Philadelphia has opened its new intercity bus station, and while most of the reactions are positive, that isn’t necessarily the case for all, write Meir Rinde for Billy Penn at WHYY.
Chris Herald, who often rides Greyhound and Flixbus to visit family in northern New Jersey, is pleased by the bus station’s opening
He praises the look, smell, and helpful staff at the station, saying that “it’s a very good situation for the city.”
Traveler Christian Perez from upstate New York said the new terminal “is pretty nice … [and] clean,” while West Chester’s Trevor Ising said it was “pretty calming” compared to other bus terminals he’s been in.
For over two-and-a-half years, travelers had to stay outside in outdoor pickup and dropoff areas on Spring Garden Street in Northern Liberties.
The new station helps simplify things, but the impact of the building’s closure can still be felt.
The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, for instance, criticized the terminal for the exhaust and potentially dangerous bus traffic to the neighborhood.
Deborah Wei, a veteran Chinatown activist and co-founder of Asian Americans United, said its closure “purposely created blight in the community” in her mind.
She remains distraught about what the Chinatown community had to go through over the past two-and-a-half years.
Read more about Philadelphia’s new reopened terminal and reactions about it at Billy Penn at WHYY.
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