Ottawa’s mayor is looking to create a major transportation hub on the city’s east end by relocating the Greyhound bus terminal on Catherine Street to the Via Rail station on Tremblay Road.

CTV Ottawa reports that Larry O’Brien has formally asked Via Rail president Marc Laliberté to allow the bus operations to move to the current train station.

“I’m asking him to very carefully examine the opportunities for the City of Ottawa to co-locate the Via Rail station with the Greyhound bus,” O’Brien said.

“There’s a big facility there and that big facility could be, in fact, used as well by both Greyhound and the Via.”

Combined rail and bus terminals “work really well,” O’Brien said, citing its success in Vancouver and the East Coast.

The mayor has been working behind the scenes on the idea for months and already has Greyhound support, the media report said, adding most of the players are already onside.

“I think we now have all the players warm to the idea. It’s time for the public to have a say on that as well,” said O’Brien.

O’Brien says if Via approves the plan, Greyhound could move within three or four months.