Do we need bus stations?

[W-on-Sea]

Oxford could do with one. (Yes, it has Gloucester Green, but that is only used for long-distance services and a small selection of mainly medium-distance routes going to places west of the city). Otherwise it can be as much as a 10-minute walk (perhaps even more) between the stops at which (e.g.) buses from places northerly arrive and those to which buses to points southerly depart. And, while there are a fair number of posters on bus stops explaining this, it's far from user-friendly. As with so many other infrastructural failings of Oxford, the history and geography conspire to prevent anything very much being done about this....

 

[wintonian]

Oxford could do with one. (Yes, it has Gloucester Green, but that is only used for long-distance services and a small selection of mainly medium-distance routes going to places west of the city). Otherwise it can be as much as a 10-minute walk (perhaps even more) between the stops at which (e.g.) buses from places northerly arrive and those to which buses to points southerly depart. And, while there are a fair number of posters on bus stops explaining this, it's far from user-friendly. As with so many other infrastructural failings of Oxford, the history and geography conspire to prevent anything very much being done about this....

Oxford & buses urgh! :roll:

With all the stops being so scattered around you need to somewhere to enquire about how to get from A - B, and the first place that comes to mind to look for such a facilitie is Debenhams, who of course are highly instrumental in facilitating the local bus service.

I must be just about the only person to go to Oxford who has attempted to find information about the local buses at the bus station - a bit silly of me really. :roll:

 

[Statto]

I'd say yes we do need bus stations, look at Birmingham City Centre which only has a bus station for National Express Coaches, local buses only use Street Stops in the City Centre & if you need to change buses you could end up walking to the other end of the City Centre , were if there was a bus station it'd be easier to change buses without the need to walk to the other side of the City Centre.

However the bus stations in Liverpool City Centre are useless, most services from the North of the City now avoid Liverpool One bus station, Queen Square is far too small to deal with the movements.

 

[dvboy]

It does, however, have a coach station which offers a focal point for longer distance services - in a similar way to MK Coachway & others

Although it's not good for connecting with local bus or train services.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I'd say yes we do need bus stations, look at Birmingham City Centre which only has a bus station for National Express Coaches, local buses only use Street Stops in the City Centre & if you need to change buses you could end up walking to the other end of the City Centre , were if there was a bus station it'd be easier to change buses without the need to walk to the other side of the City Centre.

No matter where you put it, you'd snarl up pretty much every street within the Queensway with buses, and traffic's bad enough in some parts as it is.

Each "interchange" has a bus service that connects with a neighbouring "interchange", so it is possible to connect without crossing the city on foot.

Any sensible person needing to connect with a bus going completely the opposite direction would take an 8 or 11 and avoid the centre.

 

[radamfi]

If you look at small to medium sized towns, for example Maastricht, Chur and Groningen, then naturally you expect all buses to go to a focal point as in a smaller place buses/trams mostly exist on a hub and spoke model. Of course, this focal point is the railway station.

However, in a bigger place, such as Rotterdam, Zurich or Cologne, there is actually less need for a bus station as bus/tram routes are as likely to criss cross the city as go the city centre. Yes, a large number of tram routes pass near Zurich HB or Rotterdam Centraal stations, but many services don't. You don't ask someone in Zurich where the bus/tram station is!

 

[route101]

Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station mostly serves coaches , buses to Cumbernauld , NE . One of the best in UK . Not too many local services use it .

Osborne St near St Enochs Centre has a few services terminate there too .

 

[jopsuk]

cambridge is an odd one- local terminating services use the bus station, through services use nearby stops, but coaches (including the x5, which is technically a bus apparently) use a few bus stops some distance away

 

[overthewater]

Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station mostly serves coaches , buses to Cumbernauld , NE . One of the best in UK . Not too many local services use it .

Osborne St near St Enochs Centre has a few services terminate there too .

Other problem is, EK buses use this, but you can waste up 30mins trying to get out of the city, and many people have said it, you would be quicker walking to bus else where in the city to catch buses in front.

 

[34D]

If you look at small to medium sized towns, for example Maastricht, Chur and Groningen, then naturally you expect all buses to go to a focal point as in a smaller place buses/trams mostly exist on a hub and spoke model. Of course, this focal point is the railway station.

However, in a bigger place, such as Rotterdam, Zurich or Cologne, there is actually less need for a bus station as bus/tram routes are as likely to criss cross the city as go the city centre. Yes, a large number of tram routes pass near Zurich HB or Rotterdam Centraal stations, but many services don't. You don't ask someone in Zurich where the bus/tram station is!

A very good post. Just like there is no London central bus station etc.

In the UK regions, one reason why operators avoid a bus station is departure charges.

