Worst bus interchanges/stations

[northwichcat]

What are the worse bus interchanges/stations in your opinion?

For me:

Bus stations: Talbot Road, Blackpool is the worse I've seen. Knutsford bus station is also very outdated.

Bus interchanges: I'd go for Wilmslow Bank Square.

 

[trentside]

The worst for me would have to be Lincoln City Bus Station - it's an outdated dive. Buried under a car-park, with awful lighting, numerous leaks and fume filled. It also has recently had the number of departure stands reduced by a third (from 18 to 12) due to the major health and safety risk of buses reversing over pedestrian crossings - apparently, after 30 years this has become a problem for the City Council and Stagecoach.

There also aren't enough places for buses to park between duties, this means out of service buses have to drive round the station until a space becomes available. This means that there can be 2-3 buses just driving round, probably now even worse with less stands, meaning buses can't just wait on their stand between journeys. The City Council also insist on providing coach parking in the bus station, further reducing available parking spaces.

 

[gnolife]

I dont find Bank Square to be that bad.
Hyde Bus station is one that I think has been poorly planned out for such a new looking bus station. Its built so that a fair number of pedestrians have to cross over M67 Jn 3 (or is it 4, i cant remember). And cars coming off the Motorway cant see you coming particularly well if youre heading in
Stepping Hill Hospital interchange is a bit of a poorly planned one as well, you can get a good half dozen buses queueing for 2 stands, and buses have to turn right around to get to the stand, and in some cases, turn straight back the way they were going in the first place.
Come to think of it, Wythenshawe Hospital is much the same.
I couldn't even find Chester Bus Exchange from the train station, so that probably says a lot about it (or about me?)

 

[Tomonthetrain]

Any new build Centro bus station (Wolverhampton, Halesowen, Coventry, West Bromwich, the unfinished Stourbridge one)

 

[Welshman]

I couldn't even find Chester Bus Exchange from the train station, so that probably says a lot about it (or about me?)

No - that says a lot about Chester's idea of bus/rail integration.
There's a free bus from the station to the shops for those with valid rail tickets. But it doesn't serve the bus station. You still have to walk from Frodsham St.

 

[deltic1989]

The worst for me would have to be Lincoln City Bus Station - it's an outdated dive. Buried under a car-park, with awful lighting, numerous leaks and fume filled. It also has recently had the number of departure stands reduced by a third (from 18 to 12) due to the major health and safety risk of buses reversing over pedestrian crossings - apparently, after 30 years this has become a problem for the City Council and Stagecoach.

There also aren't enough places for buses to park between duties, this means out of service buses have to drive round the station until a space becomes available. This means that there can be 2-3 buses just driving round, probably now even worse with less stands, meaning buses can't just wait on their stand between journeys. The City Council also insist on providing coach parking in the bus station, further reducing available parking spaces.

I entirely agree that place hasnt been fit for purpose for years, when I want a bus from town I will deliberately walk up to the bus stop just after portland street and get off in portland street just to avoid that dump. i hope the plan to move and incorperate the bus station into the Railway station comes off, the artists drawing look pretty good IMHO.

 

[causton]

http://g.co/maps/su4nf

This is pathetic in a different way - look how spacious and big it is, and because they placed it just-too-far-away from where all the buses actually go, it gets 4 buses an hour during the daytime, two of which go nowhere useful, one just goes round the corner and only one is useful, going to St Albans. Meanwhile, a short distance away 14 buses an hour go between Hatfield and St Albans, using four stops plonked on the sides of a dual carriageway (three of which don't even have any timetable information, thanks to Herts removing the old bus stops without any form of replacement... that's another story though)

So there you go, one bus station that looks really good but is so underused the one time I went to catch a bus from there recently, the driver just skipped it and drove straight past, expecting nobody to be there!

 

[exile]

Locally - Halton Lea is quite convenient for shopping and is on the Runcorn "Busway" but is a bit spartan. The Runcorn Old Town bus station is a collection of bus stops rather than a real bus station, as is Green Oaks in Widnes. Earlestown is much the same. as is Prescot. Southport has nothing resembling a bus station at all.

