Greyhound finalizes move to smaller terminal in east Houston, leaving old building up for sale

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Friday is day two of Greyhound downsizing and operating fully at their new hub in east Houston near Harrisburg Boulevard and 70th Street.

The smaller terminal has come to life in the last two days as buses and passengers crowd the hub.

"It's going to be a big change there," Adrian Martinez said as he biked by the new terminal.

SEE RELATED: Houston city leaders left in the dark as Greyhound set to move downtown hub in fewer than 24 hours

Greyhound has moved out of the Main Street terminal due to their lease expiring, and the company decided to consolidate and operate out of a much smaller terminal in Houston's east side.

"It's kind of strange to see it all the way over here," Martinez said.

Now vacant, the Main Street building is on the market with a potential developer in talks with the Houston realty company Crawford and Wakefield, though the realtors said the building has yet to sell.

"I believe they will be able to clean up the area around here. Maybe build some apartments," Houston resident Harold Outlaw said.

The Main Street hub has been a crime magnet for years, with city leaders voicing concern that crime will follow Greyhound's move to the east. HPD said they'll respond to any crimes as needed.

Precinct 6 said that while they don't plan for extra patrol, they're ready to respond to any issues if they arrive.

"We will have to wait and see what impact this is going to have on the community," Martinez said.

ABC13 looked at HPD data that shows in a one-block radius around the main street terminal, 50 police reports were issued over the last three months.

At the Harrisburg location, only three reports have been issued over the last three months in a one-block radius.

While law enforcement said there haven't been calls to the new hub in the last two days, one impact easy to notice is the increased traffic. Arturo Cruz and other passengers ABC13 spoke to were surprised to find themselves so far away from downtown and called Ubers to finish their journeys.

"I heard it was a bigger station downtown and more central, so I'm not sure what's going on with Houston," Cruz said.

Cruz also noticing some natural growing pains as drivers adjust to the new location.

"Today, there is a new schedule change for a new station, and the driver was kind of confused about getting here. It took about 20 minutes longer," Cruz said.

On Wednesday, city leaders were shocked to learn the main street terminal was closing down the next day, and they had heard nothing about it.

ABC13 reached out to Mayor Turner on Friday. His team said they are still waiting to hear from Greyhound. We asked Greyhound if they attempted to talk to city leaders but have not heard back.

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