 

[exile]

Southport has no bus station - and neither does Widnes (other than a collection of bus stops at Green Oaks). I think both towns suffer for not having one - compare with St Helens, Wigan, Warrington, Bolton, Leigh, Ormskirk, Birkenhead, Chester, Ellesmere Port and Bootle which all have one. Warrington in particular has an excellent modern station adjacent to the shopping centre and a short walk from Central station. It offers a safe, warm and staffed area in which to wait for a bus in the evening, and allows easy interchange between services from different parts of the town, and with out-of-town services. In Southport, by contrast, one is dumped in Lord Street or the railway station and then has to embark on a search, possibly in the rain, to find the correct stop for your onward service.

The thing that is lacking in many towns and cities is some help to find your onward bus service once you arrive in the town by rail. It always seems easier to get a taxi......

 

[johnnychips]

God bless Doncaster Interchange. I can remember two open-air dingy bus stations, the station linked by dubious subways from one of them, a third area for buses from the east at Christ Church and lots of on-street termini.

Now there is one interchange, warm, security guards and clean toilets. The only disadvantage is that if you're in the town centre it's a bit more of a hike to get buses going south-west (buses call on the way in).

 

[telstarbox]

Barnsley Interchange is another modern, safe and attractive bus (and rail) station in South Yorkshire, also well-located for the town centre.

 

[PR1Berske]

Yes we do.

Having buses prowling the streets stopping and starting instead of a central hub is just not practical. It clogs up a town centre and confuses passengers.

 

[Statto]

Southport has no bus station - and neither does Widnes (other than a collection of bus stops at Green Oaks). I think both towns suffer for not having one - compare with St Helens, Wigan, Warrington, Bolton, Leigh, Ormskirk, Birkenhead, Chester, Ellesmere Port and Bootle which all have one. Warrington in particular has an excellent modern station adjacent to the shopping centre and a short walk from Central station. It offers a safe, warm and staffed area in which to wait for a bus in the evening, and allows easy interchange between services from different parts of the town, and with out-of-town services. In Southport, by contrast, one is dumped in Lord Street or the railway station and then has to embark on a search, possibly in the rain, to find the correct stop for your onward service.

The thing that is lacking in many towns and cities is some help to find your onward bus service once you arrive in the town by rail. It always seems easier to get a taxi......

Birkenhead has 2 bus stations, one at Woodside the other by the Market, however the one by the Market was built 15 years ago, but has no layover area as it's quite small[too small which is a trait of most Merseytravel bus stations Queen Square being the worst]. The old bus station in Warrington was dark & dingy, which has replaced by a new bus station[isn't Warrington on it's 3rd bus station?] which is far better than the one it replaced.

Southport used to have a bus station but that was for out of Town services but closed late 80s, when the old bus station was open all Town services in Southport used Street stands as they still do today

 

[Philip Elliott]

Leicester Haymarket is another one attached to a shopping centre but not near the railway station. Leicester St. Margarets is near neither:roll:

 

[ian1944]

I appreciate the problem finding space in Birmingham for a central bus station, but the present setup (five groups of on-street stops, called interchanges) isn't good for strangers travelling between say Cannock and Redditch. Even going to one of the adjacent interchanges to the one you've arrived at is likely to involve crossing traffic, trying to find one of the others is a recipe for confusion, and linking your inbound and outbound radial routes by one of the circular city routes will take longer and again involve a change of stop and crossing a main road. Anyway, how many such travellers know about the circular services?

 

[Statto]

Leicester Haymarket is another one attached to a shopping centre but not near the railway station. Leicester St. Margarets is near neither:roll:

Nottingham is similar although the Broadmarsh is not fart from the rail station, however Victoria & Broadmarsh mainly serve out of Town routes[surprised the Derby express doesnt serve Broadmarsh rather than Victoria given long distance connections from the Broadmarsh], NCT mainly uses Street stops in the City Centre.

 

[Accura]

I appreciate the problem finding space in Birmingham for a central bus station, but the present setup (five groups of on-street stops, called interchanges) isn't good for strangers travelling between say Cannock and Redditch. Even going to one of the adjacent interchanges to the one you've arrived at is likely to involve crossing traffic, trying to find one of the others is a recipe for confusion, and linking your inbound and outbound radial routes by one of the circular city routes will take longer and again involve a change of stop and crossing a main road. Anyway, how many such travellers know about the circular services?

With regards to Birmingham, if Curzon Street station reopens for HS2, there would be plenty of space around for an added bus station interchange. Good access to the rest of the city centre too.

 

[David Goddard]

Two of the best Bus Stations I have used in recent years are those at Leeds and Derby. Both are well laid out with good levels of information, facilities and a few shops as well.
I think that the justification for whether a town or city is best served by a bus staion or a collection of stops along adjacent streets is down to a combination of:
*Road layout
*Whether the town or city is compact or spread out
*The types of routes that come in or out

*Whether these routes can go directly to the centre, or need to make their way round en route
For example, the compact nature of Reading, with its town centre loop road layout, makes it ideal to have a series of stops along the major roads in the town centre (ie St Marys Butts, Friar Street and Station Road). The current set up, in place since Station Hill closed a couple of years ago, is actually a lot better than when everything went up to the Station and in doing so called further away from the town.

