Multi Storey Bus Stations

[py_megapixel]

Are there any examples in the UK or abroad of multi-storey bus stations?

Past, present and future examples welcome, but I'm specifically thinking of a situation where buses themselves can drive between the levels - not a bus station with other facilities built on top of it, nor a situation where two roads just happen to approach a point at different heights but there is no vehicle access between them.

If such a thing exists, I would be interested to hear it whether or not there is any restriction on what buses can use it (e.g. are double deckers allowed)?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm not sure buses can drive between them, but the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York certainly fulfils the requirement of there being buses on multiple levels.

 

[Man of Kent]

Are there any examples in the UK or abroad of multi-storey bus stations?

Past, present and future examples welcome, but I'm specifically thinking of a situation where buses themselves can drive between the levels - not a bus station with other facilities built on top of it, nor a situation where two roads just happen to approach a point at different heights but there is no vehicle access between them.

If such a thing exists, I would be interested to hear it whether or not there is any restriction on what buses can use it (e.g. are double deckers allowed)?

Middlesbrough possibly falls into this category, but the upper level is over passenger areas, not roadway.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Only thing I can think of in the UK that comes close to that as described is Middlesbrough bus station.

The bus station is a horseshoe shape with buses serving the outside and the inside of the horseshoe. The main part of the bus station is at ground level but, above the passenger concourse, they built the coach lounge for long-distance coaches. So buses on the outside of the horseshoe have to go up the ramp, past the coach stops which are on the first floor, then back down the other side.

This photo (courtesy of Middlesbrough Council) shows what I mean: you can see the ramps to the right and left of the photo. The coach lounge is dead centre, above the main concourse.

But the buses don't go over another road, it's the passenger concourse underneath.

Access improvements- week 4

Day 26 The work to the concrete turning circle are now almost complete and the road markings have been put down.

www.flickr.com

 

[PeterC]

Hammersmith has two levels

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Middlesbrough is one of my favourite bus stations (and I'm sad to see it slightly careworn these days).

One that I can think of truly multi-storey, though before my time, was the former Bournemouth bus and coach station. Built using the contours of the land, the bus station above was built in a horseshoe with the coach station/depot beneath. https://www.flickr.com/photos/rw3-4...-2k5sSBG-rYmMXW-2k5orQw-2k5dAdN-XZwXYx-5CVTBT

Photo on flickr courtesy of Chris Stanley



The old Exeter bus and coach station was on different levels but adjacent to each other.

Not a bus station but the old New Street depot in Edinburgh was multi-storey.

 

[route101]

Istanbul has a massive bus station. Vaguely remember arriving overnight from Greece.

 

[xydancer]

Taipei Bus Station (actually the city's long-distance coach station), opened in 2009, has arrivals/departures from three levels, what we would call the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. It runs very smoothly.

The ground floor and basement are a shopping mall. Ticket counters are also on the ground floor.

 

[Trainman40083]

Wasn't there multi storey bus depots in Hong Kong? Built due to lack of space .

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Feb 2026 ==

Wasn't there multi storey bus depots in Hong Kong? Built due to lack of space .

 

[Non Multi]

Heathrow T5 bus station. Some Heathrow bound coaches use the top deck stops to set down.

 

[Simon75]

Outside of the UK Box Hill in Melbourne Australia above the railway station and shopping centre
In the UK Blackpool used to. Bradford is currently condemned
Aylesbury , Doncaster currently have

 

[izvor]

Gatwick Airport South Terminal has buses and coaches on 2 levels. Double-deckers can use both.

 

[boiledbeans2]

Wasn't there multi storey bus depots in Hong Kong? Built due to lack of space .

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Feb 2026 ==

Same for Singapore, if bus depots are included. No issues with double deckers as seen in the photo below.

https://landtransportguru.net/web/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Soon-Lee-Depot-Feb17-8.jpg

 

[Statto]

The former Ribble Skelhorne Street bus & coach station in Liverpool was on 2 levels, with the coach station above the bus station (i found it amusing Ribble express routes departed from the coach station section, & not the bus station), & the bus station could be tricky when buses were leaving the stands, particularly with bays near the entrance.

