Nearly one month after Philadelphia bus stop relocated, riders and business owners deal with rush of holiday travel
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's been nearly a month since the intercity bus station was relocated from Center City to Spring Garden Street and Christopher Columbus Boulevard.
With tickets in hand, the rush of holiday travel is just getting started at the relocated intercity bus station in Old City.
As lines grow, the dry-cleaning business right next to the outdoor bus station is feeling the brunt of the large crowds.
"We have the most problem with people that are loading and ride share, the taxi cabs," Micah Zwerling said.
Zwerling founded Any Garment Cleaners.
He said ever since the bus station relocated he's had to hire security costing him $1,800 a week to keep his customers and staff like Diana Kaday safe. This is as dozens of passengers walk in asking for bathrooms or a warm place to wait each day.
"But of course, it's not really comfortable for our employees because a lot of different people are coming and you will never know what they will do," Kaday said.
CBS Philadelphia was there as Zwerling asked people dropping off passengers not to park in his spaces for customers.
"It needs to be done, it's a no-brainer," he said. "There's a brand at stake and it can't be disrupted."
To reduce disruptions and improve passenger experience, the city's office of transportation, infrastructure and sustainability said they've made improvements like paving nearby roads, posting signage, and increasing police patrols but all those changes haven't fixed passengers' complaints.
"For instance the weather, no bathrooms available," Carlos Cordon said. "It was very cold."
Even though there is a small ticketing office nearby, passengers like Cordon said he was surprised this is what Philadelphia had to offer.
"We were expecting a station, nothing special but a station," he said.
The city said they're still working on finding a permanent location for the intercity bus station but a timeline for that is still up in the air.
However, the city said they do have this area permitted until the end of March 2024.
A spokesperson for Coach USA released a statement Friday evening about the relocation:
"Coach USA and Megabus have been diligently working to assure our customers are aware of the new location and have been working with the city of Philadelphia on all matters related to it.
We do not have a need for a ticketing office as our customers purchase tickets online or through our app. As for the bathrooms, it is an issue that the city is aware of and is working to address. We want to make sure the area is well lit for our customers and that also is being addressed by the city.
We continue to monitor the situation in assuring that with the holidays, when increases in ridership occur that our customers see no disruption in service."
