Landmark bus depot loses its lustre

[M II A II R II K]

Landmark bus depot loses its lustre


Jan 07 2012

By Kate Allen



Read More: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1112225--landmark-bus-depot-loses-its-lustre?bn=1

The week before Christmas, the Toronto Coach Terminal celebrated its 80th birthday. The building’s two dozen staff dropped into their conference room for a combined Christmas-and-birthday party, noshing on doughnuts and coffee from Kramden’s Cafe, the snack bar in the travellers’ lounge downstairs. No one sent a birthday card. “The whole thing went by with nothing, just a whimper,” says Gerry Brown, senior terminal manager. It was a predictably modest celebration for the once-dignified, now-dismal Bay-Dundas landmark, the city’s main bus depot for passengers travelling on carriers such as Greyhound and Coach Canada. Like so much transit infrastructure in the GTA, traffic at the terminal, which is owned by the TTC, has far outpaced its Depression-era facilities.

- A Metrolinx spokesperson confirmed to the Star this week that the agency is “contemplating” building a new bus terminal at 45 Bay St., currently a parking lot just east of the Air Canada Centre. Metrolinx is also looking at other sites adjacent to Union Station, the spokesperson added. The current GO bus terminal is south of Front St. between Yonge and Bay. Greyhound and Coach Canada have been offered spots in any new GO terminal that is built, according to TTC documents and both bus companies. “We, as well as Greyhound, have indicated that we want to participate,” says Don Carmichael, president of Coach Canada, adding that talk of a new bus terminal has been swirling for years. “It is a possibility,” says Timothy Stokes, a spokesperson for Greyhound. “Nothing has been finalized, but we are interested in hearing more from Metrolinx and continuing these conversations with them.”

- Greyhound and Coach, which operates Megabus, represent almost all of the passenger traffic in the current Toronto Coach Terminal. According to the terminal’s 2011 budget, platform rental and ticket commissions accounted for $4.9 million of the terminal’s $5.4 million yearly revenue. Any move by the big carriers will render the entire terminal obsolete. But if the bus companies decide to stay — and there are a lot of ifs, with Metrolinx only begrudgingly acknowledging that plans for a new GO terminal even exist — the bargaining chips are back at Bay and Dundas. The Toronto Coach Terminal has pitched Metrolinx for its own new bus facility, a total overhaul of the current site that would combine the original building and a later Elizabeth St. annex. Ideally, the roomy new structure, which could fit more than double the current number of bays, would be complete by the Pan-American Games in 2015.

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[Tony]

Other than a so-so looking facade, it's hard to get excited over this otherwise mundane, utilitarian piece of architecture. Not to mention the building is tucked away and hardly noticeable. Besides, buses just aren't sexy like trains.

[YYCguys]

I was surprised that this terminal was not more grand for being in the largest city in Canada! Something nicer should really be built before the PanAm Games arrive.

[Innsertnamehere]

Rumours have it that they will be building a new terminal in the base of the office tower in the works for 45 bay, so this abysmal terminal might not be around to see its 90th birthday.

[wolfewood]

Man do I ever want them to get rid of this place. I was here on a Thursday night and the line-ups were blocking the buses from operating. This place is so ridiculously overcapacity it's disgusting.

[manny_santos]

Never has ceased to amaze me how small and outdated Toronto's coach station is. The station is smaller than some bus depots I've been to in small towns in Central America.

If Ontario ever deregulates the intercity coach system, allowing more competition, a much, much larger station will be needed.

[vid]

Winnipeg's new Greyhound station is quite nice, it's in the airport so you kind of feel like a real traveller. Not sure how practical having all buses going to Pearson would be though. It's kind of absurd in Winnipeg's case because you drive through the entire city without stopping to get to the airport. Then you have to backtrack to get downtown.

The other downside is that it has no snack bar. Thunder Bay's Greyhound station has a snack bar with 1970s era decor and a 42 inch TV! It helps distract passengers from the miserable fact that they're in a Greyhound station in the middle of an industrial park in Thunder Bay.

[The_Architect]

I was just there dropping off a friend this morning. Man is it ever too small for a city this large (more suited for a place like Kingston or Lethbridge), but the inside of the main building is beautiful. I really hope they get on with relocating the terminal to 45 Bay and make it bigger (and more big-city), but whatever they do to this site I hope they keep the lobby/ticket building.

[Chadillaccc]

Pretty much regardless of anything... we're at least 7 - 8 years away from a new one, basically?