Preston bus station

Preston Bus Station is the central bus station in the city of Preston in Lancashire, England. It was built by Ove Arup and Partners in the Brutalist architectural style between 1968 and 1969, to a design by Keith Ingham and Charles Wilson of Building Design Partnership with E. H. Stazicker. The building was threatened with demolition as part of the City Council's Tithebarn redevelopment project. After two unsuccessful attempts it was granted Grade II listed building status in September 2013. It is to be redeveloped in association with a new youth centre.

Design

Built in the Brutalist architectural style between 1968 and 1969, designed by Keith Ingham and Charles Wilson of Building Design Partnership with E. H. Stazicker, it has a capacity of 80 double-decker buses, 40 along each side of the building. Some claim that it is the second largest bus station in Western Europe. Pedestrian access to the Bus Station is through any of three subways, one of which links directly to the adjacent Guild Hall, while the design also incorporates a multi-storey car park of five floors with space for 1,100 cars. It has been described by The Twentieth Century Society as "one of the most significant Brutalist buildings in the UK".

Bus station

A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop. It may be intended as a terminal station for a number of routes, or as a transfer station where the routes continue.

Bus station platforms may be assigned to fixed bus lines, or variable in combination with a dynamic passenger information system. The latter requires fewer platforms, but does not supply the passenger the comfort of knowing the platform well in advance and waiting there.

Types of stations

Accessible station

An accessible station is a public transportation passenger station which provides ready access, is usable and does not have physical barriers that prohibit and/or restrict access by people with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs.

Largest bus stations

At 37 acres (150,000 m2), the ISO 9001:2000 certified Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus in Chennai, India, is the largest bus station in Asia.As of 2010, the terminus handled more than 500 buses at a time, and 3,000 buses and 250,000 passengers a day.

Preston Bus

Preston Bus is a bus operator running within the city of Preston, England. It is a subsidiary of Rotala. It gained some notoriety in 2009 when the Competition Commission ordered Stagecoach to sell it.

History

Preston Bus was founded in June 1904 as Preston District Travel and operated a number of services in the Preston area. To comply with the Transport Act 1985, in 1986 the assets were transferred to a new legal entity, Preston Borough Transport Limited. In 1993 it was sold in a management buyout.

In 2006, Preston Bus was subject to some high profile competition from Stagecoach North West. Competition escalated into a bus war with Stagecoach offering lower fares on the busiest routes.

The managing director of Preston bus was concerned Stagecoach could force his company out of business.

Both companies accused each other of unprofessional behaviour. On 10 June 2008, both companies agreed to a code of practice by the traffic commissioner. The competition continued, with Stagecoach operating routes within Preston and Preston Bus commencing a service between Preston and Penwortham, and a limited service between Preston and Southport, duplicating existing Stagecoach routes.

Podcasts:

PLAYLIST TIME:

Bus Station

by: Tom Russell

C Am C Am
Bus station, at sun-up, lookin' for a new, place to go
C Am
He sips his coffie, and he pulls his ring,
and thinks of how she looked years ago
C Am C Am
And she curls up, with a blanket, in a yellow, plastic
seat
C Am
He touches her, and she looks out the window,
at an empty morning street
Chorus:
Am F C
Well, he musta had a screw loose, in his head
Am F C
To end up like this after all he said
F C F G C
He lies to her, she kisses him, gettin' tired of love
Bus station, at sun-up, she reads the ticket, in her
hand
It's a different name, for the same old town, and this
ain't the life
that they had planned
And so he tries to tell her, it won't be like the,
times before
It's a different town, and a brand new start, and he's
gonna work a whole lot more.
Chorus
Bus station, at sun-up, another hour, left to blow
He touches her, but she'd like to leave,
and there's no place left to go
Chorus
Am F C
Well, she musta had a screw loose, in her head
Am F C
How could she believe all the things he said
F C F G C
She lies to him, he kisses her, gettin' tired of love
Am F C Am F




Latest News for: preston bus station

Would you save this building?

The Daily Telegraph 16 Feb 2025
By obtaining listed status, the Twentieth Century Society has helped to save several icons from demolition, including Preston Bus Station and the Richard Dunn Sports Centre in Bradford.
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