DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — An informal bid by the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority to become the Dayton Greyhound bus station agent is under discussion, according to Mark Donaghy, RTA executive director.

He said it would be a moneymaker for RTA and a natural fit for the transit system. Donaghy said RTA could easily handle the station's 20 buses a day.

"We could absorb the operation, getting some revenue to offset our cost," said Donaghy, estimating it would bring in $100,000 in net revenue. "One thing we know is buses."

There's also talk of moving the Greyhound station out of the city of Dayton's transit center and opening up that space for entertainment and retail development, perhaps even a grocery store, according to city and Downtown Dayton Partnership officials.

Greyhound leases the 111 E. Fifth Street facility from the city for about $10,000 a year under a long-term contract, but now uses half the space, said Shelley Dickstein, assistant city manager for strategic development.

Greyhound officials did not return calls, but Dickstein said the company is open to moving to another location if it is beneficial to them and cost-neutral. She said any new location would need to be on the RTA busline and regionally accessible. A move to the Dayton International Airport was discussed in the past, but would involve new construction that likely made it unaffordable for Greyhound, she said.

Officials have discussed seeking a federal earmark, money that would flow through RTA, to build a new Greyhound station. Dickstein said a collaboration between Greyhound and RTA could make a move to a new location more affordable.