Trivia: Worst Bus Station

[C J Snarzell]

Civic pride? They are normally (almost always) built by public bodies, not bus companies.

I believe Wigan's new bus station was funded by the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) - not the local Council.

CJ

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Just looks like a city dungeon

Dungeon, really? Those structures famous for almost always having glass walls you mean? Ok boomer...

Even the undercroft, which could fall into that trap, surprisingly doesn't. The only real issue with Interchange is the lack of staff supervision to discourage the ne'er-do-wells. Bradford is certainly not unique in that respect.

I do agree that Ormskirk is pretty poor, but when I was living there I was surprised the town had a bus station at all. I certainly never noticed it had toilets so dodged a bullet there I suppose!

 

[Skipness]

Matlock, buried underneath a car park and an adjacent supermarket delivery zone. (There is a second bus station adjacent to the railway station, completely open to the elements)

 

[Statto]

In Manchester, the Trafford Centre has a bus station of its own in the layout you describe, and while you can't see the actual kerb layout, it seems to be marked out on the road surface as well, behind where the buses stop, presumably for the convenience of the drivers.

Edit: you can actually see the kerb layout, but it's not very clear.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

Trafford Centre bus station is awful in every way, it was built what around 20 years ago when the Trafford shopping mall opened but it does have a roof on the passenger area but nothing in the way of windows, ecc sdo feels like a wind tunnel, feels cold even in the middle of July, there's not even a travel shop so you hope the info is up to date.

 

[Llandudno]

For older readers I give you Liverpool Pier Head bus station closed circa 1990

I can still remember the stench..
A mixture of
Greasy Bacon, fried eggs and sausages from the canteen
Doughnuts and coffee from the cafe
Hot dogs and onions from mobile vendors
Stale cigarette smoke
Urine
Diesel fumes from buses with engines left running

All of the above whilst waiting for a bus after having alighted from the top deck of a ferry from the Wirral with wonderful fresh air...!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

So there is little or no evidence of generated custom? That's pretty outrageous if that's the case.

I certainly don't recall any objective study that indicated increased custom.

There are very good reasons why we improve bus stations. For a start, they can assist in regeneration of town centres as they can effectively direct a load of people into a certain area (see Wigan). Therefore, that's a benefit that isn't going to be demonstrated with increased custom; it's a wider benefit.

In addition, it's difficult to fully measure the impact of NOT doing something; why would you hang around in some hell hole bus or rail station?

As a parallel, the reopening of Borders Rail cost £353m for a patronage of 1.3m passengers p.a.? That sounds outrageous but when you factor in the other benefits (environmental, economic regeneration, reduced congestion) then it stacks up.

 

[radamfi]

There are very good reasons why we improve bus stations. For a start, they can assist in regeneration of town centres as they can effectively direct a load of people into a certain area (see Wigan). Therefore, that's a benefit that isn't going to be demonstrated with increased custom; it's a wider benefit.

In addition, it's difficult to fully measure the impact of NOT doing something; why would you hang around in some hell hole bus or rail station?

As a parallel, the reopening of Borders Rail cost £353m for a patronage of 1.3m passengers p.a.? That sounds outrageous but when you factor in the other benefits (environmental, economic regeneration, reduced congestion) then it stacks up.

I can see the point of replacing a dilapidated bus station, but what about towns that have no bus station? If towns do well even without a bus station, then maybe it is better to pull down a dilapidated bus station and use street stops, rather than spend a lot of money on a new one? Maybe that money could be spent on services? Councils continually make cuts to services, so it seems weird to spend millions on a bus station in those circumstances.

 

[ian1944]

Interesting to see the overlap between the threads for best and worst, e.g. Durham and Middlesbrough are cited in both. We all have personal preferences, with a lot of difference. I tend to like the older traditional bus station, given reasonable cleanliness and ambience. Bolton Moor Lane was fine for me, but I like the new one too.

Re. Scotland, I agree that Ayr and Kilmarnock are rough but find them preferable to the poor offering at Livinston, a few shelters on either side of the road between the two parts of the shopping centre, without real-time displays or even much basic signage/information. Which leads on to undoubtedly the worst bus station in the UK, the hellhole that is Cumbernauld's version. A few stops on either side of a fast dual carriageway blasting under the brutalist shopping centre with no obvious way of getting from one side to the other.

