The line is slated to add a stop just off Ninth and Market Streets on May 6, underneath a Fashion District overpass.According to company CEO Peter Picknelly, the new stop is in response to passenger feedback after the company moved to Spring Garden Street last November. Peter Pan Bus Lines will keep its pickup and drop-off point at the Spring Garden intercity bus stop, he said.
“We settled on thinking it was a good location, not too far from what was the old Greyhound Bus Terminal, and plenty of amenities for our customers in the mall,” said Picknelly, adding the company is increasing service by up to 50% as a result of the same feedback.. Greyhound shut down the operation last summer in a cost-cutting measure and Peter Pan, which used to sublease space in the facility, had to move too.
The first move to Sixth and Market Streets received a lot of public criticism as travelers had no place to sit or access to restrooms. In a July Inquirer column, architecture critic Inga Saffron called itThe city moved the buses to Spring Garden and North Front Streets by November where area businesses and neighbors lodged some of the same complaints made in Center City.
The city has said the Spring Garden stop is only a temporary fix as officials look for a permanent intercity bus terminal location. The Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability floated moving the Spring Garden terminal to a surface parking lot across the street. It would include slips for Greyhound, Flixbus, Megabus, and Peter Pan to pick up and discharge passengers.
OTIS, however, has remained noncommittal saying “ideas are still being developed, options are being weighed, and no plans for relocation have been finalized.” Yet just this week, the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association told residents the office is eyeing to move the Spring Garden stop