and better accommodations for intercity bus passengers than the Jackson Boulevard block,” Harris wrote.
Metra declined to comment.
Amtrak’s letter comes nearly a week after the city’s chief operating officer, John Roberson, told the Sun-Times that the city was considering Union Station as a temporary stop for Greyhound and other intercity bus travelers.
“Based on what we’ve seen, we believe this is the best option from the city’s perspective right now,” Roberson told the Sun-Times.
A week earlier, Greyhound’s CEO told the Sun-Times that the city was not taking the process seriously.
Amtrak, which has been caught in the crossfire, says it has been excluded from the negotiations.
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) arranged a meeting between city and Amtrak officials to take place after the Democratic National Convention, an Amtrak spokesman said in an email.
CDOT, FlixBus and the mayor’s office had no immediate comment.
The problem with Greyhound stations began three years ago, when the bus operation was sold to the German company FlixBus and the terminals to another buyer. Greyhound lost one station after another, surprising several cities.
Joseph Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University, first announced last year that Greyhound would lose its station at 630 W. Harrison St.
He has recommended that the city buy its own intercity bus station and lease it to bus companies, similar to how airports work with airlines.
When Greyhound loses its station in September, Chicago will be the largest city in the country without its own municipal bus station.
CUS RHBJs.pdf
