Preston Bus Station

[Busaholic]

I hope they fit live depature board screens! Being the largest bus station in the UK (and possibly Europe), it certainly needs them! And also, it is often claimed to be the 2nd largest bus station in Europe - if that's so, what's the largest (#1)?

Wikipedia is unusually silent on the matter (though better to be silent than wrong) but cites a bus station in Helsinki, Finland as being Europe's largest UNDERGROUND bus station. How it compares with Preston I know not.
As far as the world's largest bus station is concerned, the one in Chennai, India, that holds 500 buses would take some beating! Try finding your bus in that one

 

[Andyh82]

What was the definitition of the largest based on, was it number of stands? Preston Bus station of course having 80, although not all were in use, I would doubt if stands right at each end we’re ever used, or was it surface area of the building and the aprons?

 

[Ayman Ilham]

As the "new" bus station will only be about 60-70% of the capacity of the pre-development, I doubt it will still be anything like the 2nd largest in Europe

It will no longer be largest in terms of the number of stands, since after reducing from 80 to 40, it's gonna be put down to 3rd place in the UK behind Glasgow Buchanan Street (57 stands) and Hull Paragon (42 stands), but will still remain largest size-wise as the terminal building itself will remain thanks to its listed status

 

[Dentonian]

What was the definitition of the largest based on, was it number of stands? Preston Bus station of course having 80, although not all were in use, I would doubt if stands right at each end we’re ever used, or was it surface area of the building and the aprons?

Do we know exactly how many stands the redeveloped Preston Bus Station will have. Based on a visit a couple of months ago, I'm assuming the east side will retain the 40-odd it has now, but I gather he west side will just be for long-distance coaches and possibly a spare parking space or two - so, I would guess around 50 in total.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Wikipedia is unusually silent on the matter (though better to be silent than wrong) but cites a bus station in Helsinki, Finland as being Europe's largest UNDERGROUND bus station. How it compares with Preston I know not.
As far as the world's largest bus station is concerned, the one in Chennai, India, that holds 500 buses would take some beating! Try finding your bus in that one

As a heavy Wikipedia user, I already know that information! I'm looking for something I cannot find on Google since every time I search "largest bus station in Europe" every result I get is about Preston Bus Station!

 

[radamfi]

Wikipedia is unusually silent on the matter (though better to be silent than wrong) but cites a bus station in Helsinki, Finland as being Europe's largest UNDERGROUND bus station. How it compares with Preston I know not.

It is more like a coach station than a bus station (in British terminology) as it is mostly served by long distance coaches. Although a fair few longer distance suburban buses go there because the city centre is in a peninsula so it is a convenient location for buses to the west. It is not like Preston because most city services don't go there and it has its own metro station. Transport within the inner city is primarily by tram or metro so people connect into buses from tram or metro stops.

 

[Busaholic]

It is more like a coach station than a bus station (in British terminology) as it is mostly served by long distance coaches. Although a fair few longer distance suburban buses go there because the city centre is in a peninsula so it is a convenient location for buses to the west. It is not like Preston because most city services don't go there and it has its own metro station. Transport within the inner city is primarily by tram or metro so people connect into buses from tram or metro stops.

That information doesn't surprise me. If there does prove to be a larger bus station than Preston's in Europe I'm sure that it will in fact be host to a lot of what we would call coaches. Preston bus station itself in its early days used to be used by private coach firms offering, for instance, half day tours to Pendle Witch country, because I went on some of them, as well as Ribble/Standerwick/North Western etc coach services predating the umbrella National Express.

 

[Andyh82]

Do we know exactly how many stands the redeveloped Preston Bus Station will have. Based on a visit a couple of months ago, I'm assuming the east side will retain the 40-odd it has now, but I gather he west side will just be for long-distance coaches and possibly a spare parking space or two - so, I would guess around 50 in total.

I believe there will be 33 actual bays now, with some of the listed internal bays not actually being in use but still being numbered 1-40. This is because they are better spaced out diagonal bays rather than buses being a 90degrees as previously.

There will be the separate coach station in the old taxi rank which will have about 4 stands on top as f this

 

[Ayman Ilham]

I believe there will be 33 actual bays now, with some of the listed internal bays not actually being in use but still being numbered 1-40. This is because they are better spaced out diagonal bays rather than buses being a 90degrees as previously.

There will be the separate coach station in the old taxi rank which will have about 4 stands on top as f this

Bit like Hull Paragon Interchange in the sense that it has 4 stands for coaches and all other stands for buses!