Albany Transit looking at later hours for bus station to accomodate Greyhound passengers

ALBANY — The city’s new transportation center has been open for two months, offering a place for riders to get out of the weather and amenities inside. But for commercial bus travelers, the wait can mean standing outside with no restroom facilities.

The transportation center that opened in March closes at 5 p.m. on weekdays and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with no Sunday hours, leaving passengers out in the cold or the heat.

A Greyhound bus arrives at around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. each weekday, and there are two buses on Saturday that come after the South Jackson Street facility closes, Albany Transportation Director David Hamilton said. He estimated that about 10 to 15 people arrive or depart on the late-arriving buses each day.

During an Albany City Commission meeting last week, Ward I Commissioner Jon Howard brought up the issue for the second time this year. Howard said he is hoping to find a way during current budget discussions to keep some city staff at the facility until as late as 10 p.m. to accommodate travelers.

“I brought it up the first time in April,” said Howard, who noted that someone at Aspire Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and former City Commissioner Bobby Coleman brought the issue to him. “We talked about it at our budget meeting Thursday. I told the city manager and I told the mayor we have a $14 million bus station, and when visitors are dropped off they can’t even use the restroom.”

There is also a safety concern with passengers, some of whom are children, waiting at the vacant facility, and one possible solution that has been discussed is having community police officers stay at the facility until 10 p.m. on weeknights, the commissioner said.

“It is not conducive to this being the Good Life City,” Howard said. “We need to talk about treating people with courtesy and humanity.”

Greyhound has no personnel at the Albany transit center, Hamilton said, and in a number of small cities the company uses a gas station or other business as bus stops along its routes.

The private business that operated the former center located where the new transit center is located did not have personnel stay late, and that has not been the practice of the city in the past.

“I do understand the concern,” Hamilton said. “The commissioner asked us to look at it. The commissioner has talked to the city manager to take a look at it. That’s what we’re doing.”

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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