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

[Bletchleyite]

Creating this thread alongside the best/worst threads - where just has a couple of manky shelters but could really do with something "proper"?

I'm going to start it off with Ambleside, and the car park behind the present manky shelters would be the perfect size for one. The Lakes bus network is really rather good and well-presented, but the infrastructure is awful.

I'd also say Betws y Coed and Llanberis could do with something more substantial to support an improved Snowdon Sherpa service.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Creating this thread alongside the best/worst threads - where just has a couple of manky shelters but could really do with something "proper"?

I'm going to start it off with Ambleside, and the car park behind the present manky shelters would be the perfect size for one. The Lakes bus network is really rather good and well-presented, but the infrastructure is awful.

I'd also say Betws y Coed and Llanberis could do with something more substantial to support an improved Snowdon Sherpa service.

Ambleside could certainly do with something better, as could Betws; not so certain on Llanberis.

Other places that could (and many have lost their bus stations since dereg as bus companies/property firms cashed in) have bus stations:

• Weston super Mare - some buses load and layover on the Sea Front, some on Regent Street, some at an art installation cum bus shelter nicknamed "the Carrot" and it's a real bind
• Salisbury - avoids playing hunt the bus at several spots in the city centre
• Darlington - as per Salisbury
• Trowbridge - most buses use two bus shelters near the Town Hall but tend to shelter in the entrance to a naff shopping arcade; the other third of services use a shabby bus shelter on the other side of the town centre about 5-10 mins walk
• Burton on Trent - most services use New Street which is convenient but again few facilities
• Berwick - tricky as the obvious site was the old bus station, now redeveloped and whilst many terminate at the train station, that is out of town; waiting there is a joyless experience
• Motherwell - for a town that size, I don't think it's ever had one
• Goole - it's too cold not to have one

Some fairly sizeable places don't have them and don't need them; I'd put Cheltenham and York in that category (and yes, I know Cheltenham has Royal Well but most services don't use it).

 

[S&CLER]

Creating this thread alongside the best/worst threads - where just has a couple of manky shelters but could really do with something "proper"?

I'm going to start it off with Ambleside, and the car park behind the present manky shelters would be the perfect size for one. The Lakes bus network is really rather good and well-presented, but the infrastructure is awful.

I'd also say Betws y Coed and Llanberis could do with something more substantial to support an improved Snowdon Sherpa service.

Keswick has no decent bus station either. One can use the facilities in Booths, but they shut at 4 pm on Sunday. There is some shelter under the canopies outside Booths.
Southport hasn't had a bus station since the old Lord Street station site was vacated . Currently the few services terminating in town (2, 300, 315, 347, 375 and 385) turn round outside the old bus station (2, 347, 375 and 385) or at the other end of Lord Street (300 and 315). All other services run through town and don't need a bus station. Where you could put one is hard to say, but the London Street side of the railway station is a possibility.
And of course Ormskirk bus station could do with a thorough smartening-up.

 

[Andyh82]

York - Not for city services, but so long distance services could have somewhere proper to depart from, rather than using standard bus stops and having to layover on the street, or hanging about getting in the way outside the station

I don’t know where you’d build it though, before they refurbished it, they could maybe have knocked down the 60s building on the Stonebow and put it there or alternatively incorporate something more substantial outside the station, if they ever do the redevelopment that involves knocking down the road bridge.

 

[overthewater]

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.

 

[Bletchleyite]

And of course Ormskirk bus station could do with a thorough smartening-up.

That is planned, paid for by a development of student flats and building a new one in less space, probably a "nose in" one as most services either terminate there or have a decent layover and there are fewer services than there used to be, so the existing one is somewhat of a waste of space.

Southport hasn't had a bus station since the old Lord Street station site was vacated . Currently the few services terminating in town (2, 300, 315, 347, 375 and 385) turn round outside the old bus station (2, 347, 375 and 385) or at the other end of Lord Street (300 and 315). All other services run through town and don't need a bus station. Where you could put one is hard to say, but the London Street side of the railway station is a possibility.

Given how Southport is strung out along Lord Street I wonder if it would be well-used? Milton Keynes is another example of somewhere that doesn't really need one because cross-city running works better due to the central destinations being strung out along Midsummer Boulevard, though you could sort of consider the collection of shelters in front of the station to be one. There is the old, abandoned one (which I'm sure was excellent in its heyday) but it's not in a very useful location.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

York - Not for city services, but so long distance services could have somewhere proper to depart from, rather than using standard bus stops and having to layover on the street, or hanging about getting in the way outside the station

I don’t know where you’d build it though, before they refurbished it, they could maybe have knocked down the 60s building on the Stonebow and put it there or alternatively incorporate something more substantial outside the station, if they ever do the redevelopment that involves knocking down the road bridge.

