A longstanding staple in downtown Dallas is closing: The Greyhound bus company terminal will close in October, after more than 40 years.

The closure is part of a nationwide trend as Greyhound bus terminals across the U.S. are being shuttered.

According to a Greyhound spokesperson, the closure will not affect Greyhound bus service to and from Dallas. The bus company does not own the stations and has no control over their status.

Greyhound was bought by Flix, a German company, service in 2021 but Flix did not acquire the stations, which are owned by Twenty Lake Holdings - part of Alden Global Capital, an investment firm that has been selling off the stations, many of which are located on high-value property inside downtown areas.

The company has already closed landmark downtown bus stations in Houston, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia.

"When Greyhound was acquired by Flix SE in 2021, the prior owners of Greyhound, FirstGroup, retained ownership of many of the terminal locations, including the Dallas terminal. The property is now owned by Twenty Lake Holdings," says a statement from Greyhound.

"As our lease to use the terminal expires in October, we are in the early phases of working with the city of Dallas to identify Greyhound’s future terminal location. We will share more details as soon as we have them. We have no plans to end our service in Dallas, and our goal is to identify a new terminal location as soon as possible to continue offering affordable, accessible travel to and from the metroplex to all our customers."

Newer bus companies like Megabus follow a "curb" service model where they pick up passengers on the street, which is workable in big cities but less so in rural destinations where passengers need a place where they can make connections.

While the number of people traveling by bus has declined, Greyhound remains a source of transportation especially for low-income travelers. The bus terminals have nostalgic value and, like the Dallas Greyhound station, often featured Art Deco motifs.

The Dallas Greyhound station was built around 1946.

"Bus stations are a huge part of Americana," says a story on NPR. "In many cities, they were the only businesses open around the clock. They had eateries open through the wee hours of the night, and there was always a buzz about them because people were coming and going."