Trivia: Minimalist Bus Stations

[Rod Harrison]

Weymouth at least has the decency to not call itself a bus station.

Never knew Morecambe had a bus station which nominates itself as a candidate I suppose. Given this knowledge, I had to check Burton and Sutton Coldfield which from my experience have similar situations.

I remember it well when I lived up there. Morecambe bus station was owned by Ribble and used for their services only. Morecambe Corporation Buses used a shelter on the main road adjacent to it. Later, Morecambe Corporation and Lancaster City Transport also used it for a while when they operated the Lancaster University services. After Local Government reorganisation in the 1970 Morecambe and LCT amalgamated their services and it eventually closed when Stagecoach took over Lancaster City Transport services following their demise.

 

[Pat1105]

I've only known Aber since the early 90s but it hasn't changed that much, has it? It still has the distinctly average snack bar and there's toilets too. There was the Tourist Information and I think there was a crew facility there round the back; that may have gone when they closed the outstation there?

The toilets are on the other side of the car park, away from the stands. The snack bar is still there and there’s 3 shelters. Nice to grab a 99’ whilst waiting for the bus!

 

[Dai Corner]

One that was "minimalised" was Abergavenny. From an island site with facilities for both passengers and staff it was moved across the car park, with, IIRC, two shelters for four bays.

Staying that part of Wales Varteg, rightly, lost its designation as a bus station. The only facilities that it ever had were for Western Welsh crews and these have long since been demolished. The layby still exists but most buses now seem to run through to Blaenavon.

Now known as Varteg Terminus, it is functioning as such at the moment as Stagecoach are running half hourly short workings between there and Cwmbran to supplement the half hourly Blaenavon - Newport service. The normal timetable of the X24 is every 10 mins over the whole route.

Being close to the Phil Anslow depot, it also sees a few of their positioning journeys start or terminate.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

The toilets are on the other side of the car park, away from the stands. The snack bar is still there and there’s 3 shelters. Nice to grab a 99’ whilst waiting for the bus!

Yeah but I meaning that the toilets are only about 20 metres away and I think always have been.

Another couple of Welsh minimalist ones (can't recall if I mentioned before) are Treharris https://www.google.com/maps/@51.664...4!1sLKy9-Knb4OfrqxIYb8jSuQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 and Nelson https://www.google.com/maps/@51.650...166.77461&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i13312!8i6656

A couple of long lost ones were slightly surprising in Oystermouth https://www.flickr.com/photos/22543...tt1-9vpby1-nT3kCG-7ujfUt-nUWK9v-nSS8qK-nAFxxr (think it was the tram terminus) and Milford Haven

 

[PeterC]

I've only known Aber since the early 90s but it hasn't changed that much, has it? It still has the distinctly average snack bar and there's toilets too. There was the Tourist Information and I think there was a crew facility there round the back; that may have gone when they closed the outstation there?

Had forgotten about Varteg and didn't realise that it had any sort of facilities at all.

You are clearly a lot younger than me. The block of buildings including the toilets are the original bus station. I think the exit roadway on the town side has been pedestrianised. I thought that the location of the snack bar was just a lucky coincidence rather than specifically a part of the bus station.

I have no idea when the building at Varteg was demolished. I remember it from the early 60s as a concrete blockhouse in the middle of the island, purely for the crews, not for passengers. At that time Western Welsh ran from Newport and Cardiff terminating at Varteg. The main Blaenavon service took the lower road through Abersychan. No idea what the route numbers were as they weren't displayed on the buses.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

You are clearly a lot younger than me. The block of buildings including the toilets are the original bus station. I think the exit roadway on the town side has been pedestrianised. I thought that the location of the snack bar was just a lucky coincidence rather than specifically a part of the bus station.

I have no idea when the building at Varteg was demolished. I remember it from the early 60s as a concrete blockhouse in the middle of the island, purely for the crews, not for passengers. At that time Western Welsh ran from Newport and Cardiff terminating at Varteg. The main Blaenavon service took the lower road through Abersychan. No idea what the route numbers were as they weren't displayed on the buses.

Younger but not young I'd have had no idea that the buildings there would've have been the old bus station in Aber. Not that I've considered it but with the depot being adjacent, I thought all the welfare facilities, traffic office etc would have been there.

All very interesting.

The Varteg one has made me think of another large but minimalist one in Manchester. The Southern Cemetery/Barlow Moor Road terminus is pretty expansive. I think it too had a crewroom there but doesn't now, or am I making that up??

 

[padbus]

I was quite impressed with Pontypridd bus station when I paid a flying visit there last year. It is certainly not minimalist. My family in Cardiff report that work has finally started on building the new bus station there.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I was quite impressed with Pontypridd bus station when I paid a flying visit there last year. It is certainly not minimalist. My family in Cardiff report that work has finally started on building the new bus station there.

