Trivia: Bus stations with confusing changes of stand for individual journeys

[TUC]

The new Halifax bus station partially opens on 1 October. However, as with the old bus station, confusingly individual journeys on certain services operate from different stands e.g.

As with the old bus station, there is a confusing set of exceptions for specific journeys:

• Stand P - 548 549 C51 C52. After 7pm 526 536 537 549* except 549 2035 Mon—Fri journey will depart from Stand R
• Service 22 Uses bus station after 1605 Mon-Sat, all day Sun & Mon-Fri 0705, 0735 & 0805

HalifaxBusStationWorks | Metro

Halifax Bus Station is being redeveloped in order to provide improved facilities and higher levels of comfort. To enable the construction work to start, the bus station will be partially closed from Sunday 5 September 2021. First, Team Pennine, Arriva Yorkshire, South Pennine Community Transport

www.wymetro.com

Does West Yorkshire Metro really not get that what people need is consistency at all times of day as to what stop a bus uses?

Are there other examples elsewhere in the countries of such inconsistencies?

 

[Statto]

Chester Bus interchange has this were, stands J to M are shut from 9pm, so routes move to other stands

Quite a few bus stations in the Greater Manchester area have this too, it mainly affects evening services which move to other stands from the daytime stand.

 

[Dai Corner]

Chester Bus interchange has this were, stands J to M are shut from 9pm, so routes move to other stands

Quite a few bus stations in the Greater Manchester area have this too, it mainly affects evening services which move to other stands from the daytime stand.

Similarly in Merthyr Tydfil I believe. In the evenings the building is locked and buses use the outside stands.

 

[Roilshead]

The new Halifax bus station partially opens on 1 October. However, as with the old bus station, confusingly individual journeys on certain services operate from different stands e.g.

As with the old bus station, there is a confusing set of exceptions for specific journeys:

• Stand P - 548 549 C51 C52. After 7pm 526 536 537 549* except 549 2035 Mon—Fri journey will depart from Stand R
• Service 22 Uses bus station after 1605 Mon-Sat, all day Sun & Mon-Fri 0705, 0735 & 0805

HalifaxBusStationWorks | Metro

Halifax Bus Station is being redeveloped in order to provide improved facilities and higher levels of comfort. To enable the construction work to start, the bus station will be partially closed from Sunday 5 September 2021. First, Team Pennine, Arriva Yorkshire, South Pennine Community Transport

www.wymetro.com

Does West Yorkshire Metro really not get that what people need is consistency at all times of day as to what stop a bus uses?

Are there other examples elsewhere in the countries of such inconsistencies?

You don't have to go far from Halifax to find the same sort of thing in Pudsey bus station, and there may still be similar changes in Bradford Interchange.

 

[markymark2000]

Does West Yorkshire Metro really not get that what people need is consistency at all times of day as to what stop a bus uses?

Are there other examples elsewhere in the countries of such inconsistencies?

West Yorkshire and Warrington and a few other places do bus departures based off a 'slot' and basically this is to stop 2 buses departing from one stand at the same time (rather difficult on a drive on, reverse off bus stop layout). West Yorkshire therefore put buses into other stands if the 'main' stand is not available due to another departure. In this case, the 526 service and 549 both have buses which depart at 20:35 and so they prefer to move one bus to another stand than have timetables amended so that each bus fits into the appropriate slot. The issue at West Yorkshire is not contained to Halifax but is an issue across all West Yorkshire bus stations.
Warrington had a bad situation with Link Network back around 2018 as the 110 had 3 departures per hour but because of the bus station slots, it meant that 2 buses each hour went off stand 6 and 1 bus each hour went off stand 7.

It's all very confusing.



The other reason for stand changes which is much more common is certain stands or areas closing off at night to improve security and reduce the risk of undesirables. Chester and Merthyr fit into that category.

 

[43055]

The new Halifax bus station partially opens on 1 October. However, as with the old bus station, confusingly individual journeys on certain services operate from different stands e.g.

