LOCAL NEWS:

Access to Intercity Bus Travel Assured in Baltimore City

The funding agreement, in an amount not to exceed $144,000, will reimburse Greyhound for extending public utilities to the city-owned vacant Haines Street site. The utilities will be the property of Baltimore City and will support future redevelopment following Greyhound's relocation to a permanent facility, expected within three years. Funding will be used by Greyhound for planning, engineering, site preparation and installation of the utilities to the Haines Street property. Greyhound has also entered into a three-year lease agreement with Baltimore City for its temporary facility in the cumulative amount of $144,000.

"This announcement is the culmination of many months of hard work and cooperation on the part of BDC and Greyhound," said Mayor Martin O'Malley in a prepared statement to the press. "It is important for our citizens to have uninterrupted access to intercity bus service, which makes this project a priority for my administration."

As part of BDC's redevelopment efforts for the Warner Street corridor, a new intermodal transportation center is being considered as part of a multi-use development at Russell and Bayard Streets to serve the more than 1 million people who use Greyhound each year in Baltimore. Greyhound's temporary facility, which will be constructed adjacent to what is seen as their permanent location, is expected to be completed this June, at which time Greyhound will move from its current Fayette Street terminal.

"Our vision for the Russell Street corridor includes developing a gateway to downtown," said BDC President M. J. "Jay" Brodie.

"A new intermodal transportation center will be an integral part of revitalizing this area and will provide Marylanders a convenient link between intercity and local public transportation," said Congressman Elijah Cummings, a member of the US House of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "I am personally committed to helping to ensure that the federal funding we have obtained for this project is used to develop this facility on a priority basis."

"We are pleased to play a part in Baltimore's redevelopment efforts," said Steve Gorman, president and CEO, Greyhound Lines, Inc. " Our past experience with more than 100 other intermodal projects show that these facilities attract other development, and increase jobs, household income, property values and property taxes collected for the communities they serve."

Anticipated economic benefits to Baltimore City in retaining Greyhound include maintaining nationwide passenger bus services in Baltimore; retaining 45 jobs that BDC estimates are held by Baltimore City residents; generating approximately $20,000 per year in real estate and personal property taxes from the site, and $48,000 per year in income from a previously non-revenue-producing parcel.

Greyhound, the largest North American provider of intercity bus transportation, serves more than 3,600 destinations with 19,000 daily departures across the continent. In the US, for fare and schedule information and to buy tickets call 1-800-231-2222 or visit greyhound.com. In Canada, for fare and schedule information call 1-800-661-8747 or visit this website.