 

[Tetchytyke]

If we're talking subterranean bus depots, then Bradford Interchange would count. The bus station is above and the bus depot was in the basement. There was no direct link between the two.

The basement depot was always completely unsuitable and I'm amazed it took Yorkshire Rider/First as long as it did to move out. It was a car park for a bingo hall for a while and now it's empty.

 

[satters]

I believe there was a bus station built beneath the 1960s Library in Birmingham, but it was never used

 

[Andyh82]

If we're talking subterranean bus depots, then Bradford Interchange would count. The bus station is above and the bus depot was in the basement. There was no direct link between the two.

The basement depot was always completely unsuitable and I'm amazed it took Yorkshire Rider/First as long as it did to move out. It was a car park for a bingo hall for a while and now it's empty.

There was a direct link, a ramp from the bus depot to the bus station. It’s still there in a disused state.

Why was the depot unsuitable, I thought they moved out because half the site was sold off to build the Abbey National building

 

[RT4038]

Toulouse Gare Routiere ?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Why was the depot unsuitable, I thought they moved out because half the site was sold off to build the Abbey National building

Water ingress was what I believed was the problem

 

[Tetchytyke]

Why was the depot unsuitable, I thought they moved out because half the site was sold off to build the Abbey National building

No, the space which was the depot is still there, underneath the new bus station. It was that space which became structurally unsound causing the bus station to be closed.

My memory is hazy now but I think they moved up to Bowling Back Lane even before the redevelopment. From memory, they always had significant issues with ventilation and also some issues with water ingress. The water ingress got much worse after the bus station was redeveloped, but from memory there was always issues.

 

[67thave]

Are there any examples in the UK or abroad of multi-storey bus stations?

Past, present and future examples welcome, but I'm specifically thinking of a situation where buses themselves can drive between the levels - not a bus station with other facilities built on top of it, nor a situation where two roads just happen to approach a point at different heights but there is no vehicle access between them.

If such a thing exists, I would be interested to hear it whether or not there is any restriction on what buses can use it (e.g. are double deckers allowed)?

Tel Aviv's central bus station (the larger of the two bus stations serving the city - the other is essentially a parking lot with a few shelters) has two operational floors for bus departures.
The reason why the word "operational" is here has to do with the fact that the bus station is much larger than most and has at least two abandoned floors (including one floor of abandoned bus bays).

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

No, the space which was the depot is still there, underneath the new bus station. It was that space which became structurally unsound causing the bus station to be closed.

My memory is hazy now but I think they moved up to Bowling Back Lane even before the redevelopment. From memory, they always had significant issues with ventilation and also some issues with water ingress. The water ingress got much worse after the bus station was redeveloped, but from memory there was always issues.

Your memory is correct. The move to Bowling Back Lane was circa 1996/7, but definitely before the interchange was rebuilt. I remember photographing at the old interchange and seeing the staff shuttle buses (route A1 IIRC) going up and down to Bowling.

 

[Andyh82]

Your memory is correct. The move to Bowling Back Lane was circa 1996/7, but definitely before the interchange was rebuilt. I remember photographing at the old interchange and seeing the staff shuttle buses (route A1 IIRC) going up and down to Bowling.

It depends what you mean by rebuilt, the Interchange existed with just 3 stands A, B & C and the roof having been cut back for a number of years in the 90s with the Santander building eventually been built where D, E & F were.
As you can almost see here

Bradford, Old Bus Station, Interchange, 1997

Explore rainermaria2012's 14 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

I believe there was a period between the depot space being reduced in half, and the new depot opening where some buses had to park in the bus station and hence evenings and Sundays only some stands were open.