Going upthread a bit, I disagree with the inclusion of Edinburgh BS here, apparently on the basis that it's hard to find and not all operators use it. Anywhere is hard to find if you don't know where it is - you could, for example, come out of Glasgow Central and spend a long time wandering round the grid of streets before coming on the much-vaunted Buchanan. And criticising a bus station because of who doesn't serve it is unreasonable, when the structure itself is warm, dry, safe and well provided with paper and screen information. Lothian Buses have very few services terminating in the centre so it would be wholly impractical to call in. particularly when most of them run along the nearby Princes Street. All Borders, Citylink/Megabus, NatEx and Stagecoach services do terminate there, and the rest (First West Lothian, the mirroring Lothian Country and East Coast) again serve Princes Street.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

My list of now thankfully gone worst bus stations with some that @Geordie driver will know...

Seaham Harbour - the worst; a portal into a dystopian world of zombie like, barely sentient individuals juxtaposed with feral youths in a apocalyptic 1970s era brick and steel sheet dosshole of stale pee. I just wish there was a photo on Flickr that would do it justice.
Newcastle Eldon Square (old) - subterranean fume filled awfulness that was originally supposed to be an underpass for an urban motorway that was never built

The depths of despair

The old Eldon Square bus station seen in c.2003 is former Stevensons and later Stagecoach Busways 938 G108CEH, a Scania 113 with Alexander body that joined a number of similar native examples. This awful subterranean bus station has since closed and was originally designed as an underpass

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Haymarket (old) minimal cover, always cold

Northumbria 312 (F312JTY)

One of a small, but impressive, batch of long-wheelbase Alexander-bodied Leyland Olympians leaves Newcastle’s Haymarket Bus Station in February 1994. Grainy image I know, but it’s the best my wee 35mm camera could do at the time.

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Marlborough Crescent

(987aS) Bus 4386 Marlborough Crescent Bus station 1-6-80 (T Ermel)

Northern 4386 leaving Marborough Crescent in 1980. By this time the roof of the bus station had been removed.

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Worswick Street - still standing, this was built in the 1920s and was cold, dangerous, squalid, designed for 7'6 wide vehicles, on a slope, toilets like something out of the third world

(987aS) Bus 4386 Marlborough Crescent Bus station 1-6-80 (T Ermel)

Northern 4386 leaving Marborough Crescent in 1980. By this time the roof of the bus station had been removed.

www.flickr.com

Other ones that are now thankfully gone:

Sunderland Park Lane - wide open to elements and shelters from the 1950s
Sunderland Central - black cube of evilness
Darlington - combined with bus depot so full of revving Leyland Nationals of a morning
Leeds Central (old) - cold and drafty
Leeds Wellington St - old bombsite, no cover, with a shabby passenger lounge
Leeds Vicar Lane - too small for the traffic it handled
Hull Ferensway - dangerous and cold
Gloucester - full of drunks and druggies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77751...d-EUU3vN-nPuNvD-QNiXrC-2iXZQkf-2iYcGwa-Mh4jKy
Bolton - desperate with a cafe with a greater film of grease than the tarmac outside
Rawtenstall - motley collection of pre-fab bus shelters from the 50s
Blackpool - fume filled, dangerous, awful
Birmingham Bull Ring - see Blackpool
Carlisle - grim toilets, grim offices, grim cafe
Plymouth - a concrete haven under a road
Lincoln, Colchester, Doncaster South, Rotherham, Nelson - all guilty of being under multi storeys
Stroud - single concrete shelter spread across several bays
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dave3...2jv1Zup-2iJdXL4-2gjQ57H-ZRf4ex-2jJN5Vb-MNSnq3

The only other solace is I never experienced Glasgow Anderston and the "ladies".

There are plenty of other ones that I'm sure I could remember given the time.

I can see the point of replacing a dilapidated bus station, but what about towns that have no bus station? If towns do well even without a bus station, then maybe it is better to pull down a dilapidated bus station and use street stops, rather than spend a lot of money on a new one? Maybe that money could be spent on services? Councils continually make cuts to services, so it seems weird to spend millions on a bus station in those circumstances.

