GW Bridge Bus Terminal to be upgraded

[Shortline Bus]

Neglected Manhattan Transit Hub Is to Undergo a Major Makeover

By C. J. HUGHES

New York Times

July 26, 2011

 

 

"Unlike the Port Authority Bus Terminal on West 42nd Street, where a traveler has dozens of options for heading across the Hudson River and across the country, the George Washington has only a handful of commuter lines serving New York and New Jersey, and one subway line, the A train.

 

And even though the building, with its sloping tentlike roof panels, was designed by the Italian architect Pier Luigi Nervi, it has never had the cachet of, say, Warren & Wetmore’s Grand Central Terminal, perhaps because of its modernism but also its distance from Midtown.

 

The two-block station, between West 178th and West 179th Streets, near the ramps to the upper deck of the George Washington Bridge, seems poorly maintained, with large chunks missing from the tile mosaic above the main entrance. The retail spaces around and in the three-level structure, which is divided into two sections by Broadway, are often vacant.

 

Now, though, a long-delayed plan to refurbish and expand the station is back on track, as its Upper Manhattan neighborhood goes through changes of its own.

 

On June 30, the board of commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the building’s landlord, voted to proceed with a $183.2 million renovation of the 294,000-square-foot station, which has not had a major renovation since opening in 1963.

 

In a private-public collaboration, the Port Authority has joined with a development team of principals of SJM Partners, of Palm Beach, Fla., and Slayton Equities, of New York. The team will develop and manage the space for 99 years, under the terms of a lease signed on July 21. The Port Authority will contribute $83.2 million and the developers $100 million."

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/realestate/commercial/george-washington-bridge-bus-station-to-get-renovation.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bus%20terminal&st=cse

[553 Bridgeton]

They need to fix the damn roads.....

[Shortline Bus]

They need to fix the damn roads.....

 

Agreed bro. However that an oranges and apples different issue. Fixing up the infrastructure of our highway will cost maybe at a couple of trillion dollars from stories i read. Most of the interstates/freeways and bridges in our country really need work asap. Or sadly we could tragic

collapses/cave-in's killing motorists such as the one in Minneapolis a couple of years back, likely will occur imo.

 

 

With that said, finally good job by the PANYNJ. The GW Bridge Bus terminal not only serves riders traveling between all of the Upper Manhattan neighborhoods including Washington Heights and but riders from Bergen and Rockland Counties as well via (NJT) and Coach USA/Rockland Buses.

 

 

By upgrading/expanding the GWB Terminal and create space for a few more stores it could be a shopping center as well. And attarct more bus riders from the very busy PABT.

[mark1447]

About damn time! That place looks like its gonna collapse soon.

 

I wonder if it can take Greyhound and other routes besides NJT to help lower usage of the PABT.

[Shortline Bus]

About damn time! That place looks like its gonna collapse soon.

 

I wonder if it can take Greyhound and other routes besides NJT to help lower usage of the PABT.

 

 

You could place a few of the Greyhound "NE Coordior' trips i.e NYC-Albany, NYC-Boston, NYC-DC or NYC-Philly there. Also this could even be a semi terminal for Bolt Bus as well. Please no 'bootleg' bus companies like most of the ones based in Chinatown.

 

 

However all long distance Greyhound trips should stay terminating at the PABT IMO.

[553 Bridgeton]

About damn time! That place looks like its gonna collapse soon.

 

I wonder if it can take Greyhound and other routes besides NJT to help lower usage of the PABT.

 

Well PABT is just too attractive. Its basically dead smack in the middle of Manhattan. Would you rather get off way in the Northern end of Manhattan or at 42nd Street? Now depending on where you are going one can use the GWB. The subway options is rather limited at GWB. PABTs usage wont get any lower then it is now. If anything it will rise.

[Shortline Bus]

Well PABT is just too attractive. Its basically dead smack in the middle of Manhattan. Would you rather get off way in the Northern end of Manhattan or at 42nd Street? Now depending on where you are going one can use the GWB. The subway options is rather limited at GWB. PABTs usage wont get any lower then it is now. If anything it will rise.

 

No one is saying the upgrade to the GWB Terminal will have it replace the PABT in usage. The PABT is the busiest bus terminal in America and maybe the world. Remember too bus riders not only come from NJ and all over the Northeast but via Greyhound they come from all over America and couple of nearby cities from Canada such as Toronto and Montreal as well.

 

What the PANYNJ should do is make the GWB a strong 2nd major bus terminal with some of the suggestion i made such as a couple of Greyhound/Bolt Bus trips from Boston, DC and Philly terminate there.

Also even have more Coach USA/Shortline buses to/from Bergen, Rockland and Orange County terminate at the GWB as well.

