NB
In Vancouver, the train/bus station are close to the downtown core. To put it in Ottawa's east end is absolutely ridiculous! Far from being accessible for residents of all quadrants of the city. Stupid idea.

J Brunette
Again, Larry will spend money the city does not have and go deep into the hole to offer VIA Rail an incentive to go along with his idea.

As for his other idea's:

Transit - 1.5 to 2.1 billion and up
Landsdowne - Sweetheart lease, 160M

As for the city:
- high taxes
- high transit fee's
- poor roads
- poor sewage management

ARC
Most major cities throughout the developed world has their bus terminals and train stations within reasonable walking distance that allow passengers to transfer their modes of transportation quite easily. I cannot see the reason why it cannot be done in Ottawa. Anyway the existing bus terminal on Catharine Street is too small for its passenger capacity. Its the matter of taxi companies will resist this plan. They are always looking for the buck from the low-income traveller.

SC in Ottawa
I'm pretty supportive of this idea. Moving the greyhound terminal to the VIA station will allow the greyhound users to access OC transpo far easier with the transit way being right there and only one stop away from Hurdman station, where you can catch a bus to basically anywhere in the city (118 to Kanata, 95 to downtown and Barrhaven, 97 to airport, 95 in the other direction to Orleans (though they don't need to go to Hurdman for that, they can just catch that at the train station). Those are all major routes that come by relatively frequently.

For the greyhound station right now you have routes that are more minor, like the 7 and 1 a block away on bank, the 4 and 101 running out front. But its not right on the transit way or anything.

R James
It's so convenient to have the transporation terminals downtown. Look at both Toronto and Montreatl - both the bus and train stations are downtown. closer to everything. Where is Ottawa's train station? Way out on Alta Vista. You have to take a car or taxi to get there. The bus terminal on the other hand is downtown - close to the Queensway - great for drop off/pick up, close to Bank street, close to restaurants and shops, the Glebe, Centre Town.
What would be the advanage of having the bus station outside the downtown core at the Train Station?

Joey Belhomme Perth Ont
Great idea Bout time , good goin brian, just makes sense , and those cabbies should calm down.



peace

John Ford
Re: O'Brien wants Greyhound to move to train station

Putting the inter-city bus and rail together is a great idea. Even better, combine them with the city's transit hub - downtown. How about where the conference centre is? (Hint - used to be the train station...)

Moving the inter-city bus depot out to the middle of nowhere - alongside the VIA rail station is regressive.

At a time when we should be thinking of making public transit - including inter-city rail - more accessible and increasing its utility and convenience, this is the kind of idea which shows how out of touch Larry is with the 21st century.

ChrisP
Really? What is in it for Larry?

Colin
I was disappointed to hear in the broadcast version the comment that OC Transpo could be added to the mix in the future. In fact, the VIA station is already served by a Transitway station, which is what makes it so appealing as a multimodal hub. The missing link in the equation is Greyhound, not OC Transpo.

Vanessa
Although there are certain advantages to moving the location of the station, it could also decrease greyhound usage by students and other centretown residents.
Greyhound Bus Terminal is in a convenient location by the 1, 4, 7, and 14 bus stops (all popular routes and accessible for students) and is within walking distance for many.
I know that personally this is a huge factor in my decision to take the bus rather than another means of transportation.

Travis
Another (not so) brilliant idea from Larry.

Doesn't he have anything better to do? I can think of a dozen things that are more important than moving Greyhound.

Dear Larry,
Please resign. It would be the best move of your career.

Mike R.
Oh brother. Can that guy already.

The bus station is much more accessible than the train station, though it IS small and the parking area (when picking people up) is way too small.

Lukus
Half the people complaining have no clue where the train station is. It's going to be too far from downtown... give me a freakin' break!!! It's right beside the Queensway, the Transitway, and 2 stops from downtown. This is a great idea O'Brien! Too bad it's your first.

PS
This is a great idea. Ottawa's bus station is way too small and old. I use to travel a lot by bus when I was in my 20s across N America and have to say that Ottawa's station is one of the worst city-based stations on the continent. The Ottawa train station is big and can easily accompany bus travel as well. It will make it easier for travellers who need to use both train and bus travel to get to a destination. As long as good connections with OC Transpo exist/will be made this is a win-win for the majority of people. BTW, for those thinking that the bus station is moving way out to the east end, the current bus station is only 4 KM away from the train station!!!!!

Robin
Common sense from a politician??? Careful now. Let's keep in mind just how much this move will cost us(remember the amalgamation) and what does Larry want to do with that beautiful Catherine street location??? Trust me it is never for the right reason.

A in South Keys
As a public transit user, I think this move is a great idea logistically for riders. For people outside the downtown core, it will potentially be easier to access the Greyhound station via the Transitway routes rather than relying on those bus routes that run through congested streets like the routes previously mentioned in other posts, aside from the 101. It will also mean there will be more OC Transpo access to the station around the clock as most of the local routes stop running by 1pm. Also if this plan means the Greyhound station will have more space with better organization for waiting passengers, I am definitely all for it. Has anyone tried to take a bus out of the Greyhound station on a holiday weekend? It's ridiculous.

I have not taken into account the potential costs to the city and it’s taxpayers, but only looked at the issue purely from a rider’s perspective.

G. Gravelle
It's a stupid idea given where the train station is located. It will lead to only traffic jams on the ramps on/off the Queensway and that area is bad enough as it is during peak hours heading east - typical City thinking.

NW
The bus station should not be moved! If the station moved to the east end of Ottawa it would no longer be an accessible option for all residents of the city. It is a good idea to add another station closer to VIA rail for easier transfers between these two travel options, but the Catherine St terminal should not be closed. I live in the far west end of Ottawa and getting to this bus station is already challenge or a high taxi fare, I could not handle the further commute. I use Greyhound services several times a year simply because the price is right, and they offer multiple drop-off and pick up locations that are more convenient.

Sc in Ottawa
@Vanessa, the number 7 goes to/from Carleton, as does the number 4. But if you instead took the number 4 to Hurdman and transferred there onto one of the many buses going on the transit way to the Train Station.

From looking at the system map, you can see the 94,95,101,114,126 and 128 all go to Train and Hurdman stations. Plus numerous red and green routes, but since the green are express and the red are peak routes only, I've ignored them.

You also mentioned the 1. It runs north south on bank from south keys to downtown and over near the market.

The transit way runs right near there (Mackenzie King and Laurier stations) for downtown, and well, south keys is part of the transit way. Even if you live between those two points, you can access the transit way at Billings Bridge.

As a student as well, who goes to Algonquin College, the bus station is inconvenient to access. But if it was at the VIA Station at Tremblay, it would be much easier to access.

Also, before I went to algonquin and I was visiting my girlfriend who goes to carleton from out of town, I found the via station very convenient to access. The greyhound station was also pretty convenient, I would say they are equally convenient. Because its not the end of the world to have to make 1 transfer at Hurdman station.

@RJames who mentioned that the Queensway went right by the bus station. It also goes right by the train station, and there is an exit right there as well. Making it convenient if you drove. The transitw way being right there makes it more convenient (in my opinion) for access by bus than the greyhound station.

SC in Ottawa
@ John Ford

While the conference center downtown would be a good idea if the tracks still went there, its my understanding they are no longer there. So VIA would then need to put in tracks to the old station, which would have to go through downtown, not an easy thing to do. Unless you built a tunnel, which would cost millions.

And we all know VIA just uses the CN tracks, they aren't going to want to build a tunnel.

@J Brunette

Thus far there was no reports of incentives being offered to either Greyhound or VIA, its rather cynical to assume that we're going to be giving them money.