the old bullring bus station

[danny]

Hi this is one for maybe the more expereanced enthusiast,where exactly did the old bus station used to be, I remember vividly buses appearing from a hole in the wall but can't place where it used to be, and my only memory of it is being on a mcw on the 126 going around the corner and it feeling like going throw tinsel town, help please  ;)

[winston]

The Bull Ring bus station was on the site that is now Debenhams, the exit came out someone near where the new indoor market food hall/car park is.

[danny]

Thanks Winston  :)

[Bob]

The building is still there actually

[winston]

Bob,

It's a storage or delivery area now for Debenhams/The Bull Ring I believe

The building is still there actually

[Tony]

Bob,

It's a storage or delivery area now for Debenhams/The Bull Ring I believe

The building is still there actually

The whole of that side of the Bullring reused the original building framework. The entrance the buses use to go into at the bottom of Station Street is now a service area. The exit on Edgbaston Street is now the actual shops.

[Bob]

Oh i see, didnt realise. I remember it being pretty grim, and my bus to Cannock, the X31 and later after that was axed the 156 went from there

[nx4737]

I vaguely remember it just before it closed...

There's a photo here, second from the bottom, not going to direct link the image out of respect for the photographer.

http://www.photobydjnorton.com/GTC/CityCentre.html

Adam.

[andy]

Even though the Bull Ring Bus Station was not the most welcoming and cosy of places, I have good memories of it as a kid and later as a driver. You could see all sorts in there and it was great that everything came to one place.  There was nothing better than being in there as everything left and waiting for the next wave of arrivals, sometimes you couldn't catch everything coming in quick enough...drivers back then seemed fearless the way they used to pile in! getting into some of the first lanes and bays was not easy if you picked the wrong entrance, and I heard many a crunch as a driver misjudged the overhang on the pillars as he turned in...

The worst part was the sudden blindness upon entry on a sunny day as your eyes tried to adjust and you suddenly realised someone had abandoned a bus right in your path as he had buggered off to go to the toilet / canteen...

I sort of feel sorry for you guys now as you don't get to hear the sound of 15 or 20 different buses in an indoor space...there's nowhere now that you can really experience that round here, although in a lot of ways that's probably a good thing too!

[danny]

It sounds Awsome does the new street plans include some sort of new interchange, how many routes used to use the station

[andy]

As far as I understand Danny you won't see a bus anywhere within the Bull Street / Moor St Stephenson and Hill Street ring under all the new plans. Whilst this seems a shame it is probably a good thing in reality, although I feel that buses add to the vibrancy of a city centre to be honest.

At the time that I knew the bus station well, the mid 80's and 90's, it was basically any service not operated by WMPTE and then later West Midlands Travel. So anything run by former National Bus Company subsidiaries like Midland Red West, Midland Fox, Midland Red North and South, United Counties, City of Oxford, and a few independents too. In it's earlier days WMPTE were in there too but not for too long. Edgbaston Street outside was also a thriving street of bus stops for services that didn't venture into the bus station and stopped opposite the outdoor market.

You would have loved it!  :)

[danny]

Ye sounds real good must have been Awsome with the varioty would of loved to see a few D9s firing up ready to go out, its a shame Birmingham don't have anything like that know more