Winnipeg Bus Terminal
{{short description|Former intercity bus terminal in Winnipeg, Canada}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Winnipeg Bus Terminal
| type =
| style =
| image = WinBusTer.jpg
| image_size =
| image_caption = A Greyhound bus waiting at the old terminal in downtown Winnipeg
| address = 2015 Wellington Ave,
Winnipeg, MB
R3H 1H5
| country = Canada
| coordinates = {{Coord|49|54|09|N|97|13|33|W|display=inline,title}}
| line =
| connections = 15 Sargent-Mountain
20 Academy-Watt
| other =
| structure = At-grade
| distance = {{Convert|8.1|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Portage & Main
| platform =
| depth =
| levels = 1
| parking = 29
| bicycle =
| baggage_check =
| opened = {{Start date and age|2009|08|15}}
| closed = {{End date and age|2018|10|31}}
| accessible =
| status = Unstaffed
| code =
| elevation = {{Convert|239|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| owned = Greyhound Canada
| iata = YWG
| zone =
| former =
| passengers =
| pass_year =
| pass_percent =
| pass_system =
| mpassengers =
| services =
| map_locator =
}}
The Winnipeg Bus Terminal was an intercity bus station, located beside the Winnipeg International Airport.
History
= Union Bus Depot =
{{Expand section|Expand the History section to detail start and end of service years (1930s to 1960s) for commuter bus services.|date=December 2019}}
The Union Bus Depot was constructed in the 1930s, opened on December 12, 1936,{{Cite news|title=Winnipeg's New Union Bus Depot Formally Opened|date=December 14, 1936|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=17}} and operated out of 264 Hargrave St.,{{Cite news|title=Greyhound ad|date=June 14, 1934|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=2}} a site where True North Square development currently stands.
Bus lines that operated from Union Bus Depot were Greyhound Canada, Grey Goose, Eagle (St. Anne), Beaver (Selkirk), Cross Country (Ft. Whyte), Eastern Bus Lines (Birds Hill), Southern (Ste. Adolphe), Sonnichsen (Headingley), Riverbend (Ste. Adolphe), Thiessen (Stonewall, Stony Mountain).{{Cite web|url=https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/alltime/pics/winnipeg-commuterbuses.html#twelve|title=Suburban Winnipeg Buses by William A. Luke|last=Wyatt|first=David A.|date=September 24, 2010|website=All-Time List of Canadian Transit Systems|access-date=December 10, 2019}}
= Winnipeg Intercity Bus Terminal =
In December 1962 plans were announced to replace the old Union Bus Depot between Hargrave and Carlton St. to the Winnipeg Bus Terminal fronted on Portage Avenue between Colony and Balmoral Streets and be named the Mall Centre. The project on {{Convert|2.5|acre|ha|abbr=on|adj=}} of land would cost $4.5 million and would include a parkade and a 7-storey office building and 6-storey hotel.{{Cite news|title=New Look Downtown: Work To Begin In Spring On Bus Depot-Shop-Plaza|date=December 18, 1962|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=3}} It was designed by architectural firm of Moody, Moore, Whenham and Partners, architects of the Centennial Concert Hall a few years later, along with Edmonton-based John McIntosh. The new bus terminal would be able to park up to 15 intercity buses at once.
PCL began demolition of existing building(s) at the site began in the spring of 1963. Construction crews had to dig {{Convert|70|ft|m|abbr=|order=flip}} to reach bedrock level, although they expected to dig no more than {{Convert|50|ft|m|abbr=|order=flip}} to do so.
The Mall Centre and Bus Depot opened on October 15, 1964.{{Cite news|title=The Mall Centre Opens Thursday|date=October 14, 1964|work=Winnipeg Free Press}} It covers {{convert|38000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} along with the Mall Centre Hotel. The 'Park-M-All' for up to 400 vehicles was included in the development. A Dutch Treat Cafeteria was the initial fast food restaurant that set up shop in the Bus Depot.
For several years, Salisbury House restaurant a small convenience store operated from the bus terminal
In 1980s the Mall Centre Hotel was demolished to make way for the 160-room{{Cite news|title=Axworthy applies|date=March 5, 1986|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=25}} Relax Plaza (360 Colony St.) which was constructed in 1986,{{Cite news|title=Looking Back to the Future|last=Whiteway|first=Doug|date=April 26, 1986|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=27}} and later branded as a Holiday Inn Downtown and apartment complex. {{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
= Winnipeg James Richardson International Airport =
Greyhound Canada announced in March 2008{{Cite news|title=Airport lands bus depot|last=McNeill|first=Murray|date=March 27, 2008|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=B5}} it would move the Winnipeg bus terminal from the Mall Centre in downtown Winnipeg to a new C$6.3 million building with a single storey structure with separate areas for freight and passengers inside of a {{Convert|10000|ft2|m2|abbr=on|order=flip}} of passenger space and {{Convert|10000|ft2|m2|abbr=on|order=flip}} of cargo processing space at the Winnipeg International Airport.{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/it-s-official-greyhound-to-move-bus-depot-to-winnipeg-airport-1.756721| title=It's official: Greyhound to move bus depot to Winnipeg airport| date=26 March 2008| work=CBC Manitoba}} The terminal moved operations on August 15, 2009,{{Cite news|title=New Greyhound depot opens doors Saturday|last=Santin|first=Aldo|date=August 13, 2009|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=B2}} where it had been for 45 years.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-bus-depot-to-move-after-45-years-downtown-1.834661|title=Winnipeg bus depot to move after 45 years downtown|date=August 14, 2009|work=CBC News Manitoba|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114110310/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2009/08/14/manitoba-bus-depot.html|archive-date=November 14, 2012}}
The terminal was a hub for Greyhound, with buses originating from and travelling to Vancouver; Edmonton; Calgary; Medicine Hat; and Toronto. On October 30, 2018, Greyhound Canada stopped serving western Canada, causing the closure of the bus terminal.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1274025027963 |title=Greyhound cuts bus routes in Western Canada |date=10 July 2018 |work=CBC News }} The terminal building was demolished in 2022.
= Repurposing Mall Centre Bus Depot =
{{Main|Winnipeg Rapid Transit}}
Today, the old Winnipeg Bus Terminal on Portage Avenue has become Balmoral Station and functions as a termination or pass-thru point for Winnipeg Transit buses. A University of Winnipeg Student Centre currently occupies all of the space within the office complex (491 Portage Ave.).
= Successor =
Most regional bus lines and inter-provincial lines like Ontario Northland Transportation Commission and Rider Express use Maple Bus Lines terminal at 936 Sherbrook St (transit connection: Route 29 - Sherbrook - Stafford), and ONTC arrives Southdale Shopping Centre at 147 Vermillion Rd (near Royal Canadian Mint) also.
See also
Further reading
- Cavanagh, Dennis; Wyatt, David A., Regiec, Alex (2006). Dusty Trails to Divided Highways: A History of Intercity Bus Lines in Manitoba. Winnipeg. Rest Stop. {{ISBN|978-0978192105}}.
References
{{reflist}}
- [http://winnspace.uwinnipeg.ca/bitstream/handle/10680/774/2006%20Greyhound%20Bus%20Terminal%20Final%20Report.pdf?sequence=1 Greyhound Bus-Terminal: Analysis of Options for the Winnipeg Downtown Terminal Final Report]. Institute of Urban Studies. 2006. uwinnipeg.ca
Category:Bus stations in Manitoba
Category:Buildings and structures in Winnipeg
Category:Transport in Winnipeg
Category:Transport infrastructure completed in 2009
Category:2009 establishments in Manitoba
Category:2018 disestablishments in Manitoba