Bowling Back Lane opened 1997 in the ‘Bradford Traveller’ era

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It depends what you mean by rebuilt, the Interchange existed with just 3 stands A, B & C and the roof having been cut back for a number of years in the 90s with the Santander building eventually been built where D, E & F were.
As you can almost see here

Seeing that photo, you can almost feel sorry for younger enthusiasts who never got the opportunity to experience the craziness of that imposing design. I think I first saw it in c.1987 having caught a 653 from Harrogate - jaw on the floor moment!

I guess "rebuild" is referring to the wholesale removal of the 1970s structure

 

[Tetchytyke]

It depends what you mean by rebuilt, the Interchange existed with just 3 stands A, B & C and the roof having been cut back for a number of years in the 90s with the Santander building eventually been built where D, E & F were.

I don't remember the period of the cut back roof lasting very long before they pulled the rest of it down. I do remember the weird and wonderful temporary bus stop locations whilst they did the work. I used to catch my bus home from a temporary stand in the car park area underneath the Croft Street bridge.

Seeing that photo, you can almost feel sorry for younger enthusiasts who never got the opportunity to experience the craziness of that imposing design.

The next photo in that Flickr really shows the scale of the place:

Bradford, Old Bus Station from highrise flats ,1997

Explore rainermaria2012's 14 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Bizarrely, despite all that roof space, the actual islands were very narrow, dark, and dingy. My dad point blank refused to catch buses in there after dark as it was always deserted in the evening and there were a few too many nooks and crannies for undesirables to lurk in. I can't say I ever miss the place.

 

[Hophead]

In Tenerife, the Bus Station in Santa Cruz ("Intercambiador de Santa Cruz de Tenerife") has 3 levels (according to Wikipedia). You can certainly make out 2 of the levels on Street View.

 

[padbus]

Bizarrely, despite all that roof space, the actual islands were very narrow, dark, and dingy. My dad point blank refused to catch buses in there after dark as it was always deserted in the evening and there were a few too many nooks and crannies for undesirables to lurk in. I can't say I ever miss the place.

I did once experience the interchange in its original form and, like your dad, I felt unsafe there.

 

[Andyh82]

I did once experience the interchange in its original form and, like your dad, I felt unsafe there.

I didn’t feel unsafe but due to how old I was at the time, I only visited during the day

You are clearly looking at 1970s design through a 2026 viewpoint. Dark and dingy for example was just the design of the time. The iconic Preston was/is made of similar materials such as the black rubber flooring and cream/brown tiles, and also will have had lots of corners that dodgy characters could hide behind

I have a soft spot for the old Bradford Interchange as it was as it was, like Preston, very of its time and a good example of that 1970s style of design. The current structure isn’t iconic or memorable in any way. It could also be argued that if they hadn’t messed about with it so many times it probably wouldn’t be structurally unsafe like it is now.

 

[IanMac]

Middlesbrough is one of my favourite bus stations (and I'm sad to see it slightly careworn these days).

One that I can think of truly multi-storey, though before my time, was the former Bournemouth bus and coach station. Built using the contours of the land, the bus station above was built in a horseshoe with the coach station/depot beneath. https://www.flickr.com/photos/rw3-4...-2k5sSBG-rYmMXW-2k5orQw-2k5dAdN-XZwXYx-5CVTBT

Photo on flickr courtesy of Chris Stanley

View attachment 198952

The old Exeter bus and coach station was on different levels but adjacent to each other.

Not a bus station but the old New Street depot in Edinburgh was multi-storey.

Re Bournemouth: the photo shows the structure that burned down about 1975 (if I remember correctly). The previous version on the same site was also multistorey, and I remember seeing W&D buses on the 38 from Salisbury inside the building pre-1950.

 

[Trainman40083]

Re Bournemouth: the photo shows the structure that burned down about 1975 (if I remember correctly). The previous version on the same site was also multistorey, and I remember seeing W&D buses on the 38 from Salisbury inside the building pre-1950.

I went on holiday to Bournemouth the year then bus station caught fire. I was staying at a hotel not that far away. I was well disappointed I couldn't get to see it in operation again.