To be honest, that is the role that Rougier Street performed for many years. It was where WYRCC had their offices.


Another one that springs to mind - Livingston.

 

[route101]

Irvine, big town no bus station.

Clydebank, not used as a Bus Station.

Has York ever had a bus station?

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

I don't know how well it does without one (and therefore whether it could do with one), but I'm rather surprised that Brighton, considering its size and importance, doesn't have a bus station.

 

[Ianno87]

I don't know how well it does without one (and therefore whether it could do with one), but I'm rather surprised that Brighton, considering its size and importance, doesn't have a bus station.

Thinking of seaside towns, Southport doesn't either.

 

[JonathanH]

I don't know how well it does without one (and therefore whether it could do with one), but I'm rather surprised that Brighton, considering its size and importance, doesn't have a bus station.

It has a coach station on the site of the old Southdown bus station at 'Pool Valley'. Nothing more than a layby really though. The problem being that it isn't really in a very good location relative to where the shops are. Far easier to lay vehicles over on Old Steine or around the area of Churchill Square.

Pool Valley coach station, Brighton © Robin Webster

A far from impressive coach station for a city such as Brighton, but it has the merit of being right by the pier. The green bus is on a free service to and from the Bluebell Railway, on a special transport day.

www.geograph.org.uk

 

[aliceh]

Bournemouth.

It used to have one, which burned down in the 70s and became a car park. Instead, you have (and admittedly some of this has changed in COVID times) every town centre service using a short road with bus stops lining both sides and only room for three buses across (i.e. two at stops and one passing through the middle). This inevitably leads to queues as buses go one at a time through Gervis Place, trying to dodge pedestrians who cross in the gaps between parked buses - there's a designated place to cross, but it's right at one end and a huge detour if you're hurrying to catch your bus.

It's not even great for pedestrians - the stops on the northern side have a narrow pavement and congregating passengers regularly block the way through at the narrowest part (naturally, the stop used by the most popular services), whilst at night the (mostly disused) shop doorways are pretty poorly lit. It's really an awful place to catch a bus from.

 

[JonathanH]

Bournemouth.

It used to have one, which burned down in the 70s and became a car park. Instead, you have (and admittedly some of this has changed in COVID times) every town centre service using a short road with bus stops lining both sides and only room for three buses across (i.e. two at stops and one passing through the middle). This inevitably leads to queues as buses go one at a time through Gervis Place, trying to dodge pedestrians who cross in the gaps between parked buses - there's a designated place to cross, but it's right at one end and a huge detour if you're hurrying to catch your bus.

It's not even great for pedestrians - the stops on the northern side have a narrow pavement and congregating passengers regularly block the way through at the narrowest part (naturally, the stop used by the most popular services), whilst at night the (mostly disused) shop doorways are pretty poorly lit. It's really an awful place to catch a bus from.

Bournemouth still has a bus station by the railway station. Again, the location isn't much good for 'the shops' but some buses terminate there (eg the Purbeck Breezer). I concede that many don't.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Thinking of seaside towns, Southport doesn't either.

Quite a few coastal towns don't. Weymouth is another but that's ok as they all terminate around the Kings Statue.

Brighton, of course, did have Pool Valley for many years for local services, where the coach services terminate as has been said. Bournemouth did lose its bus station in the fire but also had the Triangle as a temporary replacement for some years but it was so small, many services had to be rerouted, hence the Interchange by the station.

Blackpool lost its bus station and so did Scarborough. Bridlington lost its bus station but then regained one after about a 20 year gap.

I think it might be because coastal towns are a bit special. They have fewer inter-urban services radiating out, much more seasonality, and for the more popular resorts, land values can be higher.

 

[507021]

Douglas, Port Erin and Peel on the Isle of Man.

 

[cammyeaston]

I'd suggest that the likes of Oban and Fort William could do with a proper bus station more so that there were adequate facilties for passengers such as a small shop for beverages, toilets, luggage lockers and a small ticket/info stand.

Fort William currently has a row of shelters next to the railway station and Oban has nothing. Would also be a good way of connecting from long distance coach services to local buses.

 

[Boo_]

Manchester needs 1 hub.