A bus station should have IMO - enclosed (preferably heated) waiting accommodation with adequate seating - staff on hand most of the day, with a help/emergency point at other times - good bus times information, ideally real time - toilets - shop(s). The only stations that I know of in the area that meet those standards are - Warrington, Liverpool Norton St (coach station), Manchester Central coach station. Birkenhead, St Helens, Wigan, Bolton, Leigh are not too bad though.

 

[trentside]

A bus station should have IMO - enclosed (preferably heated) waiting accommodation with adequate seating - staff on hand most of the day, with a help/emergency point at other times - good bus times information, ideally real time - toilets - shop(s).

This is essentially what Nottinghamshire County Council specify in their new bus station designs. Retford was completed a few years ago and is an excellent facility, and Newark is currently in the process of being rebuilt (though I'll always miss the old bus station cafe).

http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/traffic_and_travel/buses/busstations/retfordbusstation.htm

 

[Harlesden]

Grimsby bus station.
Looks like it was erected in a couple of hours. Totally in the open.
Too far from Grimsby Town station (it could have been sited dead opposite with a bit more thought)
Although adjacent to the shopping mall, passengers still get wet during heavy rain as there is no covered walkway.

 

[northwichcat]

There's a free bus from the station to the shops for those with valid rail tickets. But it doesn't serve the bus station. You still have to walk from Frodsham St.

There shouldn't be any need to present a rail ticket to get free travel on the bus since ATW installed ticket barriers at Chester which swallow up tickets.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Although the connection for the railway station is perfect (about ten yards at the closest point), Blackburn bus station is horrid. For a town of 105,000 and 40-50 buses an hour, it is unmanned (the nearest staffed information point is in a box room 0.3 miles away), and only has row after row of plastic shelters (and a roadside shelter about 100 yards long, behind the photo below):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Blackburn_bus_station_-_DSC03742.JPG

 

[valenta]

The Eldon square bus station in Newcastle used to be dark and horrible. However that has now been turned into a car park and a nice, less dark, station has been built: LINK DELETED

 

[valenta]

Link wouldn't work on previous post. Here's the photo of the old Eldon Square bus station

 

[starrymarkb]

Plymouth Bus station is horrible, seems to be full of scunge most of the time and is just grim!

Exeter is OK but can be a bit windblown (though the city is due a new one at some point - Land Securities have the right to the site subject to a new bus station being included but the economy has put the project on the back burner for the time being

 

[stut]

In terms of the actual structure, Bedford bus station is pretty dire. There's an old joke that say that Bedford isn't twinned with anywhere, but it does have a suicide pact with Warsaw, and the area immediately around the bus station is the reason why. The area is ugly, windswept and filthy, heavy with the smell of rarely-cleaned clothes shops and discount butchers. The bus stands themselves are dominated by an old, very enclosed chippy, meaning that everything has a layer of grease on it, and an aroma of malt vinegar.

OTOH, it works rather well. I know I can make a 5-minute connection to the X5 there, with minutes to spare, and that there are bus lanes in the right places to help me do so.

 

[trentside]

Scunthorpe isn't great either, just a collection of shelters which provide very little protection from the elements - as this photo demonstrates;

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Bus stations: Talbot Road, Blackpool is the worse I've seen.

The last time that I was in that area, all the bus services had been removed from the bus station and had been scattered around the surrounding streets, to the confusion of both residents and visitors.

Incidentally, the Stagecoach service X60/X61 that used to run between Manchester and Blackpool, now only runs between Manchester and Preston, as detailed in the new timetable. Connections to other services now having to be made at Preston Bus Station.....which is also a contender for the worst bus station in terms of its general look of deprivation.

 

[Blindtraveler]

wondered when preston would come up? Personally dnt think its too bad. Agree on blackpool though and carlisle leavs a bit to be desired though the bogs are ok

 

[anthony263]

Swansea old quadrant bus stn was terrible. The new 1 however is brilliant, that said now that greggs etc have opened there is now a problem with litter again.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It is a while since I visited Rhyl but I can remember the bus station there at the time being poor for a holiday resort. I was there on business, with time to spare, and found it by accident.

Crewe bus station is a long way from the railway station and is depressing in its general ambiance (perhaps the TOC are happy about their passengers not having to see this edifice). Even Leek bus station is better than the one at Crewe.

 

[shinkansen1966]

The Eldon square bus station ... now been turned into a car park

What an original idea. And a major contribution to integrated public transport.

