Greyhound’s use of the downtown bus hub by Terminal Station may be in jeopardy as tensions develop between the company and the Macon Transit Authority.
“We told them we do not want them here,” MTA CEO Craig Ross said of Greyhound to members of the authority board at a regular monthly meeting last Tuesday evening. “We haven’t had anything but trouble with them.”
A recent incident spurred reconsideration of the co-location arrangement.
A Greyhound passenger “got mad” because he missed his bus and “he kicked the drink machine and broke the glass out of it,” Ross said.
Ross said he met with Greyhound representatives recently and “they really want to stay here.”
“We told them how it’s going to be,” Ross said, adding he would make Greyhound reimburse the authority for after-hours security. “We’re meeting again with them in a couple of weeks and trying to finalize a few things … I am cautiously optimistic about having Greyhound to stay, but we’re not going to put up with shenanigans.”
Greyhound moved to Terminal Station five years ago from a now-demolished building at 65 Spring St., where it had been located since 1973.
Hot Buses
A heated exchange about hot buses between Ross and two people who spoke during public comment followed.
Wade Horton and Jackie Glover are both blind and use MTA’s paratransit buses to get around town. The pair regularly attends MTA and Macon-Bibb County Commission meetings and, more often than not, signs up for public comment.
Glover voiced concerns about hot buses.
“It was wet when I got here but it was because the bus didn’t have any air,” she said of her shirt. “As I said before, people that are riding those buses, these are people that are elderly. You have people that are going to dialysis. You got people that have high blood pressure, and you have people [with] all kinds of issues going on … These are the people that need it.”
Ross said customers have told him air conditioning is important but there isn’t much more MTA can do to cool its buses.
“When it’s 95 degrees outside and there’s a heat index of 105, it ain’t going to get cool. Period,” Ross said. “You’re in Middle Georgia where it’s going to be hot. It’s going to be hot during the summer. Every time. Every year. It won’t change. Remember back in the 1950s when they had buses here? They didn’t even have air.”
Ross said MTA pays a contractor to inspect the bus air conditioning every other month.
“Here’s an issue: I don’t know because I haven’t seen it, but I have to take that word for it because they’re the ones we’re paying to look at it,” he said, adding that people should close the windows on the bus to keep cool air inside.
Horton spoke next. He said the windows are opened on buses because hot air blows out of the air conditioning vents. He also noted the electric buses do not have windows and suggested MTA take them off line when it is hot.
“We come here to inform, and we know that when we come here this board members on the board are smarter because we have given them information firsthand that is very valuable to running operations and voting and stuff,” Horton said. “We are going to come down here and talk about things that are not right because you people are the people that we need to talk to.”
After the meeting adjourned, a paratransit bus waited for Glover and Horton in the driveway of Terminal Station beside Ross’s car.
Warm air blew softly out of the air conditioning vents. Asked if the bus was usually hot, the driver responded with an emphatic, “Yes.”
To contact Civic Journalism Fellow Laura Corley, call 478-301-5777 or email [email protected].
bus rider • Sep 18, 2024 at 5:59 am
Ross’ excuses about air conditioning doesn’t surprise me, because he’s full of hot air. FACT: a few of the newer buses have FRIGID A/C, keeping the bus like a meat locker, even on the hottest of days. This proves the other buses could also be air conditioned, but they’re not spending the money to replace the air conditioning systems.
(I’ve watched the shade tree mechanic guys allegedly ‘maintain’ those buses for years, and they are not professionals. They never fix things correctly, and prefer applying Band-Aids when a transplant is required)
MTA is getting a lot of taxpayer money, but where is it all going?
They have not improved their service as promised at all, and in fact, they’ve trimmed their service down to increase profits. They’ve tried raising fares, when their riders are the ones who can afford it least, all while pocketing MILLION$. Where is all that money going?
Somebody’s lining their pockets..
Somebody’s driving nice cars and living lavish lifestyles.
bus rider • Sep 18, 2024 at 5:45 am
MTA gets millions and millions of dollars, and never follows through with any of their promises. For example, last year they got a bunch of money and announced a revamping of their entire system, complete with a new app that would show riders the location of the buses. A year later, as we roll into October, they still haven’t even started on it!!… (and 90% of their buses are sweltering ovens on wheels)