The City of Columbus is taking legal action against the new west side Greyhound bus terminal to either close the location or get it to reduce its services.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein wants the Franklin County Municipal Court to declare the bus terminal a nuisance and issue an injunction to get it to stop operating or reduce services until a new location is found.
Klein said the Wilson Road terminal is causing increased crime, other nuisances and does not meet city code. He also said it did not obtain the correct permits to operate. Klein added the neighborhood setting isn't suitable for a terminal of that size and the number of people using it.
The bus station opened earlier this year and immediately came under fire from the city and residents who alleged it was unsafe and unsanitary. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said despite the city's best efforts, he believes that the terminal is incompatible with the area.
"I'm hopeful that ultimately we can find an appropriate location for Greyhound so that they can continue to operate the important service that they do for our neighbors in Columbus that need to utilize that service. But that location to me certainly isn't what's being done on the former Shell gas station over on the west side," he said.
According to the city’s complaint, the terminal is in violation of the city building code because it did not get a certificate for occupancy for the site’s current use as a major bus terminal.
The city argues there is increased criminal activity in and around the terminal. It said in the six weeks before the terminal began operations, Columbus police responded to the terminal or neighboring residences 30 times and took only one criminal report. But the six weeks after the terminal opened police were called there 62 times and took 14 criminal reports including calls for assault, robbery, gun shots fired and other disturbances.
Greyhound bus lines declined to comment on the litigation. Barons Bus Lines could not be reached for comment before deadline.
Klein echoed Ginther's comments to WOSU and said the site is incompatible with the bus terminal. He said the nearby neighborhood is what makes it unsuitable.
Klein also said that while he hopes a solution can be reached that doesn't impact Columbus residents who rely on Greyhound and Baron Bus Lines services for travel.
"There is an important role that a Baron's or Greyhound plays for members and our residents in our community, and we have to be respectful of that and make sure that they have the opportunity to go visit loved ones or go on a job interview and utilize a bus system to do that for interstate travel. But it needs to be operated in a responsible way, in a location that makes sense," he said.
Klein said if his office wins the legal battle, the station would see a step down in service rather than an immediate halt to all services. But Klein said all options are on the table to improve the situation and the city could ask the court to shut down the terminal.
"Everything can be on the table from closure to temporary closure to reduced bus service to special duty. All those things are within the power of the court shop," he said.
The bus terminal moved from its more central location downtown on East Town Street earlier this year. Greyhound operated that terminal in downtown Columbus for decades. That location also was criticized as unsafe and Klein took legal action in 2021 calling the former terminal “crime-plagued.”
Klein lawsuit said the companies got initial approvals to begin operating at the new Wilson Road location under "false pretenses" and used that as justification for the injunction. The lawsuit also argues an increase in crime is justifiable to declare it a nuisance.
"The reality is they picked an abandoned gas station that really had no running water sewer. You know, they set up some porta potties, as you recall, and it just was not from a sanitary and building and code standpoint to house hundreds of people," Klein said.
Earlier this month, the city gave the owners 20 days to correct violations or it would be forced to move.
