BANGOR, Maine — Come Monday, travelers using Greyhound Lines to get to destinations in the northern half of the state will see some changes.
That’s because after 62 years of doing business through agents in Bangor, Greyhound Lines announced in mid-March that it is moving its local ticket sales operation to Dysart’s Truck Stop & Restaurant in Hermon.
Timothy Dysart, vice president of Dysart’s, said that the truck stop and restaurant on Cold Brook Road will begin handling Greater Bangor’s Greyhound passengers effective April 16.
Despite the six-mile shift from downtown Bangor to Hermon, Dysart said departure and arrival times will remain the same.
Greyhound passengers who need to get from Bangor to Hermon, however, will have to make their own arrangements. There are no plans for shuttle service, Dysart confirmed Tuesday.
To accommodate riders who need to connect to Greyhound, Cyr Bus Lines will extend its northern route, which starts in Caribou, to Dysart’s, also effective April 16, Dana Laughlin, a dispatcher for the Old Town-based line, said Tuesday.
The Cyr bus will continue to make its stop at the Concord Coach Lines terminal on Union Street in Bangor but will discontinue stops at the University of Maine in Orono and Hollywood Casino in Bangor, Laughlin said.
Laughlin said those two stops are being scrapped to ensure its drivers are able to meet U.S. Department of Transportation federal hours of service regulations and other rules.
Neither of the two soon-to-be discontinued stops were busy, he said, adding that Cyr Bus picked up or dropped off as few as one or two passengers a month at UMaine.
Peter Brountas, whose family has served as Greyhound agents since 1950, said last month that it is his understanding that the change is one outcome of Greyhound’s nationwide effort to cut costs.
In recent years, Greyhound has been shifting its ticket sales operations from traditional terminal settings to less expensive options, including truck stops and gas stations.
That occurred in Maine in 2010 when Greyhound moved its operations to J & S Oil on Kennedy Memorial Drive from its former location at Waterville’s Robert LaFleur Airport, according to a press release on its corporate website.
The company’s website has numerous press releases about similar changes in cities throughout the nation.
Located in a highly visible spot in downtown Bangor at the corner of Main and Union streets, the current Greyhound Station is handy to the Community Connector hub at Pickering Square, the Concord Coach Lines terminal on Union Street, Bangor International Airport and several taxi companies.
Given downtown Bangor’s increasing number of entertainment and hospitality attractions, Brountas said last month he is considering a range of options.
On Tuesday, however, Brountas said it still isn’t clear what he will do with the soon-to-be-vacated space in the building, which also houses the Main Tavern, among other things.
“A logical move would be to expand the tavern,” which he noted has karaoke four nights a week and a DJ on a fifth night.
Can’t say I’m sorry to see it gone. I would love to see the building owners do the responsible thing – track down some revitalization funding and restore that building back to it’s glory. And I’d love to see our city ‘leaders’ help make that possible. This property is too visible to continue to be a dump. Lose that trashy bar, use the now unnecessary bus loading area as parking and put in a nice restaurant and some decent apartments.
its been there sence 1950,so what was htere before that?
Wow, good luck Dysarts! Probably won’t eat there ever again, not that i did much anyways.
So, if you don’t eat there much, what’s your problem??—-I don’t think paying folks that ride the bus are going to be begging for a cooking job in the kitchen!
Don’t worry… You don’t sound elitist at all…
If by ‘elitist’, you mean educated, traveled, well-rounded and relatively successful, I’m not feeling that being an ‘elitist’ is a bad thing. That bar & bus stop were gross. There’s not much more to add.
Sieg Heil
The biggest loss will be for those who need to get between Dysarts and Downtown Bangor.
I’ve used this Bangor Brountas terminal only once, back about 1966. But, with the airport terminal within reasonable taxi and other transportation fees, I’d opt that the airport would be a better deal and faster to fly rather than to take the bus, anyway. Traveling is no easy thing. You are excited, stressed, hungry, tired and want to get to and from the destinations as fast and as reasonably cost-efficient as you can. When that snow is belting Bangor and the wind is howling, I would not want to get stuck at Dysart’s overnight because I cannot get transportation into Bangor.
