LSWR Cavalier
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The Guardian has some photos of Brutalist buildings, Preston bus station is included, it was built when there were plans to double the size of the town
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Trivia: Your favourite bus station
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TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
I know what you mean about Dundee; for the same reason, Perth is also rather timeless.
Don't agree with Durham though. It's better than it was in the mid 1980s but I still find it depressing. That's only compounded by 'spoons across the road!
You used to have Talbot Road bus station - dangerous, fume filled, god awful
For some reason, Nottinghamshire have been very committed to new bus stations - see Newark, Worksop, Retford. I can't think of a non PTE that is quite so pro-active. Fife certainly invested in places like Leven and St Andrews but most new bus stations seem to be built to allow a larger prime site to be redeveloped and as an add on to some larger development.
Clydeflyer
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The old Edinburgh St Andrew Square bus station... there was the uncovered section where Citylink/Stagecoach arrived and departed and passengers would wonder across it willy nilly getting to the ticket office (pre health and safety) and there was the dark coverred platforms where Fife/Eastern/Lowland/Midland all arrived and departed. Best bit was the public street that ran thru the middle of it. Few people knew of it but after 6 and on Sundays you could park there for free and go shopping... leaving you ended up in a queue of buses. Must have been weird to those not in the know to see a string of Alexander Y-types and various coaches streaming out of the station exit, with a Fiat Punto in the middle of them.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Preston is great (and used to have quite a cool 1970s vibe to it, though I believe it's been done up now?) but it's completely in the wrong place, not being close to the main shopping area nor to the railway station.
Along those lines, as I'm a big supporter of integration, I'm going to vote Hull Paragon, as it's basically in the railway station.
The new MK Coachway isn't bad either (the old one was a rathole) but it's a coach rather than bus station, though a couple of bus routes do call round the back.
Along those lines, as I'm a big supporter of integration, I'm going to vote Hull Paragon, as it's basically in the railway station.
The new MK Coachway isn't bad either (the old one was a rathole) but it's a coach rather than bus station, though a couple of bus routes do call round the back.
They keep trying - that's the third one there in my lifetime.
Passenger information at Bradford relies too heavily on technology. I've been there when the screen of departures failed. There's no lost of which routes depart from which stand anywhere in the building - chaos for anyone who isn't a regular.
I used to to use Bradford daily when it was 6 seperate rows of stands - loads of capacity, but could take a while when changing stops as you had to go underground between them. Signage used to be great, though - and there were a lot more shops than there are now.
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TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Memories of visits to relatives and being allowed to wander there for an hour. Here's a good shot (not mine) of the public street as you mention....
St. Andrews Square Bus Station. Edinburgh, 1976.
Viewed from the multistorey car park next door. This is the large apron where the inter-city services and tours left, and the parking for buses waiting to go out on service. The local services departed from the stygian gloom beneath the office block on the left. We see here a selection of SBG...
www.flickr.com
Even some Y types there for you
Very good shout there.
I can go one better than that; my home town of Elgin has had four in my lifetime, and neither have been very inspiring!
Statto
Established Member
I quite like Warrington, the new Wigan & Bolton bus stations, sawtooth type of bus station, everything on one level so you don't have to cross over the busway to get to the stands, very similar to the bus stations in West Yorkshire.
johnnychips
Established Member
The best two I can think of are Doncaster and Derby. Belper is interesting, being in the garage, and Ashbourne is disappointing: a lay-by on a street with a disused toilet.
SYEclipseUrban
New Member
Personally, it's got to be Barnsley. The architecture is quite unique in my opinion.
Surely that's Heathrow Terminal 5, and anything else based on the old NBC model of waiting at basic bus stops under a dingy multi-storey car park. The waiting area in Doncaster Interchange is spacious, fully enclosed, air-conditioned, has proper seats and lighting, and automatic doors keeping the cold, fumes and noise out. Apart from a lack of natural light I couldn't fault it.
Okay, let's keep to the "favourite bus station" topic, please. By all means discuss the worst ones, but feel free to start a new thread, if there isn't one already kicking about.
*EDIT*
There is:
*EDIT*
There is:
Worst Bus Station
Just thought I would follow on from the best bus station thread, what is the worst bus stations, my nominations would be Middlesbrough, dont like the layout and design of it, also Park Lane in Sunderland and Durham which I think are badly designed Worst of all time for me would be the old...
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175mph
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That thread isn't open for further replies by the looks of it.
Anyway, my two favorites are Doncaster interchange and Hull Paragon interchange, one reason in particular because of the close proximity to the trains.
Strathclyder
Established Member
Clydebank Bus Station, just because of the childhood/teenage memories I formed there. I'm acutely aware that it's largely unfit for purpose these days with little in the way of substantial change over the last 20 years, but such logical & sound reasoning rarely holds up against the all-conquering force that is nostalgia lol And on the plus side, it's decently sited for both the railway and the town as a whole (the former in particular).
