CLEVELAND, Ohio – Bus passengers displaced by the sale of Cleveland’s historic Greyhound bus stop shouldn’t have to travel very far, according to an agreement being considered between bus companies and the Cleveland Area Transit Authority.
Cleveland-based Barron’s Bus, which operates in partnership with Greyhound, will lease a portion of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center at East 21st Street and Prospect Avenue on the Cleveland State University campus. Discussions are underway with RTA.
The transit center is just a half-mile from the existing Greyhound station at 1465 Chester Avenue, which Playhouse Square purchased last week.
RTA spokesman Robert Fleig said Barron’s is working with Greyhound to “complete its due diligence” on an agreement that would allow the bus company to use a portion of the transit center for intercity bus passengers. “
RTA’s Puritas station on Cleveland’s West Side has also been discussed as a possible replacement station for Greyhound, but is not currently being considered, he said.
Fleig added that he had no knowledge of the details of the potential transaction or when the transfer of passengers would take place.
The Plain Dealer/cleveland.com has reached out to officials from both Greyhound and Barons for comment.
Greyhound’s parent company sold the Cleveland landmark in early 2023 to a real estate investment company, which sold it to Playhouse Square earlier this month.
This sleek station with a sleek, modern design opened in 1948 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Playhouse Square has not said what it plans to do with the building, but the most discussed options include some type of mixed-use development that combines elements such as housing, dining, entertainment, and retail. include.
“We look forward to sharing plans for this space once they are finalized,” said Cindy Szymanski, Playhouse Square communications director. “In the meantime, we respect the historic integrity of the building and are working with the City of Cleveland and the City of Greyhound to ensure Greyhound’s transition to its new home follows a schedule that works for all parties. I am committed to ensuring that this happens.”
Cleveland City Councilman Brian Kazee, who represents Ward 16 on the city’s West Side, said it makes sense to keep the bus stop downtown.
Puritas Station is located at W. 150 Street and Interstate 71, just north of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, in the Ward of Cazee. He said there are no public restrooms or nearby amenities that waiting passengers might want or need.
“It makes more sense to put it in the central business district rather than far from the city centre,” he says.
The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center, which opened in 2010, has 12 bus stops and a 2,000-square-foot waiting area for passengers, including restrooms. Two bus routes depart from the center, including the Cleveland State Line and the Strongsville Park and Ride Line, which run from downtown to the western suburbs.
Additionally, the center is relatively close to restaurants and other businesses along nearby Euclid Avenue.
Megabus, a low-cost intercity bus company, used the transit center to drop off and pick up passengers for several years before exiting the Cleveland market in 2020.
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