RSS Feed11th Street Bus Station Closes; G Street Bus Station Opens
On Monday we were greeted with a welcome sight for commuters who battle NYC discount bus travelers on the sidewalks of 11th street. BoltBus and MegaBus are no longer using 11th street for their services. Of course this is probably seen as terrible news to those who commute on G street or live in Mather Studios, as these buses now use G street between 9th & 10th (at the library) as a make-shift bus station.
A couple of Downtown BID workers (the ones who give tourists directions) told us they were under the impression these buses would not be returning to 11th ST. Is this the first step in a permanent relocation of these buses?
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I use 11th St for my daily walks to/from work, so I hated it being used as a bus depo. If the bus pulled up while you were walking down the street, crowds would form and block the sidewalk path. Not the biggest inconvenince in the world, but the buses arrive constantly so I had to deal with it on a daily basis.
The library location has the benefit of more shelter and a wide sidwalk, but G St is fairly narrow (certainly when compared to 11th St) so I’m not sure it’s a great fix. Selfishly I like the change, but I can see how others would loath it.
I think this is a better location for people taking the bus. They can stand under the library overhang if it’s raining, it’s close to Metro, the sidewalk is wider so people waiting for the bus won’t be jostling with other pedestrians. I take Bolt Bus to NYC, love it, find it has a good clientele, and the Bolt Bus doesn’t sit for more than a few minutes between the time it pulls up and pulls away so it shouldn’t have any impact on the Mather or G Street at all.
It’s a good move, cause the traffic on 11th in that area can get kind of thick.
That being said, the homeless gather @ the library to use the facilities. I’m sure the fine citizens of PQ will get them to move, just like they did the teenagers.
Why not use one of the many, many vacant lots in the area?
What does NYC do with these buses? Do they have a station there or just use the public sidewalks & streets?
Freddie, I took MegaBus in late Summer and it dropped us off at Penn Station, on the street. 33rd St I think, but I could be wrong about the number.
i live here at mather and it doesn’t bother me one iota. i think the group of folks waiting for the megabus actually do good to balance out the vagrant homeless crowd.
perhaps if the megabus people outnumber the homeless, the homeless will loose their claim on that space and move along someplace else….
yes, yes, i know – the homeless have no place to go. i wish there was a solution to the homeless…and i also wish for world peace.
I also live in Mather Studios and couldn’t be less happy about the buses. They idle loudly, some of their passengers got into our lobby the other night because it was cold outside, and the employees have used the loading zone out front and been rude when asked to move. There’s a huge parking lot one block north on H and 9th. Why not use it? If the answer is the overhang on the library…it’s a bad answer. It’s not the city’s job (or my condo’s lobby) to provide shelter for people waiting for a private bus service. When I asked the Bolt Bus people about it, their answer was “it’s not our problem”. It also further limits parking options on the street and turns the whole street into a parking lot full of cars waiting when people drop off and pick up passengers.
I do not want a bus terminal with the noise, people and problems out my front door. The sooner it is gone…the better.
I think the idea of using the parking lot at 9th & H is a good idea until they start developing that site. Recently the Eastern Shuttle was purchased by Coach USA (parent company of Megabus) and I expect that there will be further consolidation in the industry especially amongst intercity companies such as Greyhound, Peter Pan, and the Chinese operators. All of these bus services are convenient for traveling to NYC or Philly, but the District should eventually find a suitable location for ALL companies instead of the rotating bus terminal concept.
yikes. i stand corrected. i earlier said i was happy (or at least not unhappy) about the bus station at library. i had NO idea they had been trying and succeeding and using our lobby as a warm dry place to wait. that is UTTERLY unacceptable.
the vacant lot at 9th & H sounds like a perfect solution. the bus patrons will still have safe & easy access to the metro (which is very important) but without the downsides to us locals like bus idling and other supplementary issues.
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the sidewalk is wider at the MLK Library on the north side of G Street so I guess that’s an improvement. still not sure how I feel about roving bus depots. people like the downtown NYC bus service…that is undeniable and the next time I go to NYC, I’ll be taking one. let’s recognize the added commerce and vitality they bring and accommodate them by finding them a recognized downtown home that will have a long tenure. maybe it’s Union Station, maybe it’s somewhere else downtown.