It's horses for courses. Some places have road networks that can accommodate services more easily than others.

Also, as has been mentioned earlier, the construction of bus stations can often be financed via capital grants. That finance isn't available for bus services - two different pots. It still doesn't get away from the other softer benefits of regeneration as per the Wigan replacement.

 

[Non Multi]

I can see the point of replacing a dilapidated bus station, but what about towns that have no bus station? If towns do well even without a bus station, then maybe it is better to pull down a dilapidated bus station and use street stops, rather than spend a lot of money on a new one? Maybe that money could be spent on services? Councils continually make cuts to services, so it seems weird to spend millions on a bus station in those circumstances.

Sensible enough if there's no real desire or budget to maintain a proper bus station, however councils repeatedly make the same error of specifying normal sized shelters which are just too small. They need to specify triple or quadruple length shelters if it's a urban bus route hub.

 

[Ianno87]

Trafford Centre bus station is awful in every way, it was built what around 20 years ago when the Trafford shopping mall opened but it does have a roof on the passenger area but nothing in the way of windows, ecc sdo feels like a wind tunnel, feels cold even in the middle of July, there's not even a travel shop so you hope the info is up to date.

There used to be a good bus station supervisor in the office who would give good information if asked.

 

[67thave]

I have two, both in the United States.

Washington, DC - Considering that this is the nation's capital, this bus station is an embarrassment. It consists of essentially one dedicated level of the Union Station parking garage, with poor lighting and ventilation. At least it is clean, convenient, and there are a couple of semi-indoors waiting areas.

Hempstead, NY - This is probably the bus station I frequent the most, and boy, is it bad. The roof is leaky, the real-time departure signs don't work properly, the customer service booth is open inconsistently, and the entire thing is filthy. It's also not in the greatest of areas and essentially doubles as an open-air drug market.

 

[fgwrich]

Other ones that are now thankfully gone:

Sunderland Park Lane - wide open to elements and shelters from the 1950s
Sunderland Central - black cube of evilness
Darlington - combined with bus depot so full of revving Leyland Nationals of a morning
Leeds Central (old) - cold and drafty
Leeds Wellington St - old bombsite, no cover, with a shabby passenger lounge
Leeds Vicar Lane - too small for the traffic it handled
Hull Ferensway - dangerous and cold
Gloucester - full of drunks and druggies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77751...d-EUU3vN-nPuNvD-QNiXrC-2iXZQkf-2iYcGwa-Mh4jKy
Bolton - desperate with a cafe with a greater film of grease than the tarmac outside
Rawtenstall - motley collection of pre-fab bus shelters from the 50s
Blackpool - fume filled, dangerous, awful
Birmingham Bull Ring - see Blackpool
Carlisle - grim toilets, grim offices, grim cafe
Plymouth - a concrete haven under a road
Lincoln, Colchester, Doncaster South, Rotherham, Nelson - all guilty of being under multi storeys
Stroud - single concrete shelter spread across several bays

Another one to add to the grotty "Gone but not Missed" list was the former Alder Valley built Reading Bus Station. Built in the 1970s at the bottom of Station Hill, it was another classic "Celebration Of Concrete" with a bingo hall plonked on the top. It was dark, often rather smelly, cramped and a rather unpleasant place to be with little to no waiting facilities or passenger comforts. It had been closed by 2008, resurrected in 2010 as part of the Reading Remodelling Project - which thankfully saw better lighting added, the removal of the saw tooth bays, and a new through layout created. But it still wasn't a particularly pleasant place to be, not helped by it's connection onto Garrad Street (one of the worst streets in Reading and known for it's various drug related issues). Thankfully it was dispensed with in 2014 and rapidly (and thankfully) since demolished as part of the Station Hill program.

Derelict Reading Bus Station

Explore ladylouise62 (trying to find mojo)'s 964 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Reading bus station

First time shooting in RAW

www.flickr.com

Reading Old Bus Station

Reading Bus Station was built in the 1970s for the out-of-town services operated by Alder Valley. Over the years these were much reduced, and the Bus Station closed in the 1990s, lying abandoned and forgotten since then. However, with the reconstruction of Reading Station, it has been given a...

www.flickr.com

 

[Megafuss]

My list of now thankfully gone worst bus stations with some that @Geordie driver will know...

