TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - For years, the station at Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza has operated solely on Amtrak schedules, but after a lot of negotiation they are ready to welcome their newest tenant, Greyhound.
On Thursday, Toledo's mayor and other city leaders were at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Paul Toth of Lucas County Port Authority says this was a long time coming and will benefit Toledo's commerce.
"Today is a culmination of 20 years of a vision that we finally made happen.The train station, because Amtrak primarily operates at night, has been a limited use facility. Now that Greyhound is here, it's going to be a 24 hour a day 7 day a week operation," he said.
Officials hope the station can be a gateway for out-of-towners to enjoy the city.
"Toledo's a great connection point from Greyhound because of our location north, south, east, and west. So there will be a lot of people that will have an opportunity to come through this facility that aren't from Toledo or destined for Toledo, but connecting on another bus," Toth said.
A new Subway will also be opening in the updated station. Growth in the surrounding area is another perk the station is counting on.
"There's a new Metropark that's getting ready to open here just a few hundred feet away from the train station. TARPS built a new facility a few years back. It's just nice to see the investment and continued development both in the core and the fringe areas of downtown," Toth said.
The renovation cost about $500,000. Greyhound now offers 26 daily schedules from the Toledo location.
