MIDTOWN — An intercity bus company has set up shop outside Port Authority Bus Terminal without a permit — and its competitors are trying to get the company booted.
Two companies based in Port Authority — Peter Pan Bus Lines and Greyhound — are taking aim at DC2NY, which runs buses from a curbside stop on Eighth Avenue between West 39th and West 40th streets, across the street from the bus terminal.
DC2NY, a subsidiary of Academy Bus Lines, has operated at the stop since January without Department of Transportation permission but has applied to use it full-time, DOT officials said.
Competing bus companies that pay more than $3.5 million per year in rent to the Port Authority wrote a March 21 letter urging the DOT to deny DC2NY's application, arguing the curbside space gives DC2NY an unfair advantage.
"Approval of the Academy's application to operate curbside service with the minimal cost across the street from the PABT would place the PABT carriers at a severe competitive disadvantage and would likely cause them to move their service across the street in order to level [the] playing field," the companies wrote.
DC2NY offers riders cheap tickets to the nation's capital, with a one-way fare costing about $30, compared to $35 on Greyhound. The company's competitors argue that Academy, a major Northeast bus company, can afford to pay rent in the terminal.
The Port Authority bus companies also warned in the letter that the stop's location is unsafe, since the DC2NY buses need to cross four lanes of traffic on Eighth Avenue in one block to turn onto West 41st Street and make it into the Lincoln Tunnel.
A spokeswoman for the DOT said that the agency was working with DC2NY on the pending application, but could not comment further. The DOT declined to say how much the city would charge for a bus stop permit.
Academy did not respond to a request for comment.
The Port Authority carriers have fiercely defended their turf in and around the bus station. In 2012, the coalition sued the DOT for allowing discount carrier Megabus to pick up and drop off customers underneath the terminal's awning. A judge eventually threw out the lawsuit, but Megabus moved from the spot anyway.
Editor's Note: The original copy of the letter from the bus companies to DOT incorrectly listed the companies that signed the letter. The correct companies are Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines.
