Walsall St Pauls bus station

Infobox building
building_name = Walsall St Pauls bus station


caption =
building_type = Transport
architectural_style =
structural_system =
location = Walsall, West Midlands, England
coordinates =
completion_date = September 2000
demolition_date =
height =
floor_count = 2
main_contractor = Shepherd Construction Ltd
architect = Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
structural_engineer = Atelier One
services_engineer = Atelier Ten
civil_engineer = Clark Smith Partnership
other_designers = Watkins Dally
quantity_surveyor = Appleyard & Trew
awards =

Walsall St Pauls Bus Station is one of two bus stations located in the town of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. The station is managed by Network West Midlands and is the terminus for over 85 bus routes (some services are station-bound only), operated by ten registered bus companies (these are National Express West Midlands, A2Z Travel, Golden Line, Green Bus Services, Thandi Companies (T/A Thandi Buses & Finesse Coachess), Rotala Group (T/A Central Connect and Diamond Bus), Heartlands Express, Sandwell Travel, Arriva Midlands & Choice Travel).

Architecture

St Pauls bus station is dominated by an elliptical roof standing on twelve steel columns. The concrete roof covers an area of convert|3171|m2|sqft|0|abbr=on, beneath which are three bus islands, consisting of a total of eleven bus stands. A smaller aerofoil covers a further three stands. convert|2.4|m|ft|0 tall glass screens shelter pedestrians from bus fumes and provide information on bus routes. At each of the bus stands is hardwood bench set within a low concrete wall. The benches were designed to be vandal-proof. At its longest point, the canopy is convert|80|m|ft|0 in length and convert|45|m|ft|0 wide at its widest point. The roof is covered in ten circular holes with hoods to deflect the wind. There are seventeen similar rooflights in the canopy. The concourse area is two storeys tall and consists of large concrete walls, supporting the columns for the canopy roof. The bus station covers a total area of convert|9470|m2|sqft|0|abbr=on. [cite web |url=http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=1095&aspectid=5 |title=St Paul's Bus Station Description |publisher=CABE |accessdate=2008-01-25]

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris designed the building for Centro. The structural engineers were Atelier One, Shepherd Construction Ltd were the contractors, Watkins Dally were the landscape architects and Clark Smith Partnership were the civil engineers. [cite web |url=http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=1095&aspectid=8 |title=St Paul's Bus Station Project team |publisher=CABE |accessdate=2008-01-25] The project cost £6.5 million. [cite web |url=http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/46_AMOLAD/AMOLAD34.html |title=The AMOLAD Bus Station #2 |publisher=The Powell & Pressburger Pages |date=2000-07-02 |author=Fiona Rattray |accessdate=2008-03-28]

A small satellite section was added to the bus station in 2001. [cite web |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/crime/personalsecurity/getonboardpscasestudies?page=6 |title=Get on Board: An agenda for improving personal security - Case studies |publisher=Department for Transport |accessdate=2008-03-28]

Despite the extensive profile, there have been calls for it to be demolished. Most notably, Walsall South MP Bruce George said that Centro should consider replacing the bus station due to the complexity of the layout. Bus drivers have complained that there were too many bends and that it quickly became overcrowded, which may have contributed to two incidents at the bus station, in one of which a local woman died. [cite web |url=http://www.expressandstar.com/2008/02/21/plea-over-bus-station-rebuild/ |title=Plea over bus station rebuild |publisher=Express & Star |date=2008-02-21 |accessdate=2008-03-28]

Bus routes

Below is a list of all the services that begin from Walsall bus station, which is believed to be correct as at 16th August 2008. All but one bus service that visits the bus station terminates at the bus station. This is the peak-only, limited-stop National Express West Midlands service 951A (Birmingham - Cannock), which only has three journeys in each direction per weekday.

Any public bus service which has a destination or via point as Walsall visits one of the following stands.

