Cleveland’s new Greyhound, FlixBus, GoBus and Barons Bus station at the Brookpark Rapid Transit Station in suburban Brook Park will see expanded daily bus service across Northern Ohio starting next month (Mark Schwinn). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Four new Ohio bus routes start March 2
Once upon a time, Ohio was crisscrossed with intercity bus routes that served just about every small town with a population of 10,000 or more. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and GoBus are trying to reconnect small-town Ohio with its largest cities, airports, and train/bus stations to improve regional accessibility.
Cleveland will be a beneficiary of that with a new round of bus service expansion availing four new routes across Ohio that are due to start March 2. The expanded service that will touch Cleveland is a new route called the Gray Line offering bus service traveling east and west daily between Toledo and Ashtabula.
GoBus’s Gray Line will have scheduled stops at the University of Toledo, Downtown Toledo, Fremont, Port Clinton, Sandusky, Norwalk, Elyria, Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula. The Gray Line schedule, effective March 2, and others are posted here but each is subject to change. Check it before traveling.
The Cleveland-area stop on the Gray Line will be at the new bus station at the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) Brookpark Rapid Transit Station, 17510 Brookpark Rd., in suburban Brook Park. Gray Line buses are scheduled to stop here westbound to Toledo at 11:28 a.m. and eastbound to Ashtabula at 12:46 p.m.
Following the four-route expansion March 2, GoBus will offer nine routes across Ohio under contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation with station stops in 47 of Ohio’s 88 counties (GoBus).
All Greyhound, Flixbus and Barons bus services to Cleveland were relocated to the east end of the GCRTA station parking lot effective Feb. 4 from the Downtown Cleveland station on Chester Avenue where it had been for 75 years.
The station is one stop away from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on GCRTA’s Red Line train which runs every 15 minutes 22 hours a day. In the other direction, the Red Line goes to Downtown Cleveland, University Circle and East Cleveland.
However, there is a second Cleveland-area GoBus stop that may come up when making online reservations for the Gray Line and may be confusing. That stop is at the Barons Bus garage at 13315 Brookpark, about 1.5 miles east of the GCRTA station.
The second stop is not on the Gray Line but is on GoBus’ Blue Line to Athens via Akron, Canton and Marietta. So if you board there, not only could it add a transfer and long layover into your schedule, it could also add another $5 or so to your fare. At last report, the one-way fare from Cleveland to Ashtabula or Toledo is $15.
Eastbound and westbound schedules for the Gray Line bus service to be offered by GoBus, effective March 2. Call GoBus or go online to check the most recent schedule before traveling (GoBus).
The Elyria stop for the Gray Line is at the Lorain County Transportation & Community Center, 40 East Ave., downtown. In Painesville, buses will stop at the LakeTran Transfer Center, 70 N. St. Clair St., also downtown. Fares are mileage-based, with ticket prices typically ranging from approximately $5 to $30 depending on distance.
Customers can use a coupon code GOBUS15 to get 15 percent off of all tickets purchased until March 31. GoBus tickets can be purchased for trips up to 120 days in advance. For route details, schedules and ticket information, visit ridegobus.com or call 888-95-GOBUS.
The Gray Line is one of four new bus services ODOT is subsidizing with federal funds under contract with GoBus — Toledo to Ashtabula, Columbus and Cincinnati, plus Columbus-Pittsburgh. That’s on top of five existing GoBus routes that will continue to be operated under contract with ODOT.
State officials said the goal from this expansion is to extend GoBus service into previously unserved regions of the state. The expanded service will connect thousands more Ohioans to essential services, higher education, and employment opportunities.
The new Cleveland-area bus station, dubbed the “bus box,” will get busier with the addition of GoBus’s new Gray Line. Here, three buses pause at the Cleveland station during their morning runs across the Midwest and Northeast (Mark Schwinn).
“Transportation should never be a barrier to opportunity,” said Gov. Mike DeWine in a written statement. “This expansion provides those in rural and underserved communities reliable and affordable transportation options to access essential services.”
GoBus operates with modern 56-passenger motor coaches featuring free wireless internet, electric outlets at every seat, extra leg room, on-board restroom, and a seat belt at every seat.
“By expanding GoBus routes into more communities, we’re helping Ohioans connect to jobs, healthcare, and education — no matter where they live,” said ODOT Director Pamela Boratyn.
ODOT says the expansion to nine GoBus routes will offer connections to four international airports, several Amtrak train stations, 27 local transit systems, and 32 universities with stops in 47 Ohio counties. Annual ridership from these nine GoBus routes is estimated at 153,000 passengers.
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