Plans for new Greyhound station hit a roadblock

[thelakelander]

I have an idea.  Take the money that is slated to widen the Fuller Warren Bridge and use it toward building an inter-modal transit center!

Two different funding pots. FDOT money intended for the Fuller Warren Bridge will be spent on a similar operations project somewhere else in the state before it's spent on an overly expensive transportation center in Jacksonville.

[mtraininjax]

The proposed site where the Greyhound station is supposed to go, is being cleared now, dirt being moved onsite. Activity going on now. Where is the MJ community to take the action photos???

Come on people!

Who wants to take a bus, only to be dropped off with luggage, a mile from the heart of DT or any activity of life?

Apparently MegaBus still does this.

http://us.megabus.com/BusStops.aspx

[tufsu1]

^ and I rode MegaBus last year.  When we arrive back in Jax, a guy asked me how to get out to CarMax on Beach Blvd.  He ad figured out there was a local bus leaving from downtown but didn't know how to get to it.  Since the Skyway was closed (on a Sunday), I told him his best bet was to walk to Rosa Parks station!

[Ocklawaha]

One would think that some private conversations have been going on between the Greyhound CEO and old regional bus supervisors....   

Dave Leach? I think I've found a hero! 

[thelakelander]

The proposed site where the Greyhound station is supposed to go, is being cleared now, dirt being moved onsite. Activity going on now. Where is the MJ community to take the action photos???

Come on people!

You're late to the party. We've been covering the work that has taken place there for a few months now:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-dec-urban-construction-update-december-2013/page/1

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-nov-urban-construction-update-november-2013/page/1

Who wants to take a bus, only to be dropped off with luggage, a mile from the heart of DT or any activity of life?

Apparently MegaBus still does this.

http://us.megabus.com/BusStops.aspx

Don't assume this is an ideal situation for MegaBus or Jacksonville.

[thelakelander]

One would think that some private conversations have been going on between the Greyhound CEO and old regional bus supervisors....   

Dave Leach? I think I've found a hero! 

LOL. How is it going Ock? Feeling better?

[mtraininjax]

OK, you have been covering it, but not in this thread, which would have been nice to see since they moved ground around and yet now there is work stoppage. Just saying. 

If Megabus wanted to move to a different site, don't you think they would have? After all, they've been there for more than half a year.

Can't help educate the uneducated public. Maybe they could read MJ more often and be kept up to date.

[thelakelander]

^It was covered. The linked article in the first post points out that preliminary site work had already started but FDOT is refusing to provide funding to build the structure until JTA and Greyhound work out their dispute.

As far as Megabus goes, I believe they are there because it's cheaper for them to pull into there than Greyhound. It also makes more sense then stopping at the airport, which is what Red Coach did before failing a few years ago. Any downtown location is going to be more centralized to the community than the airport.

Ock would know for sure, but I'm not sure Greyhound would want Megabus in their place competing with them anyway. So part of the issue deals with business models and competition, moreso than end user accessibility and experience.

[tufsu1]

MegaBus stops there because Jax. is a middle stop between Orlando and Atlanta....quick access to I-10 is most important

[Coolyfett]

The proposed site where the Greyhound station is supposed to go, is being cleared now, dirt being moved onsite. Activity going on now. Where is the MJ community to take the action photos???

Come on people!

Who wants to take a bus, only to be dropped off with luggage, a mile from the heart of DT or any activity of life?

Apparently MegaBus still does this.

http://us.megabus.com/BusStops.aspx

I've used the Megabus, I actually love that it drops you off at the Skyaway station, I just wish there were more things & places near that station. Central skyway station would be better to drop off, but its been a while since I've been to Hemming plaza at night. A waffle House or Ihop in Hemming would be cool, but since the greyhound is moving near convention id rather have nighttime restuarants there.

[JayBird]

I love MegaBus and have used them regularly throughout the Northeast. I have never been on one that stopped at an actual depot. Even in NYC where they already places for buses they pick up and drop off on a sidewalk. This is why it's cheaper than Greyhound, no costs associated with a station except maybe the purchase of some local permit to operate on the sidewalk.

It's my understanding Greyhound put themselves in this spot. They had the option of waiting to join forces with other private companies or JTA but they were focused on owning and operating their own facility. They jumped first, but forgot to check the parachute.  This is them pulling the cord on the spare, hoping that public apathy against the JTA and overall JRTC will sway in their favor.

[JayBird]

Also, while taking a trip on Greyhound last year, I was impressed with Savannah's station. It seamlessly blended Greyhound operations and local transit buses. The whole layout just made perfect sense. To me, that's what JTA should be looking at. Instead of designing a better mouse trap or redesigning the wheel, JTA would make huge strides with a simple 'cut and paste' job

[Overstreet]

If I were Greyhound I wouldn't trust the city at it's word without seeing some positive action and a contract with penalty clause favorable to Greyhound. They have a way of changing direction and promises.

[ProjectMaximus]

I love MegaBus and have used them regularly throughout the Northeast. I have never been on one that stopped at an actual depot. Even in NYC where they already places for buses they pick up and drop off on a sidewalk. This is why it's cheaper than Greyhound, no costs associated with a station except maybe the purchase of some local permit to operate on the sidewalk.

Yeah, I used to be a habitual megabuser when I lived in Chicago, their original NA hub. Have taken Megabus and Boltbus (their closest like competitor) about two dozen times. Both of their business models definitely began as a street side pickup with minimal to no cost for stations/rent/ticket office but it seems to now have fluctuated a bit depending on location. Off the top of my head, I've been to Megabus stops in Raleigh, Toronto, Niagara Falls, ON, and Niagara Falls, NY that were all within a bona fide bus station shared with Greyhound, among others. I've used Megabus in DC when they were in a massive surface lot 4 blocks from Union Station, and I've used them since they moved into the dedicated bus terminal in Union Station for all the low-cost and Chinatown buses along the northeast. I've been to Pittsburgh where they loaded and unloaded passengers at the convention center, though I believe they were subsequently kicked out due to the high number of unwanted passengers using restrooms on the convention center grounds.

I've been to many other stops that simply dropped off on the side of the road, but ALWAYS in the CBD, and typically within a few blocks of major public transit. Basically as close as possible without incurring additional cost or the wrath of angry competitors.

The only exception to this would be the college towns, which usually have stops on a large parking lot on campus.

[Jaxson]

I have an idea.  Take the money that is slated to widen the Fuller Warren Bridge and use it toward building an inter-modal transit center!

Two different funding pots. FDOT money intended for the Fuller Warren Bridge will be spent on a similar operations project somewhere else in the state before it's spent on an overly expensive transportation center in Jacksonville.

That is what chaps me.  I think that FDOT should be more flexible with the funding that it sends to projects.  We see a command center going elsewhere because the inter-modal transit station did not come to fruition.  We have an interstate bus company that is prepared to take legal action because the inter-modal station's failure to launch has the potential to stick a new bus station in the middle of nowhere.  This, in my opinion, is why localities will accept money for bad FDOT plans is because no local official wants to be known as someone who lost state funding.  It's blackmail, IMHO, to demand that localities construct bad projects merely for the sake of bringing home the bacon...