Note:
* Stands A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N and P are located in St Pauls Bus Station
* Stands Q, R, S, T, U, V and W are located in Bradford Place Bus Station
* Stands I and O do not exist due to legal reasons.

t Pauls bus station

^ The 331 does not officially stop at Stand WC, but does to pick up passengers heading towards the Manor Hospital

Up-coming changes

;19 October 2008
* A2Z Travel service 339 to Bilston is withdrawn.
* A2Z Travel service 302 to Lower Farm is withdrawn.;26 October 2008
* Arriva Midlands are withdrawing off the 319 to Bloxwich.
* Choice Travel circular service 322 is withdrawn. A2Z Travel are taking over the service. The stand will not change.
* Choice Travel are withdrawing off the 348 to Pelsall
* Diamond Bus are to start operations on the 348 to Pelsall. The stand will remain the same as current Choice Travel Service.
* National Express West Midlands are introducing a timetable change on the 355. Daytime off-peak journeys are renumbered 355A and extended from Aldridge - Druids Heath.
* A2Z Travel service 360 to Aldridge is withdrawn. The Green Bus Service, however, are taking over the route and renumbering it Service 2. The stand will remain as K.
* A2Z Travel are taking over Central Connect as operators of the 376 to Kingstanding. The stand will remain as Stand B
* National Express West Midlands are introducing a timetable change on the 377. Daytime journeys are re-routed to serve Kingstanding Circle, but peak time journeys will continue to follow the current route and are renumbered service 377B.
* Choice Travel are withdrawing off the 639 to Herberts Park.;23 November 2008
* National Express West Midlands are adjusting the timetable of services 311, 313 & 313A.
* Brand new operator Midland Bus Company are to start their first ever route, the 335 from Walsall to Alumwell.;30 November 2008
* Diamond Bus are renumbering service 404 (Walsall - West Bromwich) to service 404E. The 404B between West Bromwich and Blackheath is withdrawn.
* Diamond Bus are to start operating service 405 between West Bromwich and The Yew Tree Estate Only.

Incidents

On July 9 2007, a 66-year-old woman from the Bentley area of Walsall died, and several others were injured, when an Arriva Midlands service 360 to Aldridge went the wrong way up the bus stations one way system, crashing into several pedestrians and other vehicles (which should not have been in the bus station area) before finally being stopped by a National Express West Midlands 51 service double decker to Birmingham. The bus was deliberately driven into the Arriva bus by the female driver to stop its progress. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6284134.stm |title=One dead after bus station crash |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-07-09 |accessdate=2008-03-28] On the June 10 2008, it was revealed the 62-year-old driver has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving. The driver who was named as John Connolly, a 62-year-old from Burntwood, appeared at Walsall Magistrates Court on the June 16, where he was bailed to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on September 8 2008. On September 8 he appeared and entered a plea of Not Guilty. The case was adjourned until October 20th.

On February 20 2008, an Arriva Midlands service crashed into the back of a Thandi Bus on service 346 causing it to shunt forward. This caused two elderly women to be crushed by the bus, one underneath, the other against the glass pane of a shelter. Both were seriously injured. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7254905.stm |title=Two trapped after buses collide |publisher=BBC News |date=2008-02-20 |accessdate=2008-03-28] The Arriva Driver was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and was released on bail. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7267056.stm |title=Man arrested after buses collide |publisher=BBC News |date=2008-02-27 |accessdate=2008-03-28] . In July 2008 the driver, Peter Love, appeared in court for Driving without due care and attention, where he was banned from driving for six months. It was also revealed Arriva Midlands had sacked him.

Both incidents caused the bus station to be shut for several hours, which caused travel chaos in the town centre.

Trivia

* The bus station has featured in an episode of children's art series, SMart.
* Of the 56 bus services which left from Stands A - P (the main bus station) on their opening in July 2000, 23 no longer run. Of the remaining services very few are still operated by the same operator and follow the same route.
* The only stand in the main St Pauls Bus Station to still have all of its original services is Stand P. The services aren't all necessarily operated by the original companies (e.g. 331 now operated by A2Z Travel instead of National Express West Midlands). Stand P also has more services leaving from it than in 2000, these being the 355 to Aldridge, the 342 to Willenhall and the 341E to New Invention.
* The lowest numbered service in Walsall is the 1 to Cannock. This is the joint lowest number in the whole of the West Midlands. The highest numbered service is the 997 to Birmingham, the highest numbered service in the West Midlands area.

References

External links

* [http://www.networkwestmidlands.co.uk/Bus/interchangemaps/walsall.pdf A map/plan of the bus stations and town centre, locating each bus stand with bus destination guide (some departure points have moved and services withdrawn & introduced.)]