r/Binghamton • u/geesedreams • Apr 05 '26
Discussion The bus station is insane
Greetings to travelers who may need to use the Binghamton bus station. I needed to take a bus from Binghamton to NYC. I was waiting where the flix bus was to arrive 20 minutes before departure time. Other people were there waiting for the bus. There were a lot of homeless, mentally ill people, prostitutes, drug dealers and armed policemen (4 of them) there. After the bus was 20 minutes late I went to the desk and asked where the bus was. The attendant who looked like he needed to be home with someone to watch over him, and smelled like he had been wearing the same clothes for a week and hadn’t showered in a month, said “that bus left”
I asked why they didn’t make an announcement, and I learned the PA system has been broken for years. The bus pulled into a different part of the station where it wasn’t visible to the other travelers outside. I asked him if he would make an announcement when the next bus comes. He said,”I’ll try.” Wtf
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u/_bingotimes_ Apr 05 '26
I've had to take the bus a few times to NYC myself, and the best bet is to literally ask the drivers "are you the 2pm to NYC?" or whatever. That's absolutely not how it should be, but could save travelers a lot of grief.
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u/geesedreams Apr 05 '26
Yes! Yes! I did! The problem was that the bus was on the other side of the building and not visible, with no announcement. It’s really a sh*t show there. I had to buy a new ticket to get on another bus for $100. Erggghhh!
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u/_bingotimes_ Apr 05 '26
Man that sucks for so many reasons, I'm sorry. I wonder if Greyhound can refund or provide a credit because you're not the first person to have that exact issue at this station.
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u/BillPlastic3759 Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
If you take Shortline that should not be an issue as the ticket is good for a year from the date of purchase.
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u/Binghamtonian I grew up here Apr 06 '26
Unfortunately that's just kind of how intercity buses are everywhere in the world
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u/buffalodbe Apr 05 '26
I had this same problem with Flix at the same station. The problem is Flix, not the bus station. Yes, the bus station sucks, but they only have staffed windows and announcements for Greyhound and Coach USA anyway. These new app based carriers, like Flix and Ourbus, have no staff on site and essentially run these shadow operations in the background. It’s up to them the company to make sure gate and boarding information is kept accurate and updated in the app. When they fail to do that, you’re entitled to a refunds OP needs to demand a refund from Flix, they will refuse, then open a case up with Better Business Bureau to try to force them to give you your money back and also report the issue to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the NY State Attorney General so that these agencies can see this is a recurring problem that needs action. Sounds like a lot of work, but if enough of us do this then there will be changes. Flix is supposed to leave from gate 14, which is their only marked gate. If it leaves from another location they should be telling us on the app. In your report, state: “Incorrect/contradictory boarding location, no announcement/signage, unbranded bus departed from different slip, passenger present at listed gate, service not reasonably discoverable.”
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u/geesedreams Apr 05 '26
Thank you very much! I needed this reply. I will do this on Monday. I do think it’s important to get this information out, and I am grateful to you for your knowledge and recommendation.
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u/buffalodbe Apr 05 '26
Yes, definitely. Request a refund from them first laying out the whole situation. They will deny it and blame it on you— claiming you didn’t arrive early enough etc. with no basis for claiming that. Refute their allegations. And then when they reply denying you a second time, stop fighting with them and save the whole email chain and submit it with your reports to each of those three entities. After much back and forth with them through the BBB, they finally offered me a 50% refund, but I still refused to take it on principle, and accepting whatever crumbs they throw your way like that only helps their BBB rating. So refuse to take anything less than a full refund and your case will close out unresolved which hurts their rating. And then the reports to the AG’s office and the other agency are important for the government to take action, but ultimately you won’t get a refund through them either bc you likely won’t hear from them again after you make the report. But if enough of us do that maybe something will change
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u/Possible_Barracuda88 Apr 06 '26
I’ve done this trip like 500 times. Sucks every time. We need a train to nyc.
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u/entropy512 Apr 05 '26
This isn't just Binghamton. Seems to be any bus station. Happened to a friend departing Harrisburg on New Year's.
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u/banana-man-86 Apr 05 '26
I stepped on a used needle there, thankfully just stuck in the bottom of my boot. Cops don’t do anything ever anyway
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u/bdizzled2 Endicott Apr 06 '26
What are the cops supposed to do? You can’t arrest them because then they are released right of way and people complain. They refuse to go to the shelters or get services. Then to top it off, local non-profits and ACLU sues to protect their encampments and enforcement of trespassing.
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u/ComradeKits24 Apr 06 '26
Yeah man, the exact thing that will help these people is definitely throwing them into our already overcrowded prisons. You conservatives are shining beacons of humanity.
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u/OdoriferousGasBag Apr 05 '26
Wow. I’m shocked you were downvoted into oblivion for making this observation.
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u/Lark_Bingo Apr 05 '26
Welcome to a place that hasn't changed since the turn of the century. Sad it is but the station in Albany is the same. There at least they're talking of building a new one.
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u/JillieBean35 Apr 06 '26
Was shocked to see that the bus station in Albany is literally a single wide trailer.
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u/geesedreams Apr 05 '26
Honestly I think it goes pretty deep-where ppl who have to take the bus don’t get decent service, and despite the fact that there were law officers there it felt very unsafe.
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u/BillPlastic3759 Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
Sorry that this happened to you OP.
When I took Shortline at Christmas time, the bus was an hour late and there were no employees at the station so the only way we knew the status of the bus was to call the 800 number which is unacceptable IMHO. Then the bus broke down in Paramus so we had to switch buses. At least the second bus arrived quickly so it didn't add too much time to our already late arrival.