Pontypridd certainly isn’t minimalist and it’s certainly an improvement on its predecessor. It’s decent enough - better than Caerphilly, eons ahead of Merthyr but not as good as Blackwood. It’s a 6 or 7/10 IMHO.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Another minimalist bus station is Bearwood in Birmingham. It's an odd location and again, I 'fess up my ignorance. Is it there because historically, there was a depot in Bearwood High Street and it was a place for crew changeovers and it has remained there ever since.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Hopefully, without going too far off-topic, why are bus stop signs / bus stop shelters retained at certain places for (sometimes) many years after all services have been withdrawn from that location?

 

[carlberry]

Hopefully, without going too far off-topic, why are bus stop signs / bus stop shelters retained at certain places for (sometimes) many years after all services have been withdrawn from that location?

Basically cost. Often there's the hope they might get used again and quite often the timetable is still in place as well. Even with ones that are still in use the stops will often menthion services that no longer run. Mostly it's local authorities that control them so, whilst the budget to erect them is usually available, the budget to maintain them often isn't however, perversely, lots of local authorities are not willing to let bus companies update them as they like to control them!

 

[PeterC]

Basically cost. Often there's the hope they might get used again and quite often the timetable is still in place as well. Even with ones that are still in use the stops will often menthion services that no longer run. Mostly it's local authorities that control them so, whilst the budget to erect them is usually available, the budget to maintain them often isn't however, perversely, lots of local authorities are not willing to let bus companies update them as they like to control them!

I wish our LA would maintain their stops. All show pre COVID times, no hint that you need to proactively go to a specific website to find out the real times. I know where to look, the old ladies who make up the bulk of the custom probably don't.

 

[CM]

I wish our LA would maintain their stops. All show pre COVID times, no hint that you need to proactively go to a specific website to find out the real times. I know where to look, the old ladies who make up the bulk of the custom probably don't.

They probably haven't been able to update timetables due to lack of available staff due to the COVID-19 situation...

 

[317 forever]

I saw Horsham bus station last year. It has about 5 or 6 stops but on such a narrow bay that at times it was barely big enough for the people using it.

 

[TAS]

Basically cost. Often there's the hope they might get used again and quite often the timetable is still in place as well. Even with ones that are still in use the stops will often menthion services that no longer run. Mostly it's local authorities that control them so, whilst the budget to erect them is usually available, the budget to maintain them often isn't however, perversely, lots of local authorities are not willing to let bus companies update them as they like to control them!

Also, even where public services have been withdrawn, the stops may still be used by school contracts.

 

[Glenn1969]

Did Smiddles Lane Bus Station in Bradford ever act as a crew change facility?

 

[Tetchytyke]

Did Smiddles Lane Bus Station in Bradford ever act as a crew change facility?

I'm not sure, but I don't think so. At the time the main Bradford depot was under the Interchange, the crew facilities are still there on the mezzanine between the ground floor and the train concourse, so they tended to change crews in town.

I'm never quite sure what Smiddles Lane was for, but it's a great shout as a minimalist bus station. It did used to have the huge triangular bus station side Metro used in the 80s though.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I'm not sure, but I don't think so. At the time the main Bradford depot was under the Interchange, the crew facilities are still there on the mezzanine between the ground floor and the train concourse, so they tended to change crews in town.

I'm never quite sure what Smiddles Lane was for, but it's a great shout as a minimalist bus station. It did used to have the huge triangular bus station side Metro used in the 80s though.

Not knowing where you mean (and guided by Streetview), is that the oversized layby? Former Trolleybus turning circle??

 

[NorthernSpirit]

I saw Horsham bus station last year. It has about 5 or 6 stops but on such a narrow bay that at times it was barely big enough for the people using it.

Horsham's bus station was rebuilt around 20 years ago to replace an older facility on Blackhorse Way. Arriva Surrey notes the bus station as Blackhorse Way stop B, Compass Bus notes it as bus station.

I'm never quite sure what Smiddles Lane was for, but it's a great shout as a minimalist bus station. It did used to have the huge triangular bus station side Metro used in the 80s though.

Smiddles Lane was use for the city circulars, the bus station itself has since been pulled down but the concrete surface is still there. No idea when it was closed.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Not knowing where you mean (and guided by Streetview), is that the oversized layby? Former Trolleybus turning circle??

Yeah, the oversized layby. It used to have several bus stands, as shown here: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2507116

It's been shut about ten years, Metro have tried to sell the land, without success.

IIRC it was built in the early 70s when Manchester Road was widened to a 6-lane dual carriageway and flattened the old trolley bus terminus. Given that the trolleys had gone ten years earlier, and even then went out as far as Wyke, it still seems odd. Even as a kid in the late 80s the only bus I can remember using it was the 601/602 City Circle and the 680 from Heaton, which turned there (and had Smiddles Lane Bus Station on the blind)

(Actually, I think the 601/602 did change drivers there!)