Seaham Harbour - the worst; a portal into a dystopian world of zombie like, barely sentient individuals juxtaposed with feral youths in a apocalyptic 1970s era brick and steel sheet dosshole of stale pee. I just wish there was a photo on Flickr that would do it justice.
Newcastle Eldon Square (old) - subterranean fume filled awfulness that was originally supposed to be an underpass for an urban motorway that was never built

The depths of despair

The old Eldon Square bus station seen in c.2003 is former Stevensons and later Stagecoach Busways 938 G108CEH, a Scania 113 with Alexander body that joined a number of similar native examples. This awful subterranean bus station has since closed and was originally designed as an underpass

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Haymarket (old) minimal cover, always cold

Northumbria 312 (F312JTY)

One of a small, but impressive, batch of long-wheelbase Alexander-bodied Leyland Olympians leaves Newcastle’s Haymarket Bus Station in February 1994. Grainy image I know, but it’s the best my wee 35mm camera could do at the time.

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Marlborough Crescent

(987aS) Bus 4386 Marlborough Crescent Bus station 1-6-80 (T Ermel)

Northern 4386 leaving Marborough Crescent in 1980. By this time the roof of the bus station had been removed.

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Worswick Street - still standing, this was built in the 1920s and was cold, dangerous, squalid, designed for 7'6 wide vehicles, on a slope, toilets like something out of the third world

(987aS) Bus 4386 Marlborough Crescent Bus station 1-6-80 (T Ermel)

Northern 4386 leaving Marborough Crescent in 1980. By this time the roof of the bus station had been removed.

www.flickr.com

Other ones that are now thankfully gone:

Sunderland Park Lane - wide open to elements and shelters from the 1950s
Sunderland Central - black cube of evilness
Darlington - combined with bus depot so full of revving Leyland Nationals of a morning
Leeds Central (old) - cold and drafty
Leeds Wellington St - old bombsite, no cover, with a shabby passenger lounge
Leeds Vicar Lane - too small for the traffic it handled
Hull Ferensway - dangerous and cold
Gloucester - full of drunks and druggies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77751...d-EUU3vN-nPuNvD-QNiXrC-2iXZQkf-2iYcGwa-Mh4jKy
Bolton - desperate with a cafe with a greater film of grease than the tarmac outside
Rawtenstall - motley collection of pre-fab bus shelters from the 50s
Blackpool - fume filled, dangerous, awful
Birmingham Bull Ring - see Blackpool
Carlisle - grim toilets, grim offices, grim cafe
Plymouth - a concrete haven under a road
Lincoln, Colchester, Doncaster South, Rotherham, Nelson - all guilty of being under multi storeys
Stroud - single concrete shelter spread across several bays
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dave3...2jv1Zup-2iJdXL4-2gjQ57H-ZRf4ex-2jJN5Vb-MNSnq3

The only other solace is I never experienced Glasgow Anderston and the "ladies".

There are plenty of other ones that I'm sure I could remember given the time.


It's horses for courses. Some places have road networks that can accommodate services more easily than others.

Also, as has been mentioned earlier, the construction of bus stations can often be financed via capital grants. That finance isn't available for bus services - two different pots. It still doesn't get away from the other softer benefits of regeneration as per the Wigan replacement.

My list of now thankfully gone worst bus stations with some that @Geordie driver will know...

Seaham Harbour - the worst; a portal into a dystopian world of zombie like, barely sentient individuals juxtaposed with feral youths in a apocalyptic 1970s era brick and steel sheet dosshole of stale pee. I just wish there was a photo on Flickr that would do it justice.
Newcastle Eldon Square (old) - subterranean fume filled awfulness that was originally supposed to be an underpass for an urban motorway that was never built

The depths of despair

The old Eldon Square bus station seen in c.2003 is former Stevensons and later Stagecoach Busways 938 G108CEH, a Scania 113 with Alexander body that joined a number of similar native examples. This awful subterranean bus station has since closed and was originally designed as an underpass

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Haymarket (old) minimal cover, always cold

Northumbria 312 (F312JTY)

One of a small, but impressive, batch of long-wheelbase Alexander-bodied Leyland Olympians leaves Newcastle’s Haymarket Bus Station in February 1994. Grainy image I know, but it’s the best my wee 35mm camera could do at the time.

