Ottawa Central Station

Ottawa Central Station
The bus station while it was operated by Station Centrale.
Station statistics
Address	265 Catherine St, Ottawa, ON
Coordinates	45°24′31″N 75°41′41″W / 45.40861°N 75.69472°W / 45.40861; -75.69472Coordinates: 45°24′31″N 75°41′41″W / 45.40861°N 75.69472°W / 45.40861; -75.69472
Lines	Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines   Greyhound Canada   Thom Transport
Platforms	14 (4 for arrivals)
Parking	Yes (Paid parking - short and long term)
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Baggage check	Yes (Lockers)
Other information
Opened	1972
Accessible
Owned by	Crerar Silverside Corporation
Website	www.ottawacentralstation.com

Ottawa Central Station, formerly known as Ottawa Bus Central Station (Station Centrale), is the primary inter-city bus terminus in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's national capital city. It used to have the same management as Montreal's major bus terminal, Gare d'autocars de Montréal before the latter was purchased by the Quebec government.^[1] On February 7, 2011, the terminal operations were sold to Corporate Customer Service Limited,^[2] a sub-contractor of Greyhound Canada. Corporate Customer Service formed a new company, Ottawa Central Station Inc., to manage the terminal. On September 1, 2011, Corporate Customer Service Ltd. handed over the head lease to Greyhound, who in turn negotiated and signed a long-term lease with the property's owner.^[3] Ottawa Central Station Inc. and Corporate Customer Service Ltd. remain as an agency within a Greyhound terminal. The building and the lot is owned by Crerar Silverside Corporation.^[4] The station is located at 265 Catherine Street, between Kent Street and Lyon Street, just north of Highway 417, the primary expressway through Ottawa.

The Cisco Systems Bluesfest, Ideal Control Systems and First Student offices are located on the second level of the terminal.

The majority of buses serving the station are operated by Greyhound Canada. Destinations from Ottawa include Toronto (with connections to the United States), Montreal (with connections to the United States, Quebec City and the Maritimes), Syracuse (with connections to New York City and Philadelphia), and Sudbury (with connections to the Prairies, British Columbia and Northern Canada).

Investigation Services Ltd. operates as the station's main security. The ATM in the terminal is provided by Laurentian Bank. The new operators of the station now provide free Wi-Fi to customers.

The station's operating hours are daily from 5:00 am to 2:30 am. The parcel department's hours are Monday to Friday 7:00 am to 8:00 pm, Saturday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday/holidays 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

On December 15, 2008, new security measures by Greyhound came into place. All passengers must undergo random screening prior to boarding the bus, which includes the use of wand metal detectors and searching carry-on items. These measures are performed by the security firm Garda. Any passenger refusing to be searched is not permitted to travel.

Main destinations

Bus Company	Cities Served
Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines	Montreal, Kingston, Cornwall, Gatineau, Grand-Remous
Greyhound Canada	Sudbury, Toronto, Peterborough, Belleville, Pembroke, North Bay, Syracuse
Thom Transport	Quyon, Shawville, Fort-Coulonge

Other carriers stop on the road in front of the terminal to pick up and drop off passengers, such as Queen's University's Tricolour Express (operated by Coach Canada) and the YOW Airporter shuttle bus (on request only).

Proposed Relocation

In early 2010, Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien announced that he was working with Greyhound to move to bus terminal to a new location next to the Via Rail station on Tremblay Road,^[5] effectively creating a transport hub along with the proposed LRT.^[6] According to O'Brien, talks had been going on for a while and Greyhound seemed warm to the idea, however the Catherine station's owner, Stewart Robertson, was never consulted and only learned through the media about the proposed move.^[7] The move has sparked controversy and mixed opinions with the public and local politicians, stating that the proposed location is inconvenient as it's not central, or more convenient as it's along the Transitway.^[8]

Robertson, the station's owner, released renderings of a proposed renovation that would see the inside and outside of the terminal's aesthetics improved as well as the terminal's heating and ventilation system,^[9] however these improvements would only come if Greyhound were to sign a long-term agreement with Robertson, which in the end would result in Station Centrale being phased out as the terminal's operators.^[10]

A website was created for the public to voice their opinion concerning the proposed move, Keep It Downtown, Ottawa.

On March 11th, 2011, it was revealed that Stewart Robertson had applied for rezoning of the lot to general mixed-use as a contingency plan if Greyhound were to leave.^[11]

In September 2011, Greyhound signed a long-term lease with Crerar Silverside Corporation. As a result, the terminal will not be relocated and extensive renovations are to done to the station in 2011 and 2012, possibly totalling over one million dollars.^[12]

See also

Ottawa portal

• Greyhound Canada
• Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines

References

1. ^ Quebec to move bus station into Ilot Voyageur complex^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Station Centrale sold to Corporate Customer Service
3. ^ Greyhound signs new lease
4. ^ Station owned by Crerar Silverside Corp.
5. ^ "O’Brien pushes to move bus terminal to Via Rail station". Centretownnewsonline.ca. http://centretownnewsonline.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1514&Itemid=126#. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
6. ^ Transit hub crosses line^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Bus station move surprise to owner^{[dead link]}
8. ^ Bus station shift gets mixed reviews^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Name (required). "Bus terminal owner plans revitalization of Catherine Street location". Keepitdowntownottawa.com. http://keepitdowntownottawa.com/2010/04/08/bus-terminal-owner-plans-revitalization-of-catherine-street-location/#. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
10. ^ nurun.com (2010-04-01). "Building owner wants to keep Greyhound as tenant". Ottawasun.com. http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/04/01/13441216.html#. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
11. ^ Josh Pringle with Stephanie Kinsella (2011-03-10). "Robertson applies for rezoning". Cfra.com. http://www.cfra.com/?cat=1&nid=78398#. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
12. ^ Terminal to get renovations

External links

• Greyhound Canada
• Ottawa Central Station
• Investigation Services Ltd.
• Keep It Downtown, Ottawa
• YOW Airporter Shuttle