Megabus, as a business model, refuses to pay any facility fees - because they don't want to charge customers for them. In theory that's their right, but the problem is that the customers actually *need* facilities, so they use ad-hoc facilities nearby. Megabus was being actively pursued by the City of Chicago and Union Station in Chicago when I was there in 2008; Megabus was loading the buses curbside as quickly as possible so as to not get caught loading by the police. They cheat and steal from the public to keep their prices low for their customers. So no, the City of St. Paul and Megabus aren't likely to come to an amicable agreement about Union Depot, unless St. Paul intends to give them literally free use of the facilities. They refuse to pay *any* kind of rent or loading fee.If Megabus used one of the parking lots next to Union Depot, then Megabus passengers could use the Depot's bathrooms and other facilities while also making it easier for Megabus's customers to get to/from the stop. Am I missing something on why this isn't the obvious place for them?
Boston may have been able to actually pass a law banning bus services from doing any business in the city unless they pay to use the city's facilities, and since Boston is a huge college town (and college students seem to be one of their main markets), they may have decided it wasn't worth skipping it. But I think anything short of that wouldn't persuade Megabus to operate legally - like I said, they were operating illegally in Chicago - the nation's third-largest city, for gods' sake - five years ago.