Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

[YK53 GXO]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(16/06/2017 06:15)iMarkeh Wrote:  I guess you mean at Chester bus exchange. If so, there is no supervision. Really it needs a control room telling staff to go and talk to drivers. Also have live times and stuff on there and the live maps to relay all this info to staff.

There is supervision at the new bus interchange for passengers, just not the drivers and buses. However, as was in the old bus exchange, it does require some driver common-sense to be used in order for it to work. For instance, if a bus was blocking the stand, then drop onto the stand behind and wait for the bus to clear.

The stands have been allocated to the best they could, based on the departure times of the buses serving the interchange and the destination of the route - however delays of services are inevitable, and at some points you eventually end up with 4 Blacon services due at once, that sometimes simply cannot be avoided. If the allocated stands where based on the times exactly to the minute, buses would have to serve from different stands each and every time they depart, adding further confusion to passengers. There will be stand changes coming up shortly, as there have been initially a few teething issues with services, however other than that, the bus station seems to work. If the operators have any issues with regards to the bus interchange, they can relay these with CWaC, however representatives from both Stagecoach and Arriva have been at the bus interchange over the past week and have approved of its operational status.

To answer your statement, the council simply does not have the money to pay for a control room for the bus station, and also have a supervisor to watch the buses arrive and depart – there would be no need for that position. There are staff in the information desk who can assist in case of any issue, however they are predominantly there to serve the passengers and have no theoretical control over the operational aspect of the interchange.