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Scotrail314209
Established Member
Definitely Buchanan Bus Station by a mile. Good amount of space, decent facilities and normally warm.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
I'm not getting the love for Buchanan. I know it's personal opinion but I thought it ok but not as good as Leeds, for example.
In fact, I'll roll another grenade. I don't get north of the border too often (christ, north of the M4 would be good at the moment!!). However, aside from the nostagia-fest for ones that are seemingly untouched by progress (e.g. Perth, Dundee, Jedburgh), I'm struggling to think of many Scottish ones that really impress.
Gala is a good one (location good for both rail and the town, and with a nice coffee shop last I was there), and some of the Fife ones (e.g. Dunfermline and Leven) are decent, maybe Hamilton (and its good for the trains). After that, I'm struggling....
Scotrail314209
Established Member
Glasgow Buchanan and Edinburgh St Andrews Square are the only decentish bus stations in Scotland, I think Aberdeen is another good one. Ayr and Kilmarnock bus stations are hideous.
It's open nowThat thread isn't open for further replies by the looks of it.
Anyway, my two favorites are Doncaster interchange and Hull Paragon interchange, one reason in particular because of the close proximity to the trains.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Doesn't look to be openIt's open now
Reading through that thread, there's quite a few that have been replaced in the intervening 8 years!
First time someone has said something positive about Derby Bus Station! My local route being close to the open air bays at the end is not one of the best stands to wait for a bus with the doors constantly opening blowing cold air in and all of three seats and a narrow walkway. Suppose it is not as bad at other bays.
johnnychips
Established Member
^ I thought it was roomy, good shops, clean toilets, excellent info, very near the centre. I know what you mean about that end though.
To be honest I was trying to think what the next best one was after Donny so as not to appear biased, though now I see I’m not alone in appreciating it.
To be honest I was trying to think what the next best one was after Donny so as not to appear biased, though now I see I’m not alone in appreciating it.
Robertj21a
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Places like Doncaster, Derby, Leeds, Wakefield are fairly ok due to being of a fairly modern design and facilities. I'm struggling to think they are notably good, but they're better than many.
Surely, we must have at least one that is truly wonderful ?
Surely, we must have at least one that is truly wonderful ?
ANDREW_D_WEBB
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Valetta in Malta. So much activity with vehicles laying over around the fountain. Even better pre Arriva
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Is it because we have come to expect a certain standard which is much higher than we experienced in the past? I can remember when Leicester St Margarets opened in 1984, and that was exceptional against a) what was there before and b) the vast majority of truly awful bus stations that we had in that era. For example:
Newcastle now has two linked bus stations (one OK and one good) against four uniformly awful ones
Leeds has a very good one against three old ones, one of which was a bombsite (no joke) and one ridiculously small
I think our expectations of what is "truly wonderful" have changed. I think back to the ones that have gone....I could flood the worst bus station thread
Still locked here too.Doesn't look to be open
Reading through that thread, there's quite a few that have been replaced in the intervening 8 years!
Yes, it's a breath of fresh air compared to the old one.
Plus you feel safer and it has decent toilets and I don't mind paying the 20p.
Statto
Established Member
I quite like Woodside bus station too, views over the Mersey to Liverpool, although Woodside is a shadow of what it used to be.
adrock1976
Established Member
From my childhood, I can remember the Bull Ring Bus Station in Birmingham.
It felt like that you needed to carry a torch with you due to its enclosed and underground design. Near to the exit at Edgbaston Street, there was an entrance into the St Martin's Market and Bull Ring Centre. Opposite the entrance was a small brick building that was a booking office which also sold the Midland Red West timetable booklets.
Although the bus station was as good as exclusive for the Midland Red West services, I do recall the Midland Fox (I think it was the X66 or something like that) that ran to Leicester via Coventry, and the West Midlands Travel 145 (transferred from MRW) that ran to Bromsgrove via the Pershore Road and Lickey End that I think may have been operated by Yardley Wood garage (it had the Leyland Lynx single deckers). Also, I recall that for a short while, the WMT 137 that ran to Gornal Wood via Halesowen, Cradley Heath, and Brierley Hill also used the bus station that was operated by the MCW Metrobus double deckers based at Harts Hill garage.
It felt like that you needed to carry a torch with you due to its enclosed and underground design. Near to the exit at Edgbaston Street, there was an entrance into the St Martin's Market and Bull Ring Centre. Opposite the entrance was a small brick building that was a booking office which also sold the Midland Red West timetable booklets.
Although the bus station was as good as exclusive for the Midland Red West services, I do recall the Midland Fox (I think it was the X66 or something like that) that ran to Leicester via Coventry, and the West Midlands Travel 145 (transferred from MRW) that ran to Bromsgrove via the Pershore Road and Lickey End that I think may have been operated by Yardley Wood garage (it had the Leyland Lynx single deckers). Also, I recall that for a short while, the WMT 137 that ran to Gornal Wood via Halesowen, Cradley Heath, and Brierley Hill also used the bus station that was operated by the MCW Metrobus double deckers based at Harts Hill garage.
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