Bus station charges

[Simon75]

How do bus station charges vary around the UK?

 

[GusB]

How do bus station charges vary around the UK?

Do you have any specific instances in mind?

 

[Busaholic]

How do bus station charges vary around the UK?

I'm speculating you want a bit more than the word greatly.

 

[busestrains]

How do bus station charges vary around the UK?

• 1. Guildford Bus Station was as follows under Arriva until they recently left:

£0.53 for every arrival

£0.53 for every departure

£0.53 per hour for every layover

So for example if a bus arrived and dropped off passengers and then laid over the stand for under an hour and had a break and then picked up passengers and left it would pay £1.59 total. Or if just arrived and dropped off passengers and picked up passengers and then left it would pay £1.06 total. Or if it just came from the depot and picked up passengers it would pay £0.53 total. Or if it just dropped off passengers and went to the depot it would pay £0.53 total.

I presume the bus companies told Arriva how many buses arrived and departed and laid over every month and Arriva would bill them for it.

I am not sure if it has now changed under Stagecoach control. It may have possibly increased or the charging system may have changed. I am not sure.

• 2. Lewes Bus Station is free of charge for all of the bus operators but ESCC pays the Generator Group £2019.60 per month to allow unlimited use by the bus operators.

This finishes on Friday the 16th the day after tomorrow when the bus station permanently closes.

• 3. Uckfield Bus Station is owned by ESCC and all of the bus operators are free to use it as much as they want without any payment.

Those are the only three i know but it would be interesting to hear what others are like.

 

[Dai Corner]

I haven't got a figure for Bristol Airport but reading another thread I presume it's rather more than those already mentioned!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Bath bus station is £1.70 per departure

https://www.firstbus.co.uk/uploads/node_images/bristol-bath-and-west/Bath_Bus_Stn_Conditions_of_Use.pdf

Hence why the A4 leaves from Dorchester Street instead. It's why the budget coach firms tend to use on-street locations

However Victoria Coach Station is much higher https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/coach-drivers/victoria-coach-station

Coaches up to 12 metres long​	Exc VAT​	Inc VAT​
Departure charges: Off-peak	£46.27	£55.52
Departure charges: Peak	£68.02	£81.62
Coaches over 12 metres long​	Exc VAT​	Inc VAT​
Departure charges: Off-peak	£56.27	£67.52
Departure charges: Peak	£78.02	£93.62

 

[markymark2000]

Strathcylde Partnership for Transport (SPT) charge as follows (https://www.spt.co.uk/media/pi2opmvr/bus-station-departure-and-parking-charges-schedule.pdf)

Buchannan Street

Local Bus	£1.05
Express Bus or Coach	£3.55
Long Distance Coach	£7.10

East Kilbride

Local Bus	£0.58
Express Bus or Coach	£1.95
Long Distance Coach	£3.91

Hamilton

Local Bus	£0.63
Express Bus or Coach	£2.13
Long Distance Coach	£3.91

Greenock, Partick and Govan with no charges


First Bristol Marlborough Street charges £4.19 (https://www.firstbus.co.uk/uploads/...stol_Marlborough_Street_Conditions_of_Use.pdf)

First Kernow charge: (https://www.firstbus.co.uk/cornwall/help-and-support/bus-stations)
Cambourne: 28p
St Austell: 83p
Penzance: £1.48

I haven't got a figure for Bristol Airport but reading another thread I presume it's rather more than those already mentioned!

A friend of mine saw the thread and decided to ask them. They say they charge the normal coach parking fees (£12 for 30 minutes) apply though they have individual commercial agreements with operators which varies depending on the type of service offered and the footfall.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Where would Chippenham bus station fit in as I'm not certain if its the Town Council or the unitary Wiltshire Council that run it, no idea if there's a charge using it? Swindon's bus station is ran by Stagecoach.

Up in West Yorkshire the West Yorkshire Combined Authority charges for all departures, how much I'm not certain but that last time I checked it was £1.05 going by a sign near to the Henry Street entrance of Huddersfield bus station. Todmorden is a fun one as one operator could use Todmorden, Burnley Road Viaduct as a timing point to avoid paying. Selby's bus station is owned by Selby District Council but Arriva have used the timing point of Park Street despite the actual stop (a brick shelter) being as part of the bus station.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Where would Chippenham bus station fit in as I'm not certain if its the Town Council or the unitary Wiltshire Council that run it, no idea if there's a charge using it? Swindon's bus station is ran by Stagecoach.

Chippenham is owned by Wiltshire Council.

Swindon bus station may have a Stagecoach office etc but suspect it is council owned. Especially as it was used as overspill parking by Thamesdown when the depot was next door.

 

[DunsBus]

I remember Eastern Scottish charged LRT £1.70 per departure for the use of the old Livingston bus station, which led to a stop being sited outside it for LRT's use after it threatened to withdraw from the Livingston area (but which ended up happening anyway after GRT bought Eastern Scottish and an agreement was then reached with LRT).

 

[LUYMun]

Does anyone know the charges for using Aldershot bus station? Would be interested to know.

 

[SSmith2009]

Seen a comment elsewhere (can't remember exactly) Leicester City Council charge around £1 per departure for their two bus stations.

 

[noddingdonkey]

Signage at Huddersfield states that Metro charge coaches £5.00 per departure, £10.00 per stay.

According to a 2016 FOI request the charges for service buses (defined as accepting Metro concessionary permits) were 28.3p for vehicles with a capacity less than 35 or 56.4p above that capacity.

Timetabled express services, which I assume means Megabus and NatEx (although the latter would presumably use their own adjoining station), was £2.10.

 

[busestrains]

Horsham Bus Station is owned and managed by Horsham District Council (which is quite odd as normally in two tier council areas it is the County Council that owns bus stations so you would think West Sussex County Council would own and manage it) and it is completely free of charge for all bus operators to use.

 

[MaidaVale]

Coventry Pool Meadow is pretty high hence why quite a few operators decide to use nearby streets to terminate rather than the bus station, a particular example being all of Stagecoach's routes. Unsure of the exact charge price.

 

[Ken H]

Mod note: This was posted in a separate thread but merged into this one.

Following on from https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...t-out-of-the-bus-station.244931/#post-6126409

How are bus stations funded? Are bus operators charged for using a bus station? Does it depend on the owner.

Has this changed over time?

Do they have to pay for a bus stop? erecting a bus stop flag, a bus shelter?

What about when they make a bus station in a station forecourt, like Ilkley? Do they have to pay the railway?

I know nothing about this so any information is interesting.