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

every town centre service using a short road with bus stops lining both sides

Being slightly pendantic, a few (e.g36) Yellow Buses services run via Avenue Road and so miss out Gervis Place. Bournemouth’s Square has been pedestrian only for several years and buses have to run via The Triangle to cross The Square.

Bournemouth still has a bus station by the railway station. Again, the location isn't much good for 'the shops' but some buses terminate there (eg the Purbeck Breezer). I concede that many don't.

Purbeck Breezer and National Express are the only ones I can think of which terminate. It does however provide frequent connections on passing services to and from the town centre and also Castle Point, which is increasingly the main shopping in the area.

 

[Crisps]

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!

 

[ashkeba]

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

 

[Westcountryman]

Bournemouth still has a bus station by the railway station. Again, the location isn't much good for 'the shops' but some buses terminate there (eg the Purbeck Breezer). I concede that many don't.

Bournemouth has an Interchange at the railway station. The only bus service (as far as I remember) which uses the stands is the Morebus/Purbeck Breezer No 50.Several of the Yellow Buses and Morebus services pass through, and it is frequently used for crew changes. The majority of the services are coach services, so it could be better described as a coach station. It is rather underused, but there is probably no better place for coaches. Bus as a bus station, a waste of land.

 

[Jordan Adam]

• Motherwell - for a town that size, I don't think it's ever had one

There's a bus station just along the road in Hamilton, the way the bus network is in Motherwell there's not really any need for a bus station as most services operate cross town, i suspect a bus station would just create a pinch point in the network and slow services down.

 

[Contains Nuts]

Stafford is rather complicated. There is a small bus station at Gaol Square but due to the layout of various one way roads in the town centre it is not accessible by every service. In some cases it can be a fair trek to one of half-a-dozen other points in the town where other buses go from, which is fine if you are able to walk but if you can’t it makes some services very difficult to use.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

There's a bus station just along the road in Hamilton, the way the bus network is in Motherwell there's not really any need for a bus station as most services operate cross town, i suspect a bus station would just create a pinch point in the network and slow services down.

Perhaps the lack of a bus station has shaped the network but Motherwell is a fairly significant place not to have a decent place to wait for a bus

Stafford is rather complicated. There is a small bus station at Gaol Square but due to the layout of various one way roads in the town centre it is not accessible by every service. In some cases it can be a fair trek to one of half-a-dozen other points in the town where other buses go from, which is fine if you are able to walk but if you can’t it makes some services very difficult to use.

Staffordshire is the home of the p*** poor bus station. Burton doesn't have one, Stafford has half a bus station (and poor at that but for the reasons you mention), Hednesford lost its (though it was crap), Tamworth lost its in favour of some bus stops round the corner, and the ones at Uttoxeter, Lichfield, Rugeley, Leek and Cannock are frankly terrible.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Staffordshire is the home of the p*** poor bus station. Burton doesn't have one, Stafford has half a bus station (and poor at that but for the reasons you mention), Hednesford lost its (though it was crap), Tamworth lost its in favour of some bus stops round the corner, and the ones at Uttoxeter, Lichfield, Rugeley, Leek and Cannock are frankly terrible.

Mind you, Stoke - wow!

Stoke bus station looking impressively Swiss - reminds me of Zuerich airport!

 

[65477]

Three small towns

Cromer - a new bus station was promised but only buses to the East / South stop at the new stands those to the West stop in the street opposite. Oddly the bus stop going East actually faces west.

Braintree at the moment the old bus park is being redeveloped and it will be interesting to see what actually re-emerges - at one time the proposal was for street stops only.

Lastly somewhere that currently has a toilet and a couple of shelters could do with a full upgrade but where there are plans for street stop - Sudbury in Suffiolk

 

[Pat1105]

Scarborough - lots of services departing from all over the town centre

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Mind you, Stoke - wow!

Stoke bus station looking impressively Swiss - reminds me of Zuerich airport!

Hanley (and Longton and Newcastle) are over the border in unitary land. Hanley is pretty good even if it's a bit peripheral because the town centre redevelopment is delayed.

 

[Man of Kent]

Hanley (and Longton and Newcastle) are over the border in unitary land. Hanley is pretty good even if it's a bit peripheral because the town centre redevelopment is delayed.

Newcastle is not in Stoke unitary, it's in Staffordshire.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Newcastle is not in Stoke unitary, it's in Staffordshire.

Whoops - I knew it wasn’t one of the 5 towns but thought it lumped in with the rest of the conurbation. Thanks for putting me right!