It’s Not Hard to See Why

Philly's next Greyhound station should be at 30th Street Station, and it's not difficult to understand why.

After the move to Market Street, it didn't take long for complaints to come rolling in. There wasn't any infrastructure built around the site, so it was a chaotic mess that reflected poorly on the city. With no other place to go, riders ended up with a similar fate — but this time farther away, nestled up by Spring Garden and closer to the water. No shelter, no restrooms, no seating. Bus companies saw ridership drop. Neighbors complained. Everyone lost.

Now it's coming back to its original home just off Market and 10th for all the festivities this year. So where's its forever home?

There are three options:

• 8th & Arch

• 15th & Vine

• 30th & Arch

Undeniably, 30th Street Station would be the best possible experience for anybody coming from out of town. Not only does that site have more capacity than any other option, but it also benefits from all the current and future infrastructure and funding designated to that area by the 30th Street Station District Plan — a long-range master planning effort led by Amtrak, Brandywine Realty Trust, Drexel University, PennDOT, and SEPTA. A $2 billion public infrastructure investment designed to unlock billions more in private development, tax revenue, and jobs.

Need I say more?

Of the three options, only 30th Street Station currently has immediate and proximate access to the other nodes a commuter might need — the Market-Frankford Line, Regional Rail, the trolley network, and Amtrak. If we want to keep playing games and dumping people in inconvenient, disconnected, and underdeveloped spots, we can do that — but there will be consequences. We won't be showcasing the best of Philly. We'll be creating memories of frustration, fatigue, and stress.

Shouldn't we try to create the best possible experience for our guests? If so, I think the only logical step is putting it in close proximity to 30th Street, which serves over 4 million Amtrak passengers and 12 million SEPTA and NJ Transit commuters annually. On an average weekday, the station complex welcomes over 100,000 people.

There's been a lot of discourse about where it should go. No doubt there are pros and cons to each site. A preservationist will tell you it should go on the Roundhouse site just up the street. But in my mind, you have to start with the customer. Through that lens, there's really only one option.