As with the old bus station, there is a confusing set of exceptions for specific journeys:

• Stand P - 548 549 C51 C52. After 7pm 526 536 537 549* except 549 2035 Mon—Fri journey will depart from Stand R
• Service 22 Uses bus station after 1605 Mon-Sat, all day Sun & Mon-Fri 0705, 0735 & 0805

HalifaxBusStationWorks | Metro

Halifax Bus Station is being redeveloped in order to provide improved facilities and higher levels of comfort. To enable the construction work to start, the bus station will be partially closed from Sunday 5 September 2021. First, Team Pennine, Arriva Yorkshire, South Pennine Community Transport

www.wymetro.com

Does West Yorkshire Metro really not get that what people need is consistency at all times of day as to what stop a bus uses?

Are there other examples elsewhere in the countries of such inconsistencies?

At Derby, the villager use to run from bay 23 with something like the 0715 and 1545 from bay 24 due to another service using the same bay.

The few services that use Hanley bus station in the evenings move bays so they are all close to the entrance rather than being spread out.

 

[SSmith2009]

NovusDirect service in Leicester uses St Margaret's Bus Station stand SZ (outside the main building) for two early sunday morning journeys while everything else uses stand SR, this is down to the bus station being shut overnight and opening at 7am on Sunday morning.

 

[JD2168]

In South Yorkshire the Interchange stands all stay the same throughout the day. The only time anything is different is the Stagecoach Yorkshire 27 journeys on Boxing Day & New Year’s Day to GXO Logistics at Grimethorpe which use the Coach waiting room at Barnsley Interchange compared to it’s normal stop as the rest is closed.

 

[Simon75]

Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) bus station 1/2 the bus station is closed (including toilets) after 19.00

 

[Busaholic]

I'd doubt any of these operators are varying the stands for perverse or quixotic reasons, there being a rational explanation in most instances. So long as the general public are informed about the variations, they don't sound unreasonable to me. Information is everything!

 

[Andyh82]

West Yorkshire Metro don’t allow stand clashes so move individual journeys to adjacent stands, they do it across the county

Other areas probably allow a stand clash with the drivers just sorting it out themselves at the time and using an unadvertised adjacent stand

It’s debatable which is better for the passenger

 

[Tetchytyke]

Does West Yorkshire Metro really not get that what people need is consistency at all times of day as to what stop a bus uses?

Metro won’t allow two buses to depart from the same stand at the same time, so one of the buses has to move. Metro don’t control the bus times. There is a 2035 526 service, so the 549 has moved. Perhaps it should be the other way around, the 526 moving, but presumably there is a reason why not.

It’s better for the passenger than the alternative, which is one of the buses moves to whichever alternative stand is free without it being advertised.

 

[Deerfold]

Metro won’t allow two buses to depart from the same stand at the same time, so one of the buses has to move. Metro don’t control the bus times. There is a 2035 526 service, so the 549 has moved. Perhaps it should be the other way around, the 526 moving, but presumably there is a reason why not.

It’s better for the passenger than the alternative, which is one of the buses moves to whichever alternative stand is free without it being advertised.

That's the only 526 of the day that goes from the bus station. It seems odd for it to displace another route rather than it going from another stand.

 

[Tetchytyke]

It seems odd for it to displace another route rather than it going from another stand.

I’d agree with that, I’m surprised it was the 549 that had to move. I wonder if it’s simply that Team Pennine got their paperwork in first or something?

 

[Statto]

There is a couple of other routes that use Halifax bus station stand C in the evening, both depart either xx25 or xx30, & that 526 at 20.35, i don't know whether the 549 could be retimed in the evening to depart in that 50 minute gap, but still use stand C?

 

[WibbleWobble]

Quite a few bus stations in the Greater Manchester area have this too, it mainly affects evening services which move to other stands from the daytime stand.

This was axed a few years back.

 

[Deerfold]

There is a couple of other routes that use Halifax bus station stand C in the evening, both depart either xx25 or xx30, & that 526 at 20.35, i don't know whether the 549 could be retimed in the evening to depart in that 50 minute gap, but still use stand C?

I don't see why the 526 has to use the same stand - as there's only one, presumably they could have used the stand that the 549 is moved to for the 526 and kept things simpler.