Places that don't have a proper bus station but could do with one

[Statto]

Birmingham, there's talk over the years of building one near to Moor Street Station but nothing seems to have come of it.

 

[Deerfold]

Cambridge. They call Drummer Street a bus station but it is only slightly bigger shelters at the edge of a park with some screens.

It's not the poshest ever, but I'm not sure it's that bad.

There's suggestions of moving it - but not to anywhere in particular, just "further out from the centre" which suggests people don't know the main purpose of a bus station.

Making the case for moving Cambridge's Drummer Street bus station

The busy interchange was branded 'ugly and inefficient' as council faces demands for it to be moved

www.cambridge-news.co.uk

Cambridge's residents are making their case for a cleaner, less crowded city centre by moving the Drummer Street bus station.

The "ugly and inefficient" hub was put forward as one of the key things holding back the city centre by respondents to a public consultation on improving Cambridge.

...

Among the things people said they wanted to see happen in Cambridge is the removal of the bus station in Drummer Street to another location, preferably one further out of the city centre.


Numerous ideas were put forward for what could replace the bus station, but there is no obvious location where a new bus station could be built.

 

[carlberry]

Cardiff. It did have a bus and coach station, right next to the railway station, with space for all local and long distance bus services. However the local council decided that the cause of transport integration would be better served if the space was used for offices with large car parks.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Birmingham, there's talk over the years of building one near to Moor Street Station but nothing seems to have come of it.

It was where NX wanted to build the replacement for Digbeth but it was just too expensive. So Digbeth got rebuilt instead

 

[cnjb8]

Nottingham desperately needs Broadmarsh bus station back. Becoming increasingly congested around the development area now Collin Street is closed. National Express coaches stopping on Station Street is perfect for connecting to the trains but imo is too far out of the city centre. To be fair, it has been better having TrentBarton services terminating at Friar Lane for convenience but logistically, it must be a challenge.

 

[PaulMc7]

Motherwell is certainly one of the places I would consider because when there's multiple frequent services all due together if it's not busy it's hard to actually get the bus you want to stop if it's not the front one.

Clydebank for a similar reason too as the one currently isn't used as one at all and the stop at the Asda for the buses that use there isnt great either and the stops at Chalmers Street get very crowded.

Parkhead would be another one that could be interesting because the Gallowgate stops and Duke St ones get very packed too. Don't know where it could be put though and the current stops there are pretty handy for the shops.

Cumbernauld, Falkirk and Livingston are also others I'd consider too from my experiences of being in each place.

 

[Pete_uk]

Stroud. It's bus station was dug up for a cinema extension to the shopping centre. The busses now use bays alongside the main road, quite a few services have go to the end of the road and go around the small roundabout and back again to get to their 'bay'.

 

[700007]

East Croydon by the station. Yes, there is one in nearby West Croydon but not many buses serve it (when you consider how many other bus routes serve Croydon). Rail / tram passengers using East Croydon would benefit hugely. Buses that terminate at 'Croydon, Town Centre' - Fairfield Halls / Park Street / Croydon Library in TfL speak - could be diverted to serve / terminate at a new bus station in East Croydon. Perhaps the bus station could be sited sort of around the Dingwall Road area?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Birmingham, there's talk over the years of building one near to Moor Street Station but nothing seems to have come of it.

Used to have one under the Bullring, apparently. Must have stunk of fumes.

 

[mchunt]

Used to have one under the Bullring, apparently. Must have stunk of fumes.

It wasn't good, quite dark and fumy. Used to get the X66 (Leicester-Birmingham) from there a couple of times a month when a teenager.

 

[peters]

Northwich. The main bus terminus is Watling Street where there's a row of bus shelters.

A few years ago I would have said Wilmslow as well but so few buses actually go there now.

Used to have one under the Bullring, apparently. Must have stunk of fumes.

Doncaster's modern one under a shopping centre is alright.

However, perhaps Warrington's is the best approach, where there's an access road to the bus station under the shopping centre but the bus stands themselves are in daylight.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Doncaster's modern one under a shopping centre is alright.

However, perhaps Warrington's is the best approach, where there's an access road to the bus station under the shopping centre but the bus stands themselves are in daylight.

I think Brum has tried putting things with diesel-fume-emitting vehicles in them under shopping centres, and I'm not convinced that one went very well

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Used to have one under the Bullring, apparently. Must have stunk of fumes.