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Marlborough Crescent

(987aS) Bus 4386 Marlborough Crescent Bus station 1-6-80 (T Ermel)

Northern 4386 leaving Marborough Crescent in 1980. By this time the roof of the bus station had been removed.

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Worswick Street - still standing, this was built in the 1920s and was cold, dangerous, squalid, designed for 7'6 wide vehicles, on a slope, toilets like something out of the third world

(987aS) Bus 4386 Marlborough Crescent Bus station 1-6-80 (T Ermel)

Northern 4386 leaving Marborough Crescent in 1980. By this time the roof of the bus station had been removed.

www.flickr.com

Other ones that are now thankfully gone:

Sunderland Park Lane - wide open to elements and shelters from the 1950s
Sunderland Central - black cube of evilness
Darlington - combined with bus depot so full of revving Leyland Nationals of a morning
Leeds Central (old) - cold and drafty
Leeds Wellington St - old bombsite, no cover, with a shabby passenger lounge
Leeds Vicar Lane - too small for the traffic it handled
Hull Ferensway - dangerous and cold
Gloucester - full of drunks and druggies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77751...d-EUU3vN-nPuNvD-QNiXrC-2iXZQkf-2iYcGwa-Mh4jKy
Bolton - desperate with a cafe with a greater film of grease than the tarmac outside
Rawtenstall - motley collection of pre-fab bus shelters from the 50s
Blackpool - fume filled, dangerous, awful
Birmingham Bull Ring - see Blackpool
Carlisle - grim toilets, grim offices, grim cafe
Plymouth - a concrete haven under a road
Lincoln, Colchester, Doncaster South, Rotherham, Nelson - all guilty of being under multi storeys
Stroud - single concrete shelter spread across several bays
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dave3...2jv1Zup-2iJdXL4-2gjQ57H-ZRf4ex-2jJN5Vb-MNSnq3

The only other solace is I never experienced Glasgow Anderston and the "ladies".

There are plenty of other ones that I'm sure I could remember given the time.


It's horses for courses. Some places have road networks that can accommodate services more easily than others.

Also, as has been mentioned earlier, the construction of bus stations can often be financed via capital grants. That finance isn't available for bus services - two different pots. It still doesn't get away from the other softer benefits of regeneration as per the Wigan replacement.

Newcastle (and the North East) has had some absolute horror Bus Stations considering it's a hotbed of Public Transport use. I'd add Bishop Auckland to that list!

You could argue Newcastle Haymarket could be on the list FOUR times

The original.bus station where buses can't overtake one another and very cramped. The pre M&S Bus Station which was exposed and had the timetable displays at giraffe height. The temporary bus station while the new bus station was being built (in a similar vein to the original Haymarket, but with scaffolding and corrigated iron) and then current one which despite being enclosed is just as cold and draughty as what it replaced. Least it has a Greggs though...

 

[Boo_]

Vauxhall is shocking. well most TFL ones are shocking.

 

[Daniel740]

Dungeon, really? Those structures famous for almost always having glass walls you mean? Ok boomer...

Even the undercroft, which could fall into that trap, surprisingly doesn't. The only real issue with Interchange is the lack of staff supervision to discourage the ne'er-do-wells. Bradford is certainly not unique in that respect.

I do agree that Ormskirk is pretty poor, but when I was living there I was surprised the town had a bus station at all. I certainly never noticed it had toilets so dodged a bullet there I suppose!

I hate that word ‘boomer’, the man was born in 1971 so doesn’t even qualify as one. If you want to use words, know the meaning of them!

 

[Statto]

For older readers I give you Liverpool Pier Head bus station closed circa 1990

I can still remember the stench..
A mixture of
Greasy Bacon, fried eggs and sausages from the canteen
Doughnuts and coffee from the cafe
Hot dogs and onions from mobile vendors
Stale cigarette smoke
Urine
Diesel fumes from buses with engines left running

All of the above whilst waiting for a bus after having alighted from the top deck of a ferry from the Wirral with wonderful fresh air...!

