Dave Arquati wrote:
Neil Williams wrote:
On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 10:06:53 +0100, Cheeky wrote:


Brings back fond memories of the Arndale Centre bus station in
Manchester until it was "closed down" by the IRA...


Or Blackpool shudder. On the subject of the Arndale I have no idea
why that was actually closed by the bomb - I don't believe it was
terminally structurally damaged - I think GMPTE just realised what a
hellhole it was and started using the road outside instead, which was
hardly a lot better...

Some of GMPTE's more recent "big greenhouse" bus stations (e.g.
Oldham) seem to me to be the way to go if a bus station is what you
actually need rather than just a few strategically-placed good-quality
shelters. Preston also isn't bad, just very dated (and is also built
under a car park!) The refurbished Chorlton Street in Manchester (OK,
it's a coach station) is also rather nice.

I think the key is that, regardless of where the passenger
accommodation is located, the buses, or at the very least their
exhaust pipes, need to be outside, and it's really a lot better if
some kind of automatic door is provided between the passenger
accommodation and the buses.

Hammersmith is an excellent example.


--
Dave Arquati

There are plenty of other new TfL bus stations that (IMHO) are good
news: North Greenwich, Canada Water, Vauxhall, Stratford, and
Walthamstow Central bus station.

And it seems that there's plenty of examples of 'worst practice', many
of them buried under buildings, such as this new North Finchley
endeavour. The bus station under Eldon Square shopping centre in
Newcastle upon Tyne springs to mind, which will be replaced by a new
bus station, currently being constructed on an adjacent street rather
than under any buildings.

I wonder why TfL Buses, given their recent good record, decided that
this new bus station seemed like a good idea.