It wasn't good, quite dark and fumy. Used to get the X66 (Leicester-Birmingham) from there a couple of times a month when a teenager.

For those who never experienced it...

Bull Ring

A City of Oxford VR on the X50 to Oxford stands in the poisonous hell-hole that was the old Birmingham Bull Ring bus station*. I had just arrived from Ludlow on the D9 you can see on the left. It was an officially preserved bus, which they had used that day on the X92. I wish now that I had...

www.flickr.com

I was living in Brum for a short while in the mid-1990s and would sometimes have a trip out on Midland Red West services that used the Bull Ring bus station. It was terrible - dark and gloomy and fume-filled - just awful. I think West Midlands Travel had vacated it except for a tendered route to Redditch or Bromsgrove so it was just the old Midland Red successors. Research says it lasted until 1999 - no tears shed.

 

[carlberry]

For those who never experienced it...

Bull Ring

A City of Oxford VR on the X50 to Oxford stands in the poisonous hell-hole that was the old Birmingham Bull Ring bus station*. I had just arrived from Ludlow on the D9 you can see on the left. It was an officially preserved bus, which they had used that day on the X92. I wish now that I had...

www.flickr.com

I was living in Brum for a short while in the mid-1990s and would sometimes have a trip out on Midland Red West services that used the Bull Ring bus station. It was terrible - dark and gloomy and fume-filled - just awful. I think West Midlands Travel had vacated it except for a tendered route to Redditch or Bromsgrove so it was just the old Midland Red successors. Research says it lasted until 1999 - no tears shed.

If (as has been said) it still exists for shop deliveries I wonder if anybody will try to organise a running day using it! It would be fairly Covid compliant as well if you 'pre load' it with a couple of Leyland Nationals and cold Gardners as nobody would be able to breath inside it anyway!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

If (as has been said) it still exists for shop deliveries I wonder if anybody will try to organise a running day using it! It would be fairly Covid compliant as well if you 'pre load' it with a couple of Leyland Nationals and cold Gardners as nobody would be able to breath inside it anyway!

I don't think it does. There's a similar-looking area under the Pallisades on Dudley Street that acts as a service yard but the Bull Ring bus station is now where Debenhams is, I believe.

I don't believe that I've heard the case made that a Leyland 510 has therapeutic benefits......

 

[RT4038]

I don't think it does. There's a similar-looking area under the Pallisades on Dudley Street that acts as a service yard but the Bull Ring bus station is now where Debenhams is, I believe.

I don't believe that I've heard the case made that a Leyland 510 has therapeutic benefits......

I think the service yard accessed from Dudley Street was the former Bull Ring Bus Station, and has various intact features if you look inside when the roller shutter doors are open.

I think Brum has tried putting things with diesel-fume-emitting vehicles in them under shopping centres, and I'm not convinced that one went very well

As did Aylesbury, Northampton, Newcastle Eldon Square amongst others

 

[Daniel740]

East Croydon by the station. Yes, there is one in nearby West Croydon but not many buses serve it (when you consider how many other bus routes serve Croydon). Rail / tram passengers using East Croydon would benefit hugely. Buses that terminate at 'Croydon, Town Centre' - Fairfield Halls / Park Street / Croydon Library in TfL speak - could be diverted to serve / terminate at a new bus station in East Croydon. Perhaps the bus station could be sited sort of around the Dingwall Road area?

Eh? Most buses routes that serve Croydon use the bus station.

 

[Bletchleyite]

As did Aylesbury, Northampton, Newcastle Eldon Square amongst others

Indeed, though I was more referring to New St

 

[JonathanH]

Eh? Most buses routes that serve Croydon use the bus station.

Not as many as once did - for example, the 405 was cut back to terminate from the south at Katherine Street. One problem with bus stations is that if they are on one side of the town, the buses have a load of dead time to get round a one-way system to reach them. If they terminate at points around the town centre, they can save dead mileage.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I think the service yard accessed from Dudley Street was the former Bull Ring Bus Station, and has various intact features if you look inside when the roller shutter doors are open.



As did Aylesbury, Northampton, Newcastle Eldon Square amongst others

This has intrigued me.