Towns that are more spread outand with many more radial services are better served by a Central Bus Station, supplemented by additional stops a few minutes out, to support connections and provide a central information hub.

 

[PaulLothian]

I was disappointed that the new Edinburgh Bus Station never recovered a lot of the services it lost during its extended closure for redevelopment. The old bus station may not have been the most salubrious of places (a masterful piece of understatement), but it was dry, sheltered, and gave easy interchanges.

Livingston's small bus station was demolished a few years back in favour of a bus-only road with stances and shelters and a reasonable information system, running between the two major shopping centres. It works fine although I suspect it would feel less friendly late at night. I think that every bus route running through Livingston comes through.

 

[Deerfold]

Two of the best Bus Stations I have used in recent years are those at Leeds and Derby. Both are well laid out with good levels of information, facilities and a few shops as well.
I think that the justification for whether a town or city is best served by a bus staion or a collection of stops along adjacent streets is down to a combination of:
*Road layout
*Whether the town or city is compact or spread out
*The types of routes that come in or out

...

Towns that are more spread outand with many more radial services are better served by a Central Bus Station, supplemented by additional stops a few minutes out, to support connections and provide a central information hub.

Although I think Leeds Bus Station works well, of 100 bus services serving central Leeds only 43 serve the bus station - this includes some of those which only serve it mid-route in one direction only and several that are peak-time services only. Unfortunately most of the high frequency cross-city services don't go anywhere near it.

 

[ian1944]

I was disappointed that the new Edinburgh Bus Station never recovered a lot of the services it lost during its extended closure for redevelopment. The old bus station may not have been the most salubrious of places (a masterful piece of understatement), but it was dry, sheltered, and gave easy interchanges.

Livingston's small bus station was demolished a few years back in favour of a bus-only road with stances and shelters and a reasonable information system, running between the two major shopping centres. It works fine although I suspect it would feel less friendly late at night. I think that every bus route running through Livingston comes through.

In Edinburgh, First services to Midlothian as such have ended, but those continuing to the Borders (62/X95) use the SAS bus station. Their services to W Lothian, apart from the 43 to Queensferry, have given up using the BS, possibly to save access charges, and for some time have terminated on-street in Waterloo Place. Likewise First E Lothian terminate on-street near Haymarket. This is no great drawback, as all these non-BS services run along Princes St a couple of hundred yards away, as do most of the Lothian Buses city services. It takes very little work to learn what's what in Edinburgh.

I found Livingston's arrangement very poor when I was last there. The supposed realtime information displays at each stop weren't working (do they ever?), it was hard to find which services went from each stop, and the identity of each stop was hard to see. In contrast, the Fife bus stations at Dunfermline, Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, Leven and St Andrews are what they should be.

 

[Condor7]

I'd hate trying to find the right bus in Glasgow if there was no bus station. 50 odd stands, all well used, serving destinations all over the country. It makes journeys easier, meaning there is no need to walk across the city centre from one set of stops to another.

I think for most of the general public, this is a similar situation.
If you are not frequent bus travellers and especially in city centres, you will not be familiar with just what route the bus you want takes through the city.
Of indeed if there are the option of more than one bus to choose to get you where you want.

By going to the bus station you have all the options there, and someone to ask if you are unsure, and somewhere sheltered to sit.

 

[Charlie2555]

...or are they just outdated vanity show-pieces?

It disturbs me to read that both Salisbury and Amesbury bus stations are soon to close.

Are Salisbury and Amesbury Bus Stations to close then? If so does anyone know when?

And on topic, I prefer bus stations as they are much easier to find where to catch your bus and sometimes you might not know what side of the road to wait at a bus stop if you are unfamiliar with the area and some urban areas are awkward as they have one way streets and the like.

 

[wintonian]

Are Salisbury and Amesbury Bus Stations to close then? If so does anyone know when?

In the spring according to the Omnibuses link I put in the original post.

I was there in Endless street a couple of days ago and it seem that the toilets have already been permanently shut while the ever increasing amount of paint flaking off the walls now appears to start to decrease in volume. Bus stations down here in the main have not been cared for for many years and get let to fall into a state of condemnation which is then, along with the costs of maintenance and restoration is eventually used as an excuses for closure. One assumes that as these companys are running a public service the potential value of any city centre assets and what could be built upon them hasn't entered into the equation.

 

[Welshman]

Although I think Leeds Bus Station works well, of 100 bus services serving central Leeds only 43 serve the bus station - this includes some of those which only serve it mid-route in one direction only and several that are peak-time services only. Unfortunately most of the high frequency cross-city services don't go anywhere near it.

There's even one - the much vaunted Service 72 Hyperlink, which passes empty through the bus station to turn round, but is not able to unload/board there because of its length and difficulty of reversing!

 

[Statto]

There's even one - the much vaunted Service 72 Hyperlink, which passes empty through the bus station to turn round, but is not able to unload/board there because of its length and difficulty of reversing!

& the 72 used to stop at the bus station before Artics were introduced.