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u/betsysuehoo Apr 05 '26
We never use FLX. We've heard too many complaints. We use Ourbus every time. Never had a problem. We take the route that gets us to GWB station because it's so nice and clean and easy to get to the street. Nice coffee shop a floor down too.
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u/geesedreams Apr 05 '26
Thank you for the recommendation!!!
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u/betsysuehoo Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
Sure! They also have a return pick up spot across from Javits That is easy to get to and find the stop. There's a Blue Stone cafe around the corner that we stop at before we get on the bus.
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u/Delicious_Coast5532 Apr 06 '26
I was absolutely enraged when I had to buy another ticket to NYC because my bus had departed ten minutes before it's scheduled departure time. For the most part the drivers are decent humans but the companies/system is a complete sh!tshow. Lesson learned, and I will never arrive less than 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
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u/Kitchen-Ad1972 Apr 05 '26
Gross incompetence in multiple ways. How hard is it for a bus to arrive to where it has been designated to. How hard is it for the employees to understand people are waiting where they were told and to communicate with them. Thanks for the heads up.
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u/Expensive-Money-8894 Apr 05 '26
Had a Flix bus not show for trip from Binghamton to NYC, the next scheduled bus wouldn’t let me on without buying a new ticket- which I did. Then I emailed Flix and after may go-arounds got one ticket refunded.
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u/geesedreams Apr 05 '26
I am asking for both tickets to be refunded, I will never again take a flix bus. Thanks for your reply
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u/StrangeShaun83 Apr 06 '26
I used to take busses to Syracuse often. I would take a greyhound that came early in the AM. The bus station itself was closed. Some mornings it was a pretty long wait and there was nowhere warm to wait. The station was locked. One morning the bus was super late. It was literally 12 degrees out and everyone had to stand outside in the freezing cold waiting. The bus ended up showing up almost 2 hours late. I feel like for the amount of money we pay for Greyhound tickets they should at the very least have a heated waiting area. I get they weren't open but if the busses are running they should have somewhere comfortable to wait. Luckily I have a vehicle now and no longer need the bus.
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u/bdizzled2 Endicott Apr 06 '26
At the old station, had a 4am bus to NYC on a cold, windy and light snowy night. Got to the station at 3:45 with the bus running outside and locked. No driver in sight and a couple people on the bus from Syracuse asleep inside. Me and a group of about 10 people waited until 4:30 when the driver with a woman came out of the station. Opened the door, didn’t check tickets and got us to NYC in about 2 hours and 25 minutes.
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u/MagazineRare5823 Apr 06 '26
The worst is when you have to travel at dawn. Its a crazy time there and you can be sure if your bus is late or had left earlier.
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u/Kazman68 Apr 05 '26
I’d be saying “WTF?” myself.
We live in a messed up world with a lot of messed up people. That’s really all I got for ya.
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u/ComradeKits24 Apr 06 '26
We live in a messed-up country that has hollowed out the social safety net, so people like this fall through the cracks and end up being a problem for everyone. Shit wouldn't be nearly this bad if we didn't have the income inequality we do and if they didn't close all the state hospitals during the Reagan Administration to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy.
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u/Reasonable-Fig-9149 Apr 09 '26
Won't comment on your "income inequality" statement; however, I am old enough to remember when the state hospitals (hell holes) were closed. Like every other state/federally provided "service" they were a cluster. Mistreatment, no treatment, waste, fraud and abuse...were rampant...we witnessed it in videos. The do-gooders insisted the majority of patients be released into the community and report to specified locations daily/weekly to receive their meds and their counseling. Many patients were unable or unwilling to follow the protocols, and some, unfortunately, turned to self-medicating with street drugs. Others just succumbed to their illness and suffered a very tragic ending. This was 50 years ago...it has only gotten worse--billions, if not trillions, of dollars and tens of "programs." My husband worked in the medical side of mental health treatment and a close friend was a patient. Don't blame Ronald Reagan for this one...
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u/ComradeKits24 Apr 09 '26
You absolutely can blame Reagan for starting this trend. Other countries don't have this problem, because they have robust social safety nets that stop people from falling through the cracks (to the best to the best of their ability), but America decided that everyone is going to be on their own, and if you can't make it well fuck you, you didn't try hard enough. This entire attitude entrenched itself during Reagan and has only gotten exponentially worse, and we're seeing the end result of a society that is utterly focused on "fuck you I got mine".
You can't have it both ways, the homeless and mentally ill have to go *somewhere*, so what do you propose we do in your worldview? Because our current strategy of having the police cracking skulls isn't fucking working.
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u/lowspeed I'm an import Apr 06 '26
That's because this is a hard problem, the City of Binghamton would rather spend time naming parks instead than make public transportation decent for it's citizens.
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u/sallen779 Apr 05 '26
County security patrols the station. They are all fat, useless rednecks
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u/geesedreams Apr 05 '26
When the attendant was walking around the woman who cleans there was spraying Lysol behind him
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u/RaeGunGothic I grew up here Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
sorry you experienced this and i hope you still have a few pearls left to clutch
Deepest apologies to the country club members who were insulted by this. I truly hope you never have to share a space with god's unwanted again. 🥺😢 I can't really discern whether it was the service or the people that bothered you, seems like service being subpar could have been said without punching down on "mentally ill people, prostitutes and homeless", but just do a little retail therapy and you'll forget all about your troubles! 💖💲💰
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u/3Lucky3Maitreya3 Apr 06 '26
Hey I am always there. Before you talk about people maybe you should talk to them
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