Moves to secure the future of Coventry’s Pool Meadow bus station have been welcomed by councillors on the Passenger Transport Authority.
The PTA, which sets policy for the bus station’s operator Centro, is now expected to confirm its support to keeping Pool Meadow open when it meets on Monday 17 January.
In a report to the policy committee, Centro services director Robert Smith says changes to the road system now being proposed by the city council could improve access and allow more buses to use the facility. Keeping Pool Meadow open can then become a viable option, the report says.
The public transport promoter Centro has been in talks with Coventry bus companies to identify how many services can be re-routed to make Pool Meadow the main interchange for the city centre. The idea is that most services would either use it as a terminus or as a calling point for cross-city routes.
Welcoming the progress that has now been made, PTA chairman Cllr Gary Clarke says his authority and Centro always place the needs of passengers top of the agenda.
“What is most important for us is that people are provided with the public transport services they need to get to and from their destination as quickly and reliably as possible and that their journey and the waiting environments are as comfortable as they can be,” he says.
Bus companies pay a flat fee for each departure from the bus station which was built in 1994 at a cost of £5m. Because so few buses have been using it in recent years Pool Meadow has required an additional subsidy from public money of around £75,000 per year. Now Centro believes much less subsidy will be required if the revised road layout and an agreement with operators mean it can attract around 100 buses an hour.
That would open the way for the Passenger Transport Authority to confirm detailed plans later in the year.
Centro, Coventry City Council and bus companies are also to carry out a review of bus passenger interchanges across the city centre. They are expected to come up with suggestions for replacing the shelters that were previously being designated as ‘bus hubs’.
