Greyhound closes bus stop

Greyhound is looking for a Mercer County ticket agent.

By MARY GRZEBIENIAK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

MERCER, Pa. — A longtime Greyhound bus stop has closed after more than 20 years in business here, leaving customers with a long ride to other pickup points.

In recent years, Greyhound stops also have been eliminated in New Castle and New Wilmington, Pa., and Warren, Ohio.

Greyhound customers now must now travel to Youngstown, Zelienople in Butler County, Meadville in Crawford County or Edinboro in Erie County to catch a bus.

The local stop was at 144 S. Erie St. Dottie Mariner, owner of Dotty’s Sewing and Alterations, a business in the same building, said the longtime franchise owner — a friend of hers — closed in February because of declining revenues.

She said her friend had told her that Greyhound’s online ticket sales had cut into franchise commissions.

After the franchise closed, Greyhound kept the bus stop at the same location. Since there was no longer an office, passengers, who are instructed to arrive at the stop one hour before departure, had no protection from the weather and no restroom facilities.

Instead they congregated outside, causing problems with local businesses.

Mariner said she and five other business owners complained about passengers congregating, damaging property, littering and even occasionally fighting.

As a result, Greyhound closed the stop a few weeks after Labor Day, said Dustin Clark, a spokesman for Greyhound Lines Inc. in Dallas.

Mariner said she has provided Greyhound district officials in Columbus with the names of two businesses owners who are willing to take the stop but said so far the company has not responded.

Clark said last week that he was not aware the names had been provided but said any applicant would be evaluated according to various factors.

He said Greyhound is looking for a new ticket agent in a convenient location in Mercer and has even advertised locally for one.

He said anyone interested in becoming an agent for Greyhound in Mercer should call district offices in Columbus at (614) 225-1073.

Clark said Greyhound continuously evaluates its route network for profitability. The company streamlined the routes and improved profits after a customer survey showed they wanted faster trips with fewer stops.

In 2004, he said many of the less-profitable stops were eliminated. According to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story at the time, 42 stops were eliminated in October 2005 in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, among them, Warren and New Wilmington.

Mike Fornataro of the East Side Pharmacy, 708 E. Washington St., New Castle, said his store eliminated the stop there in April 2006 because “we didn’t want to do it anymore.”

After hearing complaints about the closing from resident Rose Forney of Patagonia recently, Mercer County commissioners said they would be willing to assist in the effort to find a local ticket agent.