 

[deltic1989]

can't say I'm all that impressed with Grantham Bus Station, bit like Grimsby and Scumthorpe just a few shelters thrown up and leaking like mad.

 

[trentside]

can't say I'm all that impressed with Grantham Bus Station, bit like Grimsby and Scumthorpe just a few shelters thrown up and leaking like mad.

Add Boston and Spalding to that list, oh and Louth and Skegness.

I don't think Lincolnshire has one decent bus station :roll:

The signage at Boston still makes reference to Elseys of Gosberton and Enterprise & Silver Dawn (Waddington) who both ceased trading in the 1990s.

 

[Statto]

It is a while since I visited Rhyl but I can remember the bus station there at the time being poor for a holiday resort. I was there on business, with time to spare, and found it by accident.

Crewe bus station is a long way from the railway station and is depressing in its general ambiance (perhaps the TOC are happy about their passengers not having to see this edifice). Even Leek bus station is better than the one at Crewe.

All Rhyl is is a few stands at the Rail Station very poor. I agree about Crewe, horrible bus station with a couple of stands blocked off. Preston needs to be demolished & rebuilt, not a plesent experience waiting late at night.

For a modern bus station, Liverpool's Queen Square is prety poor bus station, especially if theres a couple of buses waiting to get into the stand, as well as the Traffic lights at either end yoiu can take up top 20 min or longer going through there.

I do dislike Manchester Piccadilly Gardens bus station, just bus shelters for a major bus station is poor, at least Shudehill is more decent bus station

 

[class377man]

In terms of the actual structure, Bedford bus station is pretty dire. There's an old joke that say that Bedford isn't twinned with anywhere, but it does have a suicide pact with Warsaw, and the area immediately around the bus station is the reason why. The area is ugly, windswept and filthy, heavy with the smell of rarely-cleaned clothes shops and discount butchers. The bus stands themselves are dominated by an old, very enclosed chippy, meaning that everything has a layer of grease on it, and an aroma of malt vinegar.

OTOH, it works rather well. I know I can make a 5-minute connection to the X5 there, with minutes to spare, and that there are bus lanes in the right places to help me do so.

I think the same applies to it's near neighbour at Northampton. It works well operationally, maybe not as well as Bedford because it's four or five times the size, but my lord it has to be one of the most depressing places on the planet.

That chippy at Bedford is really nice by the way, and personally I like the smell

 

[BrummyBoy]

Walsall Bradford Place, not bad looking but to many services serving it as well as the smaller indipendants who just spend half the day parked up or blocking the stands waiting for the next NX bus.

 

[ReverendFozz]

Personally I think Sunderland Park Lane is awful, simply for it's design, the roof in particular, when we have had bad weather lately, the snow that gathers on the roof ends up on the deck and blocks off stands.

Another awful Bus Station is probably Hetton, near Sunderland, 4 stands, and if you arrive at the wrong time, can end up in a queue of 3/4 buses going through

 

[ChathillMan]

Bishop Auckland Bus Station is awful, its huge, exposed and you have to literally visit each stand to find out which stop your bus goes from because it doesn't have a display with stand information, just a timetable on each shelter. Least it has a toilet.....

If I can throw in London Victoria Coach Station too (especially Stands 12-20), it is a horrible experience, The waiting areas are small, pigeons are everywhere and the smell is horrid. The Greenline one across the road maybe a darker place but least it appears clean. Victoria is not a Coach Station befitting of London when you consider all the infrastructure projects around the city

 

[jon0844]

So there you go, one bus station that looks really good but is so underused the one time I went to catch a bus from there recently, the driver just skipped it and drove straight past, expecting nobody to be there!

Ah, the Parkhouse bus station. Yes, besides some buses that have to pass simply as the road design forces them to go through (but, some drivers drive through the no entry and skip completely), there's only really one or two that 'call' there and I've never once in my life stopped there to let someone alight or board.

Recently one of the screens has fallen down and there's a cable hanging down that's capped off with blue tape. I really hope it's not live!

It is surely the most pointless bus station ever and has so many individual stops when there's never likely to be more than two buses there at any one time. With the amount of grass and weeds growing, you'd think this station was about 20 years old when it's about 2 at most.