A big investment group, the one that now controls several local newspapers, has been on a buying spree. The target is inner city bus stations. The new owner closes the stations and sells the land at a profit. So far, more than thirty!
I should add that our friends at CNN are the ones responsible for the original reporting.
With the bus stations closed, riders get their tickets on-line, but they are forced to wait for the buses at the curb. If they're lucky, they get a plastic shelter. The riders are subject to the elements, crime, and all the other bad things that can happen outside, often at night.
Riders in our area are fortunate. The bus stations, like the ones in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, are in the hands of the government. They're not going to close. At least, people will have access to a chair, a toilet, warmth, a stale muffin and a soda out of the machine...
The numbers show inter city buses, like Greyhound and Trailways, handle twice the passenger load as Amtrak. The trains are the government infrastructure darling these days and I get that. Rail is important.
But, buses are the choice of lower income groups. The bus is their only affordable option.
There is another factor at play here: dignity.
