Regional and multi-state inter city bus transportation. Thanksgiving is a time of big travel.

 This was in the Thanksgiving entry, but should be separated out.

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One overlooked segment in regional transportation planning is inter-city bus service/travel. 

Blog entries

-- "Inter-city bus services," 2009

-- "Intercity bus services are typically a gap in transportation planning," 2014

Resources

-- "Building a better bus hub at Union Station," Washington Post, 2011

-- "The Navigator: Greyhound, leaving passengers out in the cold," Washington Post Travel Section, 2014

-- Intercity Bus Program Strategic Direction Report, Texas Department of Transportation, 2019

-- "States Work to Fill Gaps with Branded, Subsidized Intercity Bus Services," Eno Center for Transportation

-- "Emergent Curbside Intercity Bus Industry: Chinatown and Beyond," Transportation Research Record, 2009

-- "The Curbside Bus Industry: A New Era of Bus Travel, masters thesis by Eileen Collins The Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University in Chicago has done a fair amount of research as well, in part focusing on the Midwest. -- Intercity Bus Research webpage
-- The Return of the Intercity Bus: The Decline and Recovery of Scheduled Service to American Cities, 1960 - 2007

Greyhound is the major US company, and over the last ten years it's been owned by foreign firms.  The previous owner sold off the real estate--many inner city terminals are big and worth a lot as redevelopment opportunities.  

Abandoned Greyhound bus terminal in Oakland, California.  Many stations were built during the era of art deco architecture and have wonderful details.

As terminals close, buses stop on the street, people queue outside with no protections.  Professor Joseph Schweiterman of DePaul University is rare in that he tracks this form of transportation and he wrote about it for MSNBC News ("Thanksgiving is a stressful time to travel. Why it may get worse for these passengers.").  

From the article: 

The past few months have been tough for many passengers using bus stations and curbside spots across the country. Amid a worsening bus station crisis, some city officials have become downright hostile to the key service because of perceptions that it causes theft, loitering and loss of neighborhood aesthetics. While dozens of airport terminal improvements are providing new conveniences for flyers, and as new federal dollars flow for train upgrades, more and more riders of intercity buses are, quite literally, being left out in the cold. 

... On Greyhound, the bus travel giant that reaches more U.S. cities than any other line, stations with spacious and climate-controlled waiting rooms have been shuttered in Charlottesville, Virginia, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Erie and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Knoxville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; Portland, Oregon, and Tampa, Florida. This has forced lines to move to curbside spots or more remote locations separated from downtown. Greyhound and its partners have suspended service entirely from two state capitals, Jackson, Mississippi, and Little Rock, Arkansas, because of their inability to find workable stations. Concern is high that Greyhound stations in Chicago; Charlotte, North Carolina; Cleveland; Dallas, and Kansas City, Missouri, could be the next to go. 

This crisis is unfolding as intercity bus lines more broadly seem to be enjoying a post-pandemic bounce... More people ride intercity buses than trains, but the lack of high-quality station arrangements raises questions about the mode’s future opportunities.

Three factors are at the root of the crisis. Many municipal governments, once allies, have adopted aggressive not-in-my-backyard stances toward intercity buses, fueled by the perception that bus stations may be unsafe places that generate criminal activity. Adding to this problem, dozens of stations came into the fold of a private real-estate holding company...

Meanwhile, many City Halls appear indifferent, highlighting the lack of clout bus travelers have in policymaking. ... Meanwhile, many City Halls appear indifferent, highlighting the lack of clout bus travelers have in policymaking.

Common sense dictates that intercity bus lines start using public transit terminals with around-the-clock security, restrooms and indoor waiting areas. The federal government has made giving intercity bus lines “reasonable access” to these facilities a funding requirement.

What to do about bus rider customer experience.  Note in my typology on the transit network at multiple scales ("Reprint (with editing): The Meta-Regional Transit Network," 2009), a commenter had to point out to me that I failed to include buses.  I have written about this from time to time, including problems with the set up at DC's Union Station, by comparing it to Toronto and Montreal ("Union Station bus terminal, DC," 2011).

Great 1950s brochure on the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC.  Flickr photo by Karen Yang (also see the brochure cover and back panel.)

There are a few examples I've come across where inter city buses are incorporated into existing public transit stations, although it isn't always done well.  DC's Union Station, Charlottesville, even the Silver Spring Transit Center are examples.  Hatmburg's bus terminal is adjacent to the main train station.  In Liverpool they have a separate intercity bus station, a number of blocks away from the main train station  and adjacent local public bus station, and but it's run by the local transit authority.  In Essen, the inter city buses stage at the back of the station.  (That's where I first saw bike racks placed on the back of intercity buses.)

One way to build stronger support for this, at least in core metropolitan areas, where commuter bus service exists, is to include better services for both commuter bus passengers and inter city bus passengers.  Similar to the decline in amenities and customer experience for inter city bus, commuter buses tend to use the public transit shelter infrastructure.

 

A start would be to require center cities to include provisions for inter city bus transit and services into local transportation plans, and for states to have equivalent plans.

Colorado may be the national leader, as it has created a statewide inter city bus transportation program called Bustang (with a derivative called Snowstang for ski service).  I don't know how it works though at the nexus of street, bus, terminal, and passengers.  And the state is still served by for profit bus services.  

Union Station Denver's underground bus terminal is used by public transit buses, I don't think inter city bus.  Design wise it's a great example of how a bus terminal can be integrated into transit stations.  Although this rendering is more lively than the actual.

"Grand Opening for New Denver Union Station Bus Concourse, Designed by SOM," 

SOM press release, 2014

When Greyhound was last up for sale, I suggested that Amtrak buy it ("Two train/regional transit ideas: Part 1 | Amtrak should acquire Greyhound," 2021).  Amtrak does provide some inter city bus service, called Amtrak Thruway, to fill in access gaps to its route network, even in outstate Maryland.