City announces relocation of unpopular 6th and Market curbside bus station

The city said the “volume and nature of complaints” left the temporary location “completely untenable.”

Cory Sharber

November 8, 2023

Passengers waiting for their bus to arrive. The 7th and Market pickup spot is shared by Greyhound, Flixbus, and Peter Pan. (Danya Henninger/Billy Penn)

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Starting next Thursday, carrier buses — including Greyhound, Peter Pan, FlixBus, and MegaBus — will not use the corner of 6th and Market streets in Philadelphia as a curbside bus station. Instead, buses will drop off and pick up passengers at Spring Garden Street and Christopher Columbus Boulevard.

Signs will be installed at the 6th and Market location to inform passengers of the changes.

The relocated station at Spring Garden Street and Christopher Columbus Boulevard will open Nov. 16 and will remain until a more permanent solution is determined next year, according to a release from the city.

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Philadelphia officials said they believe the move will address passenger concerns and congestion issues for SEPTA bus routes and normal daily traffic on Market Street. Officials also noted the expected increase in travel during the holiday season, saying the relocation “was necessary to alleviate increased congestion on the Market Street corridor.”

Mike Carroll, the deputy managing director for the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability, said the “volume and nature of complaints leave the situation at 6th and Market streets completely untenable.”

“The Kenney administration is concerned in particular about the nearby concentration of important federal entities, their employees, and persons engaged in critical activities,” Carroll said in the release. “For that reason, the city made a firm commitment to relocate the intercity bus operations off of the 600 block of Market Street this fall. Efforts are underway to find an off-street location but require more time, and an interim change in location is needed urgently.”

The new location includes multiple transit connections, including the Market-Frankford Line Spring Garden station and SEPTA bus stops for Routes 43, 25, 57, and 5.

Currently, Greyhound, FlixBus, and Peter Pan share a storefront on the 600th block of Market Street after Greyhound moved from their former station near Reading Terminal Market in June.

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The new station is expected to serve as a temporary relocation through the first quarter of 2024.

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