KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — If you’re planning on taking a Greyhound bus to your next destination sometime soon you should know about their new pick up and drop off location.
Last month, the Greyhound Station along East Magnolia Avenue was sold. However, some people said they didn’t even know about the change until recently.
“We drove to the location where the bus stop used to be and found out there was nobody there. There was one other guy that was there that was telling my friend that you had to come to this location and to print his ticket of it was going to cost him 50 bucks extra,” said Michael Neidigh who lives in Kentucky and was dropping off a friend.
Greyhound relocated its Knoxville bus stop from 100 E Magnolia Avenue to 1324 N Cherry St which is next to the Marathon gas station.
“I came down to drop a friend off at the Greyhound Bus Depot because this is where he’s actually from and he’s heading towards Atlanta. So I come down here to drop him off and it’s a slum basically here where the bus stop’s at,” said Neidigh.
The Magnolia Avenue building has been sold to Dewhirst Properties according to the Knox County Register of Deeds. The new stop is a self-service location, meaning people will have to buy their tickets online and wait for their bus outside.
Billy Walden, who works right down the road from the gas station said he worries about safety.
“It’s really dangerous around here. I don’t understand why they would do this here. It would make more sense to maybe move further back where the apartments are and things and take that area.”
He said traffic could also become an issue.
“It’s going to bring a lot of traffic and if they’re able to do it, I understand the access to the interstates are good but there’s no really good way to get the busses out without stopping traffic, and this is already busy.”
Neidigh said it’s not the welcome to Knoxville he would expect.
“If it’s your first time coming to the city, you want to make it more like a downtown area like where they used to have it, close to other bus routes, places to eat, and stuff like that. Not just gas stations.”
“We have been made aware of possible concerns regarding the new self-service Greyhound location on Cherry Street. The primary concern we have heard is that based on the bus schedules passengers are left waiting for extended periods of time, even overnight, with no facilities, protection from the weather or security, and that those individuals are vulnerable to possible threats.
Our East District patrol office is working to get a bus schedule from Greyhound, which will be relayed to patrol officers. Officers will keep an eye on the Cherry Street location and assist passengers who are left waiting for extended periods of time as needed.”
Knoxville Police Department Communications Manager Scott Erland
We did reach out to Dewhirst Properties to see what their plans are with the old Greyhound station and we have yet to hear back.
We reached out to Greyhound as well and they told us people will have to buy tickets online, on Greyhound’s mobile app, or by calling 1-800-231-2222. There was no mention of adding a building to their new stop location.