I just about remember Pier Head bus station in Liverpool, definitely agree, even worse was the subway to the centre stands which was used as a toilet, so most passengers would cross over the road instead, the end of the centre stands was open to all elements, Pier Head bus station was very bleak in autumn/winter. MTL Merseybus abandoned it in 1991 as it was costing them so much to operate to there carrying mostly fresh air.

 

[Mugby]

Matlock, buried underneath a car park and an adjacent supermarket delivery zone. (There is a second bus station adjacent to the railway station, completely open to the elements)

Matlock was held to ransom by Sainsburys, the council wanted a supermarket, Sainsburys wanted to build one and were allowed to do as they liked with the consequences being totally overlooked. The result was the town being cut into two halves with two horrible bus stations, the one at the station being particularly bleak and inconvenient. It's a situation which the town is stuck with now and will probably never be resolved.

 

[NorthOxonian]

I'm genuinely stunned that Aylesbury hasn't been mentioned yet.

A textbook example of underground bus stations being appalling. Its main redeeming feature is how central it is.

 

[Non Multi]

I'm genuinely stunned that Aylesbury hasn't been mentioned yet.

A textbook example of underground bus stations being appalling. Its main redeeming feature is how central it is.

The indoor waiting area actually looks okay at first glance:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133796523@N02/49979865393. The sawtooth bus bays are also well illuminated. However, my main memory of the place from my visit 5 years ago was that the diesel fumes were really terrible. Almost made me feel ill.

 

[Journeyman]

I'd fire Edinburgh on the list. Not because it's an eyesore or particularly bad design, but because it's ignored by so many operators (only Stagecoach, Borders and long distance services use it) On top of that, despite being in a central location, seemingly can't be found by any tourist, ever, given how many I have directed to it over the years (including people who were actually in line of sight with the entrance to it!) It's frontage is very vague!

Yup. In the eleven years I've lived near Edinburgh, I've never used it, because none of the buses I regularly use go anywhere near it!

Thankfully Falkirk bus station has been consigned to history. It was easily the most depressing place on the planet.

 

[Statto]

The indoor waiting area actually looks okay at first glance:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133796523@N02/49979865393. The sawtooth bus bays are also well illuminated. However, my main memory of the place from my visit 5 years ago was that the diesel fumes were really terrible. Almost made me feel ill.

Reminds me of Bootle New Strand bus station, under a shopping centre multi story car park, there is a seating area away from the stands very much like that at Aylesbury, the bus layover is now in a separate area, daft thing is, the main routes to Liverpool City Centre don't serve the bus station, they stop the other side of the shopping centre on Stanley Road

 

[Zamracene749]

My list of now thankfully gone worst bus stations with some that @Geordie driver will know...

Seaham Harbour - the worst; a portal into a dystopian world of zombie like, barely sentient individuals juxtaposed with feral youths in a apocalyptic 1970s era brick and steel sheet dosshole of stale pee. I just wish there was a photo on Flickr that would do it justice.
Newcastle Eldon Square (old) - subterranean fume filled awfulness that was originally supposed to be an underpass for an urban motorway that was never built

The depths of despair

The old Eldon Square bus station seen in c.2003 is former Stevensons and later Stagecoach Busways 938 G108CEH, a Scania 113 with Alexander body that joined a number of similar native examples. This awful subterranean bus station has since closed and was originally designed as an underpass

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Haymarket (old) minimal cover, always cold

Northumbria 312 (F312JTY)

One of a small, but impressive, batch of long-wheelbase Alexander-bodied Leyland Olympians leaves Newcastle’s Haymarket Bus Station in February 1994. Grainy image I know, but it’s the best my wee 35mm camera could do at the time.

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Marlborough Crescent

(987aS) Bus 4386 Marlborough Crescent Bus station 1-6-80 (T Ermel)

Northern 4386 leaving Marborough Crescent in 1980. By this time the roof of the bus station had been removed.

www.flickr.com

Newcastle Worswick Street - still standing, this was built in the 1920s and was cold, dangerous, squalid, designed for 7'6 wide vehicles, on a slope, toilets like something out of the third world

(987aS) Bus 4386 Marlborough Crescent Bus station 1-6-80 (T Ermel)

Northern 4386 leaving Marborough Crescent in 1980. By this time the roof of the bus station had been removed.

www.flickr.com

Other ones that are now thankfully gone:

