On April 23, 1932, a new Greyhound bus terminal opened at 45 W. Sixteen companies operated out of it at opening, including the Greyhound Lines Columbus-Zanesville Transportation Company. The Union Bus Station was to have a 110-seat waiting room, restaurant, restrooms, soda fountains, news stands, tobacco shops, a barber, and a tailor. 150 buses were estimated to use it per day, with platforms allowing for 12 buses to unload at once. History Early stations Īmong the first intercity bus stations in Columbus was the Union Bus Station, which opened around 1929 at 47 E. The Greyhound site is considered an important property to city officials, given the scale of development taking place around it, as well as its location by Columbus Commons and the busy 3rd and 4th streets. In 2021, the station saw about 34 buses stopping per day. Flixbus coaches stop on the south side of the station. The bus station, managed by Greyhound Lines, also serves Barons Bus Lines, Miller Transportation, GoBus, and other carriers. The station is open 24/7, and has entrances at every side some may be permanently closed. A landscaped pedestrian mall connects the building's set-back entrance to Town Street. The station is built of brick and concrete, and has 20 bays for boarding buses. The property includes the 32,000 sq ft (3,000 m 2) station, two smaller buildings, and a parking area for the intercity buses. The terminal is roughly bordered by Town and Rich streets to the north and south, and 3rd and 4th streets to the west and east. The current Greyhound station sits on a 2.45-acre (1.0 ha) site, taking up most of a city block. Intercity bus services will move to a COTA facility in late 2021, and COTA plans to demolish the 1969 station and create a mixed-use development on the property.
Agreements were made to increase security, and the local mass transit agency, COTA, agreed to purchase and redevelop the site. In 2021, following a shooting incident and reports of frequent police visits, the property was declared a public nuisance. Efforts to keep the station safe were successful early on, though the Greyhound Corporation proposed its sale by 1988. The current bus station was built from 1968 to 1969 in a modern style, and featured numerous traveler amenities. The 1940 terminal was lauded at its opening, though in following decades, it reportedly deteriorated and became a place of refuge for the homeless.
By 1940, the station was replaced by another Greyhound terminal, in a space neighboring the current bus station site. In 1932, a competing bus terminal opened on State Street, operated by Greyhound. Sixteen companies, including a Greyhound bus company, operated there. Since 1979, with the demolition of Union Station and a short-lived replacement, the Greyhound station has been the only intercity transit center in the city.Ĭolumbus has seen intercity bus transit since 1929, when a union station opened on Town Street. The current building was constructed in 1969. The station, managed by Greyhound Lines, also serves Barons Bus Lines, Miller Transportation, GoBus, and other carriers. The Columbus Bus Station is an intercity bus station in Downtown Columbus, Ohio.