This has a shot of the exit on Edgbaston Street

the rear of the Bull Ring bus station

seen exiting the Bull ring bus station is a Midland Red west Leyland Leopard Duple Dominant coach in a version of the Midland Express livery used by the new Midland Red companies and i believe 1 other company that used the Bull Ring for Express services to Birmingham

www.flickr.com

Compare with Edgbaston Street now (and the building in the far distance)

Edgbaston Street, Birmingham city centre, UK Stock Photo - Alamy

Download this stock image: Edgbaston Street, Birmingham city centre, UK - EYEXJ1 from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.

www.alamy.com

Therefore, is it that about a third of the Bull Ring bus station survives as the entrance on Dudley Street but the remainder is lost under the new development? Larger than I care to remember....or am I just blocking the pain out?

EDIT: bit more checking of Flickr and @RT4038 and @carlberry are correct. The entrance and a chunk of it does survive as the service yard

Station Street Looking Towards Dudley Street In Birmingham City Centre England

Back Of New Street Station On The Left, With The Old Disused "Midland Red" Bus Station At The Bottom.

www.flickr.com

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Falkirk could do with one, buses are now stuck on some bus only street with lay-bys that are not even big enough for all the services using them.

Didn't there use to be a bus station at Falkirk at Callendar Riggs until quite recently?

 

[JonathanH]

Didn't there use to be a bus station at Falkirk at Callendar Riggs until quite recently?

Closed in August 2018 https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/bus...us-station-reopened-halt-decline-trade-204549

Businesses want Falkirk bus station reopened to halt decline in trade
Pensioners are risking their health to give their custom to struggling businesses based at the old Falkirk Bus Station which has become a 'ghost town' since its closure.

That is the view of shop workers who are calling for First Bus to rethink the decision it made to pull out of its Callendar Road base in favour of operating from the Upper Newmarket Street hub in August.

Employees of stores which are toiling to make a profit at the former bus station have witnessed first-hand the devastating impact the closure has had on the elderly, with reports of some customers being left physically exhausted and in need of medical treatment after making the journey on foot to their favourite cafe or shop.

One business told the Falkirk Herald a blind customer once fell to the floor on arrival.

Marion Mitchell, of Oliphant Bakers, said: “Our business has gone right down.

“It’s not just affecting local businesses, it’s affecting local people.

“One man walks here from Asda every day. He’s blind and collapsed and fell in the door one day because of the walk. It’s ridiculous.

All the customers want to bring the bus station back as well.”

While some hardy OAPs remain determined to support the area’s shops, businesses have been left to count the cost of a lack of footfall since the bus station changed location.

The prospect of shutting up shop due to the downturn is not outwith the realms of possibility for some premises, according to staff.

Ms Mitchell continued: “We have told customers we’re struggling, some of them feel like crying.

“We were thinking about moving but we can’t because we’ve got a five-year lease. My boss says we are in that position. We’ve lost all of the drivers coming in. We’ve got our regular customers but we’ve noticed a big drop.”

Nicola Vickers, of Eastgate Barbers, also backs the idea of reopening the facility in its original base.

She said: “The bus station is like a ghost town — it was always busy.

“It’s affecting us as customers from the flats don’t come down as often.

“You don’t see a lot of passing trade.

“It’s sad to see it go — it was definitely in a handier location than it is now.”

Quick Stop News owner Amir Yasin has worked in the area for 16 years.

However, he is also facing up to the thought of calling time on his business, which remains at the old bus station.

He said: “There’s no custom. It’s difficult for everyone and everyone has realised that now.

“I used to open at 7am, now I open at 9am or 10am. I don’t think I can survive if it’s like this.”

First Bus chose to relocate to Upper Newmarket Street to create “new connections, more frequent buses and faster links” to busy locations.

But a key failing that passengers have flagged up to the firm is a lack of accessibility experienced by the blind and partially sighted.

Forth Valley Sensory Centre (FVSC) bus users have met with First staff and Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson to express their concerns.

FVSC manager Jacquie Winning said: “The closure of Falkirk Bus Station and the information centre has hit disabled passengers hardest.

“Previously there was a set stance for each bus, now there are multiple buses using the same bus stop. For people who cannot see the bus numbers, this can be confusing.

“Without access to an information centre too, even getting the right bus stop or understanding a timetable can be a real challenge.”

First Bus has stated it has no intention to return to its old base.

A spokeswoman said: “At this stage we do not have any plans to re-enter the bus station.”

