Chicago to purchase Greyhound bus station. What that means | ChicagoLIVE

[00:00:00]When was the last time you took a bus?

[00:00:02]>> It's been a while.

[00:00:03]>> Yeah, it's been a while. But, uh, you know what? Bus stations in the city of Chicago are are very important. Um, taxpayers right now potentially uh could be handing over at least $50 million for Chicago to own and operate a Greyhound bus terminal. And on Wednesday, the city council approved a $19.2 million acquisition of the station that was facing possible closure. And Mayor Brandon Johnson said that the bus terminal has been critical to generations of riders. So, we're going to talk with 34th Ward Alderman Bill Conway. Bill, I told you before we got started, you were going to have to sit back and listen to some BS between me.

[00:00:38]>> I I cancelled my tea time for tomorrow.

[00:00:41]I don't you know, I don't uh I don't believe in tipping. I believe in overtipping. So, I think I'm okay on that side.

[00:00:48]>> There you go. Remember Reservoir Dogs, Mr. Pink, he said he didn't believe in tipping. That was his big thing. I don't believe in it. I don't believe in it.

[00:00:54]Um, listen, you know, >> second half being the key part, overt.

[00:00:57]>> Exactly right. Exactly right. Uh, Alderman, listen, you know, we were just talking, you know, we obviously may maybe for people that say, "Well, I don't I don't use a bus. What does this matter?" A lot of people do use buses in in the city of Chicago. Whether it's to get around the city or whether it's to get from one city to another city, buses are still a critical form of transportation for many people around the country. So talk to us a little bit about this Greyhound bus station and the acquisition behind it.

[00:01:24]>> Yeah, so the Greyhound station at 630 West Harrison, it has 470,000 riders annually. So certainly is getting well used and you have a lot of people that are coming here to access uh reproductive health care at a time when that's under attack from neighboring states. So it is a critical piece of of infrastructure and not to mention be it's right down the street from Union Station. So it really acts as a hub or a big part of the multimodal transportation that exists in uh you know in regional transport in the city of Chicago.

[00:01:56]>> So what's going on with the bus station?

[00:01:58]Uh the city's going to buy it. They don't own it now. Does Greyhound own it?

[00:02:02]And why is there a need to transfer the ownership?

[00:02:05]>> You know, I can I can get into the finances here because I know you here on Fox have like a highbrow uh you know viewership. Yes. But uh we are um essentially Greyhound was bought and split into the real estate arm and the operational arm. And so the real estate arm is looking to essentially sell off the stations. And this has been happening in a lot of places in the city. So and it's worth noting they could build a pretty goodiz building there without even having to see the alderman really. So, um, you know, there was a good chance that this b this site was going to close. So, we were able to come to an agreement where the city is buying, you know, a full city block right by Union Station just uh west of the loop for 19.2 million, which makes financial sense. And as specified, we'll put uh we'll put some money into it to make it nice. And and as you guys may know, that Greyhound station has had a lot of problems over the years. It's been kind of a magnet for public safety problems, had some operational issues.

[00:03:11]So, we're going to make it a much better situation than uh than it is now.

[00:03:15]>> So, it sounds to me uh like Greyhound is cashing out their real estate and then the city is stepping up to the plate to buy the real estate and keep it operating. Is that more or less correct?

[00:03:26]>> This and this is a national, by the way, this is a national trend that they're doing. And so, a lot of other cities, Philadelphia included, have done a similar similar situation. So, and they're trying to So, Greyhound bus is now called Flex Boss, and they're trying to do it only curbside pickup for a whole series of reasons. That's not really going to work for us. So, we're going to improve this situation, which hasn't really had much investment in it in the last 20 years. Like I said, it's been I used to practice law across the street at the at the domestic violence courthouse and it was a problem area then and and we're going to make it better for the community and for uh riders alike.

[00:04:06]>> Alderman, I have a a note here that says that this is something that you weren't always in support of. Is that true?

[00:04:12]>> No, it was it was first of all, the mayor's office just kind of slipped it in the budget without talking to me.

[00:04:19]This has kind of been a persistent problem, by the way. Um, that was the first issue. The second one is my community has had significant concerns and legitimate concerns about the public safety issues and the traffic issues that the bus station creates. But, you know, in looking at this, I thought it's so important to the transportation infrastructure of this city. I think it's more important that we take it over and make it a a better situation for uh for the community and for riders. But there are members of my community that are understandably uh upset with me and upset with the city for kind of not letting Greyhound close.

[00:04:57]But I think it's just too important uh too important to let do that.

[00:05:00]>> So So how are you going to address the the safety and the transportation issues that u some of the people in the area are are raising?

[00:05:08]So, what we're going to do is we're going to make sure that we have two or three security guards there 24/7 and also working with the first district uh police department to make sure there's an increased police presence there. Um so that's you know as far as that goes on the operational side to ensure that there is continuing uh continuing operations. Flicks bus is going to run it for a year and in the meantime we're going to look for a different operator that will allow other bus services to come in there like trailways. There's a few other competitors. Um but that's kind of a stop gap for a year. And as far as the traffic goes, before COVID, there were twice as many buses coming here. So if we are properly planning, we think we can manage the traffic uh the traffic issues.

[00:05:57]>> So timelinewise, what is this looking like? What's what are sort of the next steps and and and what is the point where we can look back and go, cool, awesome, it's done. Let's go.

[00:06:07]>> Yeah. About mid August, we're going to close on the station. And then I I really want to make sure that we're showing the community that we're making it better there right away. So, in fact, I shifted $5 more million $5 million for bus upkeep, uh, bus station improvement into the 2026. So, neighbors and riders alike should see the place look a bit better right away. And like I said, the place looked terrible 20 years ago, and they haven't really probably put a dime into it since. So, it really needs the help. There's like no HVAC in there. The bathrooms are a mess. So, that's the kind of stuff we're going to get moving on right away.

[00:06:44]>> It kind of sounds like >> maybe you two can come ride the bus then.

[00:06:48]>> I'd love you.

[00:06:49]>> You haven't in a long time.

[00:06:50]>> You know, it kind of sounds like you're getting sort of taking what might be an eyesore in some way and really kind of making it maybe something worth being proud of.

[00:06:59]>> You know, that's the plan. And also, you know, if we do this right, hopefully this can be at worst break even and at best something that generates revenue for the city. As far as the revenue model, whether that's a a per ticket fee or a per bus fee or a rental fee, we're still working that out, but over time, hopefully, this can be something that is a not only an asset for transportation, but like a financial asset for the city of Chicago as well.

[00:07:26]>> Fantastic. All right, Alderman Bill Conway. sir. Always good to see you.

[00:07:31]Thank you for joining us this Saturday.

[00:07:32]>> Help me out on anytime we can talk. We can talk tea times and tip. I was just about to say be be careful, man. You start saying things like that, we'll start emailing you every day. Hey, man.

[00:07:41]Any any anytime appreciate it >> and we look forward to to hearing how everything goes. We'll talk with you soon.

[00:07:47]>> Thank you, sir.

[00:07:48]>> Thank you. Look forward to it. Thanks.