New York’s bus terminal has its own subway stop and is a block from Times Square. Boston’s is in (one of) its downtown railroad stations. Philadelphia’s is right downtown. Meanwhile, DC’s bus terminal is in a forlorn (for now) area several somewhat sketchy blocks’ walk from Metro and Union Station. DC is the only city I know of where the Chinatown buses stop in a much more convenient location than the “real” buses.

Greyhound has taken a step toward moving by selling its property in NoMA, which it will lease back until it finds a permanent home, reports the Washington Business Journal (via DC Metrocentric). The logical place is Union Station, but the operators of the station refused in 2002 because of overcrowding concerns; talks are ongoing.

Union Station would be best (use some of that ugly parking garage thing), but anywhere near some real buildings and Metro would be great. As it is, DC never looks more like a third world capital than when arriving by bus.

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Tagged: buses, dc, greyhound, noma, transit

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.