The Union Street Bus Station is a much better option than flying. You can take a bus from there to South Station Boston and transfer to a bus to NYC. It will cost less than $100 round trip. You can’t come close to that on a flight, and if you fly you have to pay for expensive parking and get up in the middle of the night to get to the airport for a flight to NYC. And, if it is bad weather I’d much rather be on the bus, it rarely if ever gets cancelled.
Yes, Marie, you are right on that point. Depends on how much time you have and what options are available for transportation; but I prefer flying to taking the bus except (as you said) in inclement weather. However, taking the bus is no-option for a lot of people, and it is their inconvenience of which I speak of. You told me something I never knew, that being there is a bus station on Union Street in Bangor direct to South Station in Boston? What bus line is this? Wished I knew that before I commented, but still, I’d like to know Greyhound did not undermine Mr. Brountas. Yes, we know that Boston terminals for bus lines can go direct to NYC – we live there on East 54th. Thanks for that information, Marie.
Yes, the Union Street Bus Station across from the Bangor airport entrance has three buses a day to South Station, Boston, starting at 7:00 a.m. I don’t know the name of the line, the bus is called “the Coach”.
The down-and-outs are the backbone of downtown Bangor. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Nice spot for a gentlepersons club.
Will people be able to park there cars at Dysart’s ??
I love the dedication the Brountas family has had for the town of Bangor for all of their lives. I hope this doesn’t have a negative impact on them!!! I think we need a bus station to stay in town……..
I love how people just assume that the only type of people that ride the Greyhound bus are undesirable cretins. As a young, single mother without a driver’s license, I took that bus every single week from Portland to Medway and back again so that I could get an education and still actively parent my child. Yes, there are some characters on the bus, but I have to say, for the most part, it’s just a varied sampling of regular people choosing to take public transportation for whatever reason. And every single trip, there would be at least one person to walk/ride by and look at the people waiting for the bus with total disdain. It’s gross, and it says more about the people that judge than it does about the people that choose to ride the bus.
Can we get a BAT bus run to Dysarts to coordinate with the Greyhound schedule?
When my son arrives by bus this summer, will I now have to rent a car or hire a cab to go meet him?
Users of public transportation have to endure a thousand small insults, and the absence of a shuttle service between Dysarts and downtown is yet another. At the Bangor Mall, BAT riders have to wait outside or stand just inside the door where there is no place to sit. It would be the easiest thing in the world for the mall to create a comfortable waiting area for bus passengers, especially since they are essentially subsidizing the drivers by paying for the parking lot through prices at the stores. I have written to the Mall’s owner twice about this, but have received no response.
Smart policy would encourage the use of public transportation, instead of once again tilting the playing field in favor of drivers.
Sounds like increased business for local taxi drivers…..
It is unfortunate that Greyhound could not have found another place in Bangor. It was so convenient for those traveling South on the Cyr busline to stop in bangor and maybe to the mall and other places, take a walk downtown. I think it is a loss for the City of Bangor. It is too bad the City had not tried to come up with an alternative.
Thank you to all for supporting the Downtown Greyhound all these many years. The people who travel are some of the most fascinating, kind and wonderful people you would ever want to meet. It has been an honor to work in this industry. Thank you for all the great memories.
Peter, (Brountas) I have no idea if Greyhound’s officials made this decision based on convenience to themselves or inconvenience to their passenger quarter. But I have to tell you, I know many people who have taken Greyhound and Cyr from other places and Boston, and drove direct to your terminal (in front of or behind your building). It’s very convenient as it is and why this decision was made, seems to me there is something to do with a probable gasoline price-cut and hotel accommodations discount for drivers somewhere in the mix with a possible bus mechanic thrown-in if needed for repairs/bus cleaning. The easy-on – easy-off thing to I-95 could be another decision, as running into and out of downtown Bangor seems to be a problem (maybe). Bangor is no metropolitan city, as you know, but to me, the ease of your terminal and getting to and from there, would be easier than going to Dysarts. Dysarts now gets the entire cake. Something was going on here, and unfortunately, your terminal and its conveniences were not considered in Greyhound’s decision. Too bad. But, Pete, you are a survivor. Best of luck, sir.
When I need a bus I am not going to be able to go all the way to Dysarts. It’s the Union St station 100% from now on. I’m thinking Greyhound doesn’t want to stay in Maine and is on its way out.