Sunderland Park Lane - wide open to elements and shelters from the 1950s
Sunderland Central - black cube of evilness
Darlington - combined with bus depot so full of revving Leyland Nationals of a morning
Leeds Central (old) - cold and drafty
Leeds Wellington St - old bombsite, no cover, with a shabby passenger lounge
Leeds Vicar Lane - too small for the traffic it handled
Hull Ferensway - dangerous and cold
Gloucester - full of drunks and druggies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77751...d-EUU3vN-nPuNvD-QNiXrC-2iXZQkf-2iYcGwa-Mh4jKy
Bolton - desperate with a cafe with a greater film of grease than the tarmac outside
Rawtenstall - motley collection of pre-fab bus shelters from the 50s
Blackpool - fume filled, dangerous, awful
Birmingham Bull Ring - see Blackpool
Carlisle - grim toilets, grim offices, grim cafe
Plymouth - a concrete haven under a road
Lincoln, Colchester, Doncaster South, Rotherham, Nelson - all guilty of being under multi storeys
Stroud - single concrete shelter spread across several bays
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dave3...2jv1Zup-2iJdXL4-2gjQ57H-ZRf4ex-2jJN5Vb-MNSnq3

The only other solace is I never experienced Glasgow Anderston and the "ladies".

There are plenty of other ones that I'm sure I could remember given the time.


It's horses for courses. Some places have road networks that can accommodate services more easily than others.

Also, as has been mentioned earlier, the construction of bus stations can often be financed via capital grants. That finance isn't available for bus services - two different pots. It still doesn't get away from the other softer benefits of regeneration as per the Wigan replacement.

You must revisit Durham soon. The bus station has pretty much become an enclosed 2020 version of Seaham Harbour, but with the added bonus of being too small, both on the concourse and for the buses. The place is awful.Enter or leave under the baleful glare of downtrodden drivers smoking outside the office on North Road, Dodge the buckets of leaking rainwater on the slippery floor, avoid the open drug dealing and belligerent local low lives whilst playing 'bus stand bingo' as your service jostles for a stand due to lack of layover and congestion. Facilities include a cafe that has been closed for 25 years or so, generally broken dot matrix info boards and a 'Tardis' style pay toilet that almost nobody dares use.Ranks alongside Peterlee and Alnwick amongst the worst in the North East. Peterlee has one unexpected saving grace during the day though, the bus station cafe is genuinely really good! (Could be an idea for a new thread?).
Sunderland is stylish, but it's so wind blasted and cold I reckon it could be used to store the new Covid vaccine. The ultra violet tubes in the toilets to discourage smackheads are an especial delight

 

[radamfi]

Vauxhall is shocking. well most TFL ones are shocking.

Why? The previous situation often involved having to cross roads to change. Now you can interchange between routes easily and it is easier to access the Tube and National Rail.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Ayr and Kilmarnock bus stations. Absolutely awful places to wait for a bus, cramped, dirty and full of undesirables.

 

[radamfi]

It's horses for courses. Some places have road networks that can accommodate services more easily than others.

Also, as has been mentioned earlier, the construction of bus stations can often be financed via capital grants. That finance isn't available for bus services - two different pots. It still doesn't get away from the other softer benefits of regeneration as per the Wigan replacement.

But are places where road networks are unsuitable for bus stations "missing out"? Edinburgh and Brighton are often used as examples of exceptional bus services, but most buses don't use the bus stations there. If so, it is hard to see an argument for bus stations even where the road system can accommodate them. I'm afraid you've also yet to convince me on the regeneration argument. It is quite possible to spend money on town centre regeneration without a bus station. The "two different pots" arrangement sounds like something that needs fixing. Even if you can't spend money on actual services that money could be used for other infrastructure improvements that might actually speed up buses and consequently get more passengers on board.

I would also be interested to know if other countries spend a lot of money on their bus stations. I haven't travelled a lot by bus in Europe but I didn't see many bus stations in US cities except at "Transit Centers" where you would change onto trains or subways.