 

Not to mention adding a few more shops and making the GWB Terminal a smaller version of Penn Station or Grand central with a few retail shops that residents in nearby area could also use.

[553 Bridgeton]

No one is saying the upgrade to the GWB Terminal will have it replace the PABT in usage. The PABT is the busiest bus terminal in America and maybe the world. Remember too bus riders not only come from NJ and all over the Northeast but via Greyhound they come from all over America and couple of nearby cities from Canada such as Toronto and Montreal as well.

 

What the PANYNJ should do is make the GWB a strong 2nd major bus terminal with some of the suggestion i made such as a couple of Greyhound/Bolt Bus trips from Boston, DC and Philly terminate there.

Also even have more Coach USA/Shortline buses to/from Bergen, Rockland and Orange County terminate at the GWB as well.

 

Not to mention adding a few more shops and making the GWB Terminal a smaller version of Penn Station or Grand central with a few retail shops that residents in nearby area could also use.

 

Wth, where you think I been under a rock? I just said PABT is too attractive.

[Tokkemon]

About time. I use GWB to get across the river all the time, so I'm happy.

[Eric B]

No one is saying the upgrade to the GWB Terminal will have it replace the PABT in usage. The PABT is the busiest bus terminal in America and maybe the world. Remember too bus riders not only come from NJ and all over the Northeast but via Greyhound they come from all over America and couple of nearby cities from Canada such as Toronto and Montreal as well.

The only thing once proposed to replace the PABT in that vein was the new Secaucus PABT that was apart of the original extending-the--to-NJ plan. But it seems they completely abandoned that idea.

 

What the PANYNJ should do is make the GWB a strong 2nd major bus terminal with some of the suggestion i made such as a couple of Greyhound/Bolt Bus trips from Boston, DC and Philly terminate there.

Also even have more Coach USA/Shortline buses to/from Bergen, Rockland and Orange County terminate at the GWB as well.

It used to be something like that. At least the Trailways of New England buses stopped there. (They used to cut through NJ, and then head across the 95).

 

I think there are some of other little companies that stop there(like these Hispanic companies to Florida or even Mexico, that were the other alternatives to Greyhound before the Chinabuses took over), unless the Chinabuses put them out of business or something.

[engineerboy6561]

The only thing once proposed to replace the PABT in that vein was the new Secaucus PABT that was apart of the original extending-the--to-NJ plan. But it seems they completely abandoned that idea.

 

It used to be something like that. At least the Trailways of New England buses stopped there. (They used to cut through NJ, and then head across the 95).

 

I think there are some of other little companies that stop there(like these Hispanic companies to Florida or even Mexico, that were the other alternatives to Greyhound before the Chinabuses took over), unless the Chinabuses put them out of business or something.

 

There are still a ton of predominantly Latino private services operating out of that terminal; from what I can tell they tend to use the bus bay accessible from 178/179 Sts at least as much as the upper levels. It's pretty easy to spot them because they tend to run mini- and midibuses and when they leave the terminal they tend to go 178 St/Bway/179 St to get to the bridge. When I get the Bx3 over there during rush I usually see a ton of them. Incidentally, I took one of them once on a fantrip and they only charged $1.75 from Fort Lee to GWB. By comparison, the standard NJT fare is $3.20.

[Shortline Bus]

Maybe a couple of those High scale "Latino" bus services in Bergen and Passic Counties could have a space in the new rebulit GW Bridge Terminal as well.

 

Dumb question but related? Could most or all of the Bronx based (NYCT) buses that terminate at 181st Street/Broadway be extended to serve at this renovated station? It could help to ease the traffic/congestion on 181st and create a direct easy connection to (NJT) and Coach USA/Rockland buses.

 

There are still a ton of predominantly Latino private services operating out of that terminal; from what I can tell they tend to use the bus bay accessible from 178/179 Sts at least as much as the upper levels. It's pretty easy to spot them because they tend to run mini- and midibuses and when they leave the terminal they tend to go 178 St/Bway/179 St to get to the bridge. When I get the Bx3 over there during rush I usually see a ton of them. Incidentally, I took one of them once on a fantrip and they only charged $1.75 from Fort Lee to GWB. By comparison, the standard NJT fare is $3.20.

[B35 via Church]

Maybe a couple of those High scale "Latino" bus services in Bergen and Passic Counties could have a space in the new rebulit GW Bridge Terminal as well.

 

Dumb question but related? Could most or all of the Bronx based (NYCT) buses that terminate at 181st Street/Broadway be extended to serve at this renovated station? It could help to ease the traffic/congestion on 181st and create a direct easy connection to (NJT) and Coach USA/Rockland buses.

