The Greyhound bus station in Richmond, Va., sits on prime actual property. Developers now plan to raze it and construct house towers and retail house. It’s certainly one of many bus stations being shut down.

Scott Horsley

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Scott Horsley

The Greyhound bus station in Richmond, Va., sits on prime actual property. Developers now plan to raze it and construct house towers and retail house. It’s certainly one of many bus stations being shut down.

Scott Horsley

RICHMOND, Va. — As Greyhound bus #769 pulls into the station in downtown Richmond on an overcast day in January, the motive force directs passengers to step out and stretch their legs whereas the bus is cleaned and serviced.

“If you’re getting off here in Richmond, look around your seats as always,” operator Jordan says. “Make sure you gather all your personal belongings.”

The bus just isn’t fairly midway by its 22-hour journey from the Port Authority in New York City to Atlanta.

But Vernon Pendergrass is altering buses right here. He’s on his manner from Maine to South Carolina for a household funeral, which suggests a 10-hour layover in Richmond.

“Yeah, I’m stuck here till 9 o’clock,” Pendergrass says with a rueful snicker. “Just my luck.”

The Richmond station has catered to passengers like Pendergrass for greater than 4 a long time, however its days are numbered. The station’s restaurant and online game room are already closed and darkish. And quickly the station itself could also be as nicely.

The station sits on prime actual property in Virginia’s capital, simply throughout Arthur Ashe Boulevard from a minor league baseball park the place the Richmond Flying Squirrels play. Developers have filed plans to raze the bus station and substitute it with two seven-story house towers and retail house, in response to Richmond BizSense.

It’s certainly one of practically three dozen Greyhound bus stations that have been bought to Twenty Lake Holdings, an arm of the funding agency Alden Global Capital. Downtown bus stations in Houston, Cincinnati and Philadelphia have been shuttered. And the destiny of Chicago’s station is doubtful.

Twenty Lake did not reply to inquiries about its plans. Its mother or father firm, Alden, is infamous for buying up newspapers and other businesses, slashing bills and, in lots of instances, promoting off the true property.

People collect on the Greyhound bus station in Richmond.

Scott Horsley

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Scott Horsley

People collect on the Greyhound bus station in Richmond.

Scott Horsley

“A huge part of Americana”

Greyhound says it is in early talks with town of Richmond a couple of new location to load and unload buses, however no plans have been introduced.

That worries passengers like Shirleen McCoy, who comes by Richmond twice a 12 months on her manner from Charlotte, N.C., to her son’s dwelling close to Washington, D.C.

“If this station is gone this time next year, I’m not going to take the bus anymore,” McCoy says. “I’m not going to be outside. It’s too dangerous. I’m not doing it.”

The variety of individuals touring by bus has declined over the a long time, and passenger site visitors has solely partly recovered from the hit it took through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, Greyhound stays a significant supply of transportation for thousands and thousands of individuals, lots of whom earn lower than $40,000 a 12 months. A German firm, Flix, purchased the bus service in 2021 however didn’t purchase the privately owned stations.

“Bus stations are a huge part of Americana,” says Joseph Schwieterman, an knowledgeable on bus journey at DePaul University in Chicago. “In many cities, they were the only businesses open around the clock. They had eateries open through the wee hours of the night, and there was always a buzz about them because people were coming and going.”

An previous Greyhound bus station that has been transformed to places of work is seen in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 24, 2016.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP by way of Getty Images

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An previous Greyhound bus station that has been transformed to places of work is seen in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 24, 2016.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP by way of Getty Images

Some stations turned native landmarks, with artwork deco styling. But even essentially the most fundamental supplied passengers a sheltered indoor house the place they may use the restroom and get a chew to eat whereas ready for his or her subsequent experience.

Newer bus firms like Megabus merely choose up passengers on the road, which could work positive for individuals touring between large cities. But to achieve the distant, rural locations the place buses have lengthy been a lifeline, passengers want a spot the place they’ll make connections.

“The bus system can get you anywhere, but you may have to take two or three or sometimes four buses to get there,” Schwieterman says. “And if you’re deposited at a curb, that’s just not a tenable situation. That’s why moving to a curb is about more than comfort. It actually takes away options for people.”

Lack of presidency help

In some cities the place downtown stations have closed, buses now choose up and drop off passengers removed from the middle of city, the place there’s much less entry to providers and public transportation.

Passengers and public officers have protested in some instances. But different cities are usually not sorry to see bus stations, which primarily cater to low-income passengers, faraway from gentrifying downtown areas.

“In a lot of cases, I’ve got to blame local governments who kind of treat the intercity industry as third-class citizens,” says Peter Pantuso, president of the American Bus Association, an business commerce group.

Greyhound says it wish to find bus stations subsequent to different transportation hubs so passengers may simply connect with Amtrak or native transit. There are a number of profitable examples of that, together with in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

Ironically, as bus stations have withered, buses themselves have gone upscale. They now provide energy, Wi-Fi and free motion pictures to laptop-toting riders, who can ebook upfront and reserve seats.

That’s no substitute, although, for a snug place to attend between buses.

“I know it’s a lot of upkeep, and I can only imagine what it takes to run one of these places,” says Tyler Haas, who’s passing by the Richmond station on his manner from Putney, Vt., to Fallon, Nev. — a four-day journey. “But the station is honestly probably a big amenity for the bus.”

The restaurant within the Greyhound bus station in Richmond, in addition to the online game room, have already been shut down.

Scott Horsley

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Scott Horsley

Pendergrass, who comes by Richmond often, is especially sorry to see the station’s restaurant closed.

“Their food was actually pretty decent,” he says. “It’s going to suck to see this place go. It’s definitely a part of this city.”

Pendergrass slowly makes his manner down the road to a Wawa comfort retailer to purchase some snacks.

He has 10 hours to attend till his subsequent bus.