Keep Greyhound Downtown

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Support continued Greyhound bus service in Downtown Denver!

In September 2024, it emerged that the Regional Transportation District (RTD) will not renew its contract with Greyhound, which will effectively end long-distance bus service from the underground bus concourse at Denver Union Station (DUS). The decision has left Greyhound scrambling to find a new location in Denver to operate from while hoping RTD reconsiders its decision.

Currently approximately 280 passengers a day use Greyhound’s services which connect Denver to Albuquerque, Dallas, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and many points further a field, via 10 intercity bus routes. Greyhound offers an essential travel option for those that don’t have access to vehicle or are unable to fly for whatever reason.

Move to Denver Union Station in 2020

Greyhound used to own the ‘Denver Bus Center’, a bus station and associated parking that occupied a whole city block at 19th & Curtis meaning they were in no rush to move into the DUS underground bus concourse when it opened in 2014, despite being widely expected to do so. The move was finally made in 2020 following the signing the of a five year, $600,000 / year contract with RTD that expires on August 31st, 2025. This allowed Greyhound (now owned by German contract bus giant Flixbus) to sell the old facility to developers for $38M shortly after. Currently the old bus station has been demolished and the site now awaits construction to commence on a two-tower, hotel and residential development.

A far from ideal passenger experience…

When you compare the facilities at the underground bus concourse to the old Denver Bus Center it can be argued that, despite the DUS facility being younger and in a better condition, the move was a downgrade for Greyhound’s passengers. Whereas the old bus station had rows upon rows of seating, the underground bus concourse offers a few seats dotted around that are hardly what you would describe as comfortable. Because of this, many passengers are forced to sit on the floor or in stairwells while they wait. In addition, Greyhound passengers have gone from having bathrooms and a snack shop located adjacent to the bus gates to bathrooms at the other end of the concourse and food options located above ground in the surrounding city blocks.

The COVID-19 pandemic makes things worse…

Things got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic as a collapse in transit ridership and closure of many other public spaces meant that Denver Union Station became a magnet for homeless people and those suffering from drug addiction and mental health issues. After Lance Longenbohn, head of RTD’s largest Union ATU 1001, called DUS “lawless hellhole”, the agency was forced to take action to remedy the situation with a project to restore the ‘Welcoming Transit Environment’.

Sadly the methods used attempting to restore the ‘Welcoming Transit Environment’ made the underground bus concourse a distinctly unwelcome environment for Greyhound passengers; bathrooms were closed, electrical outlets were deactivated and stairwells leading to the commuter rail platforms above were converted to ’emergency exit only’. In addition, Sage Hospitality, the operators of the Great Hall that was originally branded ‘Denver’s living room’, doubled down on those not spending money at their high-end bars and restaurants by reducing general seating and vigorously policing access to the bathrooms. Waiting Greyhound passengers now face regular interruptions from the RTD police and security services to confirm they are using transportation services and not just ‘loitering’.

The ‘Fare Paid Area’

RTD plans to introduce a ‘fare paid area’ at DUS meaning that a transportation ticket will be required to operate turnstiles to access the underground bus concourse. This is likely to necessitate moving the Greyhound ticket vending machines outside the fare paid area, possibly upstairs to street level.

What are RTD and Greyhound saying?

As things currently stand, Greyhound will have to vacate Denver Union station on or before August 25th, 2025 as they will not have a lease to operate there. They remain hopeful a solution can be found.

So where else could Greyhound go?

One option is to transfer the start and termination point of Greyhound routes in Denver to RTD’s Civic Center Station (CCS) that is currently operating as a shadow of its former self following cuts in local bus service due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CCS has a large and under-utilized climate-controlled waiting room that is far better suited to the longer waits associated with long-distance journeys, and is closer to appropriate facilities such as affordable food options and hotels in the event of disruption. There is an opportunity to provide at Civic Center the welcoming, dignified, comfortable waiting area Denver needs for long-distance buses.

That said, a compelling argument for Greyhound to continue to serve DUS remains, due to station being Colorado’s premier transportation hub with Amtrak, Bustang and Pegasus plus RTD commuter rail, light rail and bus services all being located there. As a minimum, any “thru” Greyhound stop at DUS should feature shelter, seating and access to bathrooms. A possible solution could be to provide shelters and seating at the ‘Union Station Overground’ stops on Wewatta Street, while encouraging passengers with longer waits (e.g. over an hour) to make their way to Civic Center Station.

The story so far…