Today, the last buses will depart from Dallas’ downtown Greyhound bus terminal on Lamar Street as a new terminal in Northwest Dallas takes over intercity bus services.
Flix North America, the parent company of Flix and Greyhound buses, announced earlier this month that they would start phasing out service from the downtown terminal and move to a new terminal on Harry Hines Boulevard.
That will be better for downtown and probably for Greyhound passengers, too.
The downtown Dallas terminal opened in the 1940s when intercity buses were a central part of American travel. Greyhound stations were bustling and buses helped connect passengers to destinations across the country.
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But declining ridership led to nationwide bus cuts beginning as early as the 1960s. In an attempt to revive the declining intercity bus industry, the Bus Regulatory Reform Act of 1982 gave bus companies greater freedom to set fares and enter markets, but as the years went on more routes and services were eliminated.
There was a time when a Greyhound bus terminal in the heart of downtown made sense — when downtown was the hub for people going here, there and everywhere. But downtown Dallas has changed, and so has intercity travel. For too many years, the Greyhound station has been associated with crime and has pulled down a section of the urban core. There is no pretending that isn’t true.
The relocation opens the door to a renewal of this part of downtown. Last year, real estate developer Ray Washburne bought the property and has signaled plans to redevelop it in line with a broader vision for downtown. Some ideas that have been floated are a site for Dallas College, which recently announced an expansion, or a Dallas police substation.
Whatever direction the site ultimately takes, shaping it into a companion to the convention center and aligning it with a new vision for downtown could help renew this area as a more prosperous and welcoming neighborhood for visitors and residents alike.
For riders, moving the terminal out of downtown could offer better services. The new Harry Hines terminal is located across the street from Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Bachman Station. This gives riders more transportation options with connections to DART’s Green and Orange lines and other bus services. People need options like Greyhound to get around, and the new location will give passengers more choices for continuing their journeys.
We hope the relocation of the Greyhound terminal helps diminish the negative impact that too often came with the old station. Most of all, we need to reclaim this part of downtown, and that begins now.