 

[67thave]

But are places where road networks are unsuitable for bus stations "missing out"? Edinburgh and Brighton are often used as examples of exceptional bus services, but most buses don't use the bus stations there. If so, it is hard to see an argument for bus stations even where the road system can accommodate them. I'm afraid you've also yet to convince me on the regeneration argument. It is quite possible to spend money on town centre regeneration without a bus station. The "two different pots" arrangement sounds like something that needs fixing. Even if you can't spend money on actual services that money could be used for other infrastructure improvements that might actually speed up buses and consequently get more passengers on board.

I would also be interested to know if other countries spend a lot of money on their bus stations. I haven't travelled a lot by bus in Europe but I didn't see many bus stations in US cities except at "Transit Centers" where you would change onto trains or subways.

The aforementioned "transit centers" you describe are essentially what most American intracity bus stations are. I'd say they typically are more bare-bones than their British counterparts (many just consist of a cluster of generic shelters and maybe a small indoor waiting area), though there are some, such as Buffalo, that really are bona-fide bus stations.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

But are places where road networks are unsuitable for bus stations "missing out"? Edinburgh and Brighton are often used as examples of exceptional bus services, but most buses don't use the bus stations there. If so, it is hard to see an argument for bus stations even where the road system can accommodate them. I'm afraid you've also yet to convince me on the regeneration argument. It is quite possible to spend money on town centre regeneration without a bus station. The "two different pots" arrangement sounds like something that needs fixing. Even if you can't spend money on actual services that money could be used for other infrastructure improvements that might actually speed up buses and consequently get more passengers on board.

I would also be interested to know if other countries spend a lot of money on their bus stations. I haven't travelled a lot by bus in Europe but I didn't see many bus stations in US cities except at "Transit Centers" where you would change onto trains or subways.

Whether I convince you of the regeneration argument isn't relevant; I'm not trying to convince you but I'm stating that is why bus stations are sometimes redeveloped.

In respect of the "success" of local bus services in places like Brighton and Edinburgh, it's really missing the point. The success has been in developing bus services that are within the local area. In the vast majority of places, local routes don't use bus stations. That's because the frequency of services is such that passenger waiting times are lower so the benefit of a bus station is less likely to be realised. I might add that Edinburgh does indeed have a bus station where some inter-urban services (e.g. from Fife) operate to. However, as mentioned on here earlier, it's too small to accommodate some of the services that perhaps should use it and, if so, that might benefit those inter-urban services that currently miss out. Certainly, there are some towns that could do with a half decent bus station for the inter-urban routes, rather than being cast out on a variety of side streets; there are some places (e.g. York or Eastbourne) where the road network really does lead to a de-facto bus station being created.

Note that I mention towns rather than the biggest cities; in towns where services are lower frequency, and where inter-urban services represent a greater proportion of bus services, then better facilities are perhaps more important. That is apparent in Europe in that rail occupies a greater role in inter-urban services and bus services tend to be either local OR long distance coach so the bus station is more of a British thing.

The "different pots" arrangement is something that might "need sorting" but it's a common issue in accounting and the public finances. You could ask why bother building new roads when we can't maintain the ones we have, or new hospitals when we don't have enough nurses. That's because capital and revenue budgets are drawn from different sources and paid back accordingly. You can borrow money for a fixed tangible asset and the borrowing secured against it; you can't do that with revenue spending.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Instead, in towns where services are lower frequency, and where inter-urban services represent a greater proportion of bus services, then better facilities are perhaps more important. That is apparent in Europe in that rail occupies a greater role in inter-urban services and bus services tend to be either local OR long distance coach so the bus station is more of a British thing.

I think there's a split in Germany. You get the big "ZOB" (Zentrale Omnibus-Bahnhof) which is for coaches, but you also get what we would see as bus stations in suburbs built on top of or underneath railway stations for connections. Plenty of those in Hamburg, for one. Similarly in Switzerland there's usually one out front at the railway station. Less common for them to stand alone, though.

 

[radamfi]

I think there's a split in Germany. You get the big "ZOB" (Zentrale Omnibus-Bahnhof) which is for coaches, but you also get what we would see as bus stations in suburbs built on top of or underneath railway stations for connections. Plenty of those in Hamburg, for one. Similarly in Switzerland there's usually one out front at the railway station. Less common for them to stand alone, though.

Haven't they only just started to allow long distance coaches in Germany, at least for domestic travel?

Are the suburban ones "bare bones" (using the above terminology) or fancy buildings like we get in the UK?