Chicago’s City Council voted to buy the Greyhound station at 630 W. Harrison St. for $19 million, setting up a city-owned intercity bus terminal and a multi-million-dollar renovation plan after years of efforts to prevent eviction.
By late summer, Chicago could be operating its first public-owned intercity bus terminal—after the City Council approved a $19 million purchase of the struggling South Loop Greyhound station.
The ordinance passed Wednesday authorizes the city to buy the terminal at 630 W. Harrison St. for $19 million. The deal also directs millions of dollars toward renovating a site city officials have described as neglected. while protecting the riders who rely on the station—nearly half a million people each year—from the prospect of being pushed into curb-side bus service.
Ald. Bill Conway (34th). who had previously been a leading skeptic about keeping the terminal in its current location. told colleagues Wednesday that he had changed his mind. He pointed to concerns he once raised about crime, traffic, and the use of tax increment financing funds. Now he said the stakes were different: keeping an intercity bus terminal matters for low-income riders. including some who use the station to access reproductive care in Illinois.
“Doing nothing will leave riders with no bus station, or at best, waiting at the stop outside with a large deteriorating site on Harrison Street,” Conway said.
The vote capped a yearslong effort to keep Greyhound from being evicted from its own terminal. Greyhound lost ownership of the terminal four years ago, when the company sold off dozens of its properties during its acquisition by FlixBus.
Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced the ordinance to finalize the purchase. arguing the city buying the station was cheaper than allowing Greyhound to be evicted and then building a city-owned terminal elsewhere. After the vote. Johnson said in a statement. “Transportation is a pathway to opportunity. and every Chicagoan deserves access to safe. affordable. and reliable ways to get where they need to go. Intercity bus service connects hundreds of thousands of people to work, family and opportunity every year. That’s not something we can take for granted. We had a responsibility to protect this essential public asset, and today we delivered.”.
Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) opposed the deal. He told Council colleagues the true cost to the city could reach upward of $50 million when factoring in additional work required by the city’s Transportation Department. Quinn also said he doubted Chicago could run a public bus station and argued the money could be used elsewhere.
Under the city’s plan, the purchase would be finalized by August. City officials said last week that a committee had already advanced the ordinance, setting the stage for completion of the deal.
The city said it would run the terminal the way it runs a city-owned airport. Bus operators would pay rent to use the station, and that revenue is expected to cover city operating expenses.
FlixBus North America—described as the owner of Greyhound—would continue operating the station for a 12-month transition period as part of the agreement.
The terms of the purchase are also being framed as a bargain. The city said the $19 million purchase price is well below the $26 million market rate, leaving $31 million of city money for repairs and upgrades to the neglected terminal.
Before the city takes full control. officials said it plans to replace the station’s heating and cooling system and implement security measures. including new cameras and increased security. Those steps were first outlined when the City Council’s real estate committee advanced the purchase last week.
For riders who use the station today, the vote changes more than who owns the property. It changes where they will wait—and whether the promise of an intercity bus connection stays inside a terminal or becomes something closer to a curb-side stop on Harrison Street.
Chicago City Council Greyhound intercity bus terminal 630 W. Harrison St. Brandon Johnson Bill Conway Marty Quinn FlixBus transportation security upgrades public ownership