COLUMBUS, Ohio — The City of Columbus on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the owners who operate a bus terminal for Barons and Greyhound bus lines.
The lawsuit comes as City Attorney Zach Klein said the terminal on North Wilson Road is plagued by safety, security and sanitation concerns.
The company, Barons Bus Incorporated, was given a notice by city officials in July for violations and a timeline to address the issues.
The city attorney’s office did not specify how long the company had to address the issues, but acknowledged that the timeline had passed.
Klein said he is urging the court to declare the property a public nuisance and order the owners to bring the property or move to another location that is more appropriate.
“Moving a business from one location to another doesn’t give owners permission to operate a public nuisance at the expense of the surrounding neighborhoods. The City will hold bus line operators to the same standards no matter where they do business,” Klein said. “Public safety is our priority and the amount of crime at the terminal and the conditions which patrons are subjected to are unacceptable. The City Attorney’s Office will use every legal tool we have to ensure that any bus line operator in Columbus is safe, accessible and compliant—just like we did when we took Greyhound to court in 2021. These companies need to make significant improvements immediately or find a new location for their terminal.”
According to the complaint, the property remains in violation of the City Building Code as no certificate for occupancy has been issued for the site’s current use as a major bus terminal.
Additionally, City officials noted multiple safety and sanitation issues, including overcrowded waiting areas, unauthorized portable restroom facilities, inadequate loading and unloading zones, among other violations.
Klein said the city is working with law enforcement to gather more data to bring the company to Environmental Court to potentially enforce a decrease in bus routes in the meantime.
“I think in the short term, medium term, if we can't get the place shut down immediately that we have to look at things like a reduced the bus schedule, and having just intermittent bus drop offs, where it's a more manageable group of people that can help with public safety,” Klein said.
The City’s complaint also noted concerns about increased criminal activity in and around the terminal, which has seen a sharp increase in police calls for service since opening several months ago.
In the six weeks before the terminal was operational, Columbus police were called to the area approximately 30 times and took only one criminal offense report.
They were also called 62 times and took 14 reports for complaints related to assault, robbery, reported shootings and other disturbances.