 

My question is... For what?

It was a waste to have the M98 circle in & out of there the way it did....

 

Easing traffic/congestion @ 181st? It would have to endure that traffic to get inside GWB terminal anyway.....

 

Besides, do you really want to create a u-turning scenario similar to what happens around Kings plaza, at the GWB terminal (which would occur above a highway no less).... Have you ever seen how the M98 used to exit/enter GWB ???

[Shortline Bus]

My question is... For what?

It was a waste to have the M98 circle in & out of there the way it did....

 

Easing traffic/congestion @ 181st? It would have to endure that traffic to get inside GWB terminal anyway.....

 

Besides, do you really want to create a u-turning scenario similar to what happens around Kings plaza, at the GWB terminal (which would occur above a highway no less).... Have you ever seen how the M98 used to exit/enter GWB ???

 

Forgot about the old (M98) and how it went inside the GWB. Just a thought as article stated this upcoming 'renovation' will create more bus space at the GWB Terminal.:eek:

 

Maybe just add both a few Greyhound Bolt Buses trips going to/from Boston

and a few of the NJ-Based Latino-owned Bus companies is the best thing.

[traildriver]

Years ago, all but one TNE (Trailways of New England) schedules in and out of the PABT stopped at "The Bridge", as it was called enroute to and from New England. They used city streets between the two.

Greyhound did not stop there. They had a few schedules that stopped at its Harlem agency at 5th and 125th. They also stopped at one time at the old West Bronx bus terminal. I believe Greyhound may have stopped at "Tne Bridge" when they briefly ran a few New England to Philly and DC schedules that bypassed "The Port" entirely, as a time-saver for thru passengers.

I think Shortline also had some schedules to Bergen County and on up to Liberty that stopped there as well as some other carriers to Bergen and Rockland counties.

[Eric B]

TNE was what stopped there, at least when I went in '79. And again, they cut through NJ, though today, that is still done at the driver's own discretion, so I guess it could have been then as well. though that is a lot further to go on the streets. Greyhounds using the streets cut into the Bronx at 138th usually, and in one case I remember, 155th.

 

I do remember the Harlem stop, but never a West Bronx bus terminal. That must have been WAY before I started paying attention to the routes, and I never even heard of it. Do you know where that was, and what stopped there?

Also, there was an East Side bus terminal in midtown. I used to hear about it in the news occasionally, but never went there, and it closed by the time I could start exploring the city on my own. I'm not sure what stopped there either.

[traildriver]

TNE was what stopped there, at least when I went in '79. And again, they cut through NJ, though today, that is still done at the driver's own discretion, so I guess it could have been then as well. though that is a lot further to go on the streets. Greyhounds using the streets cut into the Bronx at 138th usually, and in one case I remember, 155th.

 

I do remember the Harlem stop, but never a West Bronx bus terminal. That must have been WAY before I started paying attention to the routes, and I never even heard of it. Do you know where that was, and what stopped there?

Also, there was an East Side bus terminal in midtown. I used to hear about it in the news occasionally, but never went there, and it closed by the time I could start exploring the city on my own. I'm not sure what stopped there either.

 

Looking back at a 1959 Russel's Guide, Greyhound's stop was at 1369 Jerome Avenue. Mountain View, Short Line, and Arrow Line also stopped there. TNE stopped at "Bob's" located at 170th and Jerome.

I see that Mohawk Coach Lines stopped at the GWB Plaza at 179th and Ft. Washington Ave., before crossing the river. So they stopped at the bridge years before the terminal was built there in 1963.

 

The only terminal I know of on the east side, was the TBTA operated East Side Airlines Terminal served exclusively by Carey Transportation. It was located at 38th street at the Queens Midtown Tunnel plaza. It was a very attractive terminal that had direct access to the tunnel. Its lobby had city ticket offices for most of the airlines serving New York. If I'm not mistaken, you could actually check in baggage there that would go directly to your flight (no security screening in those civilized days). Service ended there when Greyhound bought Carey. They decided to run direct to various midtown hotels instead of the terminal, saving terminal rental fee. Another factor in its demise was the ceiling was too low for newer buses. A 4106 or MC-5 could fit, but not a 4107 or MC-7. Carey also ran out of the West Side Airlines Terminal on 10th and 41st, near the Port. They operated their Newark service from there. They also ran a free connection bus along 42nd street connecting the two with a stop at the consolidated airline ticket office opposite Grand Central Terminal.

 

Thinking back, TNE used city streets during the years I was familiar with, 1963-1971. The only time they went via the Lincoln Tunnel, the NJTP, and back over the GWB, or reverse, was during a period of civil unrest in Harlem, to avoid trouble.