MAX Transit cut the ribbon at the Central Station in downtown Birmingham Friday. The new $32 million local bus station is part of a three-block complex that will soon house cross-country bus service and the Amtrak station.
The Transit Authority says it’s the beginning of change in the southwest corner of the city’s business district.
As buses rolled around Morris Avenue near 18th Street North, some passengers waited inside the huge, air-conditioned passenger lounge or purchased tickets. Others, like Tammy Richardson, waited outside for the next bus.
“I came from Fountain Heights, paid three dollars for an all-day pass, and I can ride any bus and every bus with this one pass,” Richardson said.
Barbara Murdock, executive director for the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, says bus riders can help bring business to communities.
“We’re looking at transit as an economic stimulator and a way to generate revenue to buy more buses,” Murdock says. “We know that communities grow where transit grows.”
Murdock says Amtrak, Greyhound and Megabus should move into the transit hub by September. Then, the transit authority hopes to acquire space nearby for businesses and residences.
Grocery stores, clothing shops, and restaurants could thrive with traffic from the transit hub, Murdock says. Last year metro buses had 3 million riders.
“This is not some new concept,” she says. “This is transit-oriented development that’s happening all over the United States.”
Murdock says it needs to happen here. Alabama is one of only five states where state government does not help fund transit.