Perth bus station

Perth bus station
Stagecoach East Scotland's number 57 arriving at the station in 2024
General information
LocationLeonard Street, Perth, Scotland
Coordinates56°23′37″N 3°26′13″W / 56.3935°N 3.4370°W / 56.3935; -3.4370
Operated byPerth and Kinross Council
Bus operators
ConnectionsPerth railway station National Rail (100 metres (110 yd))
Location
Perth bus station is located in Perth
Perth bus station
Perth bus station
Location within Perth

Perth bus station is located on Leonard Street in Perth, Scotland. It is owned by Perth and Kinross Council and is situated approximately 800 metres from the city centre, and 100 metres from Perth railway station.[1][2] The station is mostly used for out-of-town routes, while routes in and around Perth originate and terminate on Mill Street.[3]

History

Pomarium Street

The bar of the original incarnation of the Queens Hotel, and the other buildings on the northern side of the hotel, were demolished in the 1950s to make way for the bus station

The middle section of Pomarium Street, which looped off and back onto Leonard Street, was demolished in the 1950s to make way for the bus station and adjacent flats. Pomarium recalls the site of the orchard of Perth Charterhouse which seems to have survived into the 18th century.[4] Part of Pomarium Street still exists today.[5]

Ticket office

The ticket office, formerly staffed by Scottish Citylink personnel, closed on 28 June 2019. At the time, the company stated this was due to most services now stopping at Broxden Interchange rather than the bus station, and that more people are purchasing tickets online.[6]

Amenities

A McColl's convenience store formerly occupied part of the premises.[7] After surviving the 2019 closures endured by two of the city's four branches,[8] it too closed shortly afterwards. The Bus'Y'Bite café has been part of the premises since the late 1990s.[9][10]

Services

A Stagecoach Strathtay Enviro 400 bus, bound for Blairgowrie, at the station in 2014

The station sees services operated by Stagecoach,[11] Scottish Citylink,[12] and Docherty's Midland Coaches.[13] Some buses, including the X7 Coastrider, do not stop at the bus station and instead terminate at Perth Royal Infirmary.[14]

The bus station, which has ten stands, is located on Leonard Street, part of the A989, providing easy outlets to the west via the Glasgow Road (A93), which leads to Broxden Interchange.

Future

Proposals were first considered in 2004 to redevelop the bus station, relocating it to create a transport interchange with the nearby railway station.[15] In 2017, talks were ongoing between the council, Abellio ScotRail, and Network Rail on redeveloping the bus and railway stations.[16] The following year, letters from the council to local businesses in the area again suggested that the station may close for redevelopment.[17]

In 2023, around £50 million of funding was secured to improve Perth's railway station and bus station.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pledge over investigation at Perth Bus Station". Evening Telegraph. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Local bus timetables". Perth & Kinross Council. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Perth bus users and drivers are warned as roadworks set to start on Mill Street" – Daily Record, 27 March 2016
  4. ^ Richard Fawcett; Derek Hall (2005). "The Perth Charterhouse" (PDF). Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal. 11: 46–53.
  5. ^ "Residents evacuated after multi-storey blaze in Perth". BBC News. 23 December 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  6. ^ Clark, Rachel (18 June 2019). "Ticket office at Perth Bus Station to close as buses head to Broxden instead". Daily Record. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  7. ^ 2014 customer list, page 5 – Daily Telegraph, 15 June 2014
  8. ^ "Newsagent RS McColl puts branches across Perth, Fife and Angus on the market" – The Courier, 23 October 2019
  9. ^ "Firms at bus station could be forced out" – The Courier, 10 January 2018
  10. ^ "Hundreds call for bus station to be saved" – Daily Record, 20 February 2018
  11. ^ "New bus connects Bertha Park to Perth town centre". Scottish Construction Now. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Citylink timetable" (PDF). Citylink. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Timetable" (PDF). Docherty's Midland Coaches. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  14. ^ Cargill, Paul (24 August 2016). "Stagecoach timetables changes for Perth and Kinross residents". Daily Record. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  15. ^ Cargill, Paul (9 August 2016). "Calls for Network Rail, ScotRail, Holyrood and Perth and Kinross Council to solve city transport issue". Daily Record. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  16. ^ Buchan, Jamie (10 November 2017). "Multi-million-pound masterplan to create transport hub in Perth". The Courier. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  17. ^ Buchan, Jamie; Reoch, Paul (10 January 2018). "Council bosses preparing to oust Perth bus station businesses as part of redevelopment". The Courier. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Perth railway and bus station could merge into major travel interchange". Scottish Construction Now. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.