New Columbus Greyhound terminal fuels anger, concern from neighbors, passengers

Clutching his ticket to St. Louis in one hand and snacks in the other, Kenneth Jones sprinted across the street toward the Greyhound bus, which had begun to pull from its loading bay.

As he crossed four lanes of busy North Wilson Road, a southbound cargo van slammed its brakes just feet away from Jones, who threw his hands up in stunned disbelief. He then soldiered on, yelling at the bus driver to stop.

She didn't.

"She wasn't supposed to leave until 10:30," Jones said later. "I was there at 10:20. I guess it was kind of my fault."

Moments before, a young man in camouflaged pants also crossed Wilson to the new Greyhound bus terminal, stopping in the middle turn lane as cars whizzed past to repeatedly stab a can of Monster Energy drink with a long knife until it popped open.

Just another day, outside the freshly painted former Shell gas station, where men and women slumped against walls, under trees, along curbs and at a nearby Speedway. They slept with blankets and their strewn belongings. Some mumbled to themselves. Others huddled in the small air-conditioned waiting area.

Start-up pains or typical big city terminal?

Late last month, the Greyhound bus terminal moved from Downtown, where it had been for decades, to 845 N. Wilson Road, just south of Interstate 70 in the Hilltop area.

City officials had said the iconic Downtown terminal, 111 E. Town St., blocks from the Ohio Statehouse, Columbus Commons and near restaurants, bars and hotels, had been a safety concern for years. A year after Greyhound sold the station to the Central Ohio Transit Authority for $9.5 million, Greyhound used a portion of COTA's other big station until last month.

Read More: Greyhound to open new West Side terminal, ending Downtown presence

Now its new neighbors in the Hilltop community and Franklin Township are angry. They fear the terminal will spawn crime, noise and traffic and lower property values. And bus users say they miss the familiarity of Downtown with its spacious waiting area, easy connections, overhead schedule displays — and running water.

Mayoral candidate, Joe Motil, who is running against Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, says the new terminal is a travesty to the city's image.

"This is how our city welcomes those who travel by bus. This is failure in redeveloping the central Downtown area for mass transit and lack of leadership and thoughtful planning that has plagued City Hall for years," Motil wrote in a prepared statement.

Cameron Keir, Ginther's re-election campaign spokesperson responded: “Greyhound has put cost savings ahead of public safety, and Mayor Ginther and Columbus will use every tool at our disposal to hold Greyhound accountable and ensure the neighborhood and passengers remain safe."

More: COTA board approves purchase of Greyhound station Downtown for nearly $9.5 million

Zach Whitt, who lives near the terminal with his wife and 2-year-old, has mobilized neighbors, citing noise and pollution, buses that back up and block residential roads and lack of basic services for users including parking, storage lockers, restrooms and running water.

While there are hourly stops at the station by Central Ohio Transit Authority buses, there is no nearby crosswalk from east to west along North Wilson Road.

"Nobody's happy here," said Whitt, who lives in the nearby Wilson-Oaks neighborhood. "And it's also a disservice to the passengers themselves."

Plans to improve and expand

The old Shell station's car wash will be razed next month, Greyhound has said, to be replaced with a larger waiting area and restrooms instead of portable toilets.

But people still question how and why this site was chosen.

Brett Gaj, Greyhound's district manager for Ohio and three other states, said that when Greyhound was sold to Germany-based Flix 18 months ago, a new emphasis was placed on terminals and cutting costs.

"It's not that we really wanted to be out of downtowns," Gaj said. "In most cities we have found that downtown just isn't where a lot of people live who are riding us."

Greyhound data and ZIP code analysis showed that most users live west of Downtown.

In addition, the city's demands for safety and other improvements made the Downtown terminal "extremely costly to operate. And we really didn't want to raise costs for customers," Gaj said.

Chaos and control

The terminal is a 24-hour operation. But even the slow times seem chaotic.

That's when Greta Hibbs is ready to call it quits. On this afternoon she's been working at the station since 7 a.m., alone except for a single private security guard.

"I'm supposed to be out at the buses. I'm supposed to be helping with security. I'm supposed to be in here," she said behind a glass window where she takes questions and prints tickets. "You literally can't do it all."

Homer Franklin, a security guard for A1 Tactical Protection Services, said the new location is similar to Downtown with people "drinking, smoking, whatever they can do."

"We either have to break up fights, or we get in fights," he said, explaining that most are misunderstandings about bus schedules and rules.

Amid the churn of buses, a driver and a customer exchange harsh words.

"You want respect; you give respect," said the young woman, who was dropping off her aunt and didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to board when she was first in line.

The driver, who didn't want to be named, said that those with mobility issues boarded first.

"I can be one of the nicest drivers until you get in my face," she said afterward.

Despite the challenges, Hibbs, who is paid $13 per hour, was proud of the re-tiled counters and flooring and newly paved bus stops and parking area. "When I first saw this property it looked like crap," she said.

As storm clouds gathered, Fatimah Rasheed escorted her 87-year-old mother into the depot for her return trip to Cleveland.

Rasheed said she misses the old terminal near her home near Nationwide Children's Hospital.

"I think it's ridiculous to stick us out here," she said.

As she waited, her mother, who uses a cane and declined to be named, watched people dodge the five lanes of traffic to cross the street.

'That's an awful lot of highway to cross and not get hit," she said. "I won't be in a hurry to get back here."

Greyhound's Gaj said the growing pains should pass, especially after improvements are made.

"We take the brunt of the criticism because we're a big national corporation and our name's on the building."

dnarciso@dispatch.com

@DeanNarciso

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus neighbors and passengers assail new Greyhound terminal