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Closed in August 2018.

Thanks for clarifying. You can almost see the tumbleweed in that photo!

 

[carlberry]

This has intrigued me.

This has a shot of the exit on Edgbaston Street

the rear of the Bull Ring bus station

seen exiting the Bull ring bus station is a Midland Red west Leyland Leopard Duple Dominant coach in a version of the Midland Express livery used by the new Midland Red companies and i believe 1 other company that used the Bull Ring for Express services to Birmingham

www.flickr.com

Compare with Edgbaston Street now (and the building in the far distance)

Edgbaston Street, Birmingham city centre, UK Stock Photo - Alamy

Download this stock image: Edgbaston Street, Birmingham city centre, UK - EYEXJ1 from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.

www.alamy.com

Therefore, is it that about a third of the Bull Ring bus station survives as the entrance on Dudley Street but the remainder is lost under the new development? Larger than I care to remember....or am I just blocking the pain out?

The current Dudley Street entrance certain appears to be about the right place (however not as big as it used to be) and the station certainly extended behind the overbridge whereas the building on Dudley Street now ends at the over bridge which would fit with retaining half of it as the service yard then the rest being demolished.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

The current Dudley Street entrance certain appears to be about the right place (however not as big as it used to be) and the station certainly extended behind the overbridge whereas the building on Dudley Street now ends at the over bridge which would fit with retaining half of it as the service yard then the rest being demolished.

Think I was editing my post as you were replying

 

[PaulWC]

Another vote for Darlington: there used to be one, but it was a typical diesel-ridden hell-hole that we seemed to be fond of in the North-East - Sunderland and Newcastle both used to have similar hell-holes of their own. It now means whenever you’re walking around the town centre you’re running a gauntlet with buses should you need to cross a road. At least it means you get dropped off right outside the shops though!

I also find it odd there isn’t a bus station in Blackpool any more, and facilities for coaches aren’t much better either: a few random bus stops that act as a coach station in the centre of town or Lonsdale Road, a knackered dilapidated old coach station further out of town. Ironically both facilities are built on ex-railway land!

To be fair, Darlington's old bus station was only used by United, so the town centre was always busy with the old Darlington corporation buses. Of course this reached ludicrous levels when United started running the Roadrangers and Prebend Row was overran with buses!

 

[hst43102]

Kettering bus "station" is awful, just a miserable row of plastic shelters. There's space for a proper "station" with three or four bays, which would do the town a lot of good.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

To be fair, Darlington's old bus station was only used by United, so the town centre was always busy with the old Darlington corporation buses. Of course this reached ludicrous levels when United started running the Roadrangers and Prebend Row was overran with buses!

I don't think anyone would be suggesting that local services would use a new Darlington bus station. It's the inter-urban routes that would certainly benefit rather than being strewn across Feethams, Prebend Row, Tubwell Row and Crown Street. Dominic Cummings could open it and catch a service to either Durham or <insert name of small fortified town>

The old Darlington bus station was mainly United but it was also used by Northern, OK, Scotts Greys and even Darlington Transport for joint and tendered services as well as Nat Ex and tours etc. Nice photo of it here:

Darlington interior

The isoteric charms of the old bus station in Darlington in May 1993. The bus station had 12 stands as 1, 7 and 8 were unused - a design that reflected shorter 30' vehicles?

www.flickr.com

 

[Darandio]

The old Darlington bus station was mainly United but it was also used by Northern, OK, Scotts Greys and even Darlington Transport for joint and tendered services as well as Nat Ex and tours etc. Nice photo of it here:

Lovingly referred to as the 'Black Hole of Calcutta' in this photo. I really detested the place, the only point of interest for me back then was an Intercity 125 model that could be seen in a window as you walked through the entrance.

1986-11 PHN 569R Leyland Leopard-Duple 69 of Darlington, Bus Station

In the black hole of Calcutta that was Darlington's United bus station

www.flickr.com

 

[Contains Nuts]

Buxton is a small group of shelters at the top of a hill and a bit of a trek from most of the town. The only real advantage is that all services in the town call at them so it’s relatively easy to change buses.

Luton has the fairly new ‘interchange’ at the railway station which is just a few shelters, and the majority of services operate from shelters scattered around the town making connections difficult. Even when there was a bus station it was an unpleasant place to be and was only used by the longer distance services.