Merry Hill Bus Station

[Andrew1991]

Is there any word on when this work starts yet.

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012/03/27/merry-hill-bus-station-to-get-10m-overhaul/

[Trident 4609]

Apparantly the buses entering merry hil will have Next stop announements. Does this mean some of the route will get new buses or will some existing buses be fitted with next stop annoncments.

[Ash]

The diamond hybrid versaa have had internal screens fitted to them may be for the next stop announcements, may be if they lose the 56A the versas may be put on the 002 or the 226 so that could be the reasoning

[Stu]

I would imagine that most of the batch of new midibuses for NXWM due later this year will end up at PE to replace B6LEs and 'upgrade' some of the Merry Hill services such as the 222. And quite possibly they will come with the new technology installed for next stop and audio announcements, as trialled on the 22/23 in Birmingham.

[danny]

Will be intresting to see this when finished and whether and brands will be introduced to promote the changes

[TinnedPeaches]

It's about time this facility was upgraded. Considering how high profile the place is, the bus station is shocking: a bad design and freezing cold with inadequate shelter in poor weather.

[Andrew1991]

Can't see it starting soon, the stand that got smashed by the hanson's bus has had the wood taken down and perspex put in. Originally the station was only for merry hill minibuses but as times have changed there isn't enough space for the buses to manoeuvre, it wouldn't surprise me if the station was extended onto the car park making more space.

If you think traffic and buses staying to time tables is bad now, wait until they start work and buses are stopping everywhere and roads are up, hopefully they'll find a way to minimise disruption but it's highly unlikely.

[Isle of Stroma]

Can't see it starting soon, the stand that got smashed by the hanson's bus has had the wood taken down and perspex put in.

Not again? Strange that, considering their whiter than white 'reputation'....

[Roy]

According to the Centro document, the project will take 2 financial years to complete.  I was hoping that this meant 2012/13 and 2013/14, but it now looks more certain that we won't start seeing improvements until 2013.

According to the Centro bid document, the following will be delivered.
- Brand new state of the art bus station, with 25% increase in capacity, full DDA compliance and high quality passenger information and facilities
- Significant highway measures to remove delays and increase reliability for buses in the Brierley Hill area, including a dedicated bus only link and two bus lanes with bus gates
- Segregation of buses from general traffic without loss of highway capacity (including a new bus only link road from Pedmore Road to enter the bus station by Matalan)
- New bus stop infrastructure and RTI at key locations along strategic routes
- New commercial multi-operator Smartcard (e-purse and bus)
- Bespoke marketing and communications campaign
- Workwise support to help 1,090 people into employment
- £2.2.m investment in brand new euro 5 buses
- On Vehicle Displays (Talking Buses) on strategic routes, which are: 002 Merry Hill - Weoley Castle, 81 Merry Hill - Wolverhampton via Dudley, 222 Merry Hill - Dudley, 226 Merry Hill - Dudley, 246 Stourbridge - Dudley, 255 Merry Hill - Wolverhampton, 297 Halesowen - Stickley via Merry Hill, X96 Wollaston - Wrens Nest via Merry Hill and Dudley

Most of the proposed improvements will be implemented over the full 2 year period, but the Smartcard implementation and delivery of new buses is scheduled for year 1, while the new Bus Station will be built in year 2.  Therefore, I would think that it would be 2014 or 2015 before the new bus station is complete.

[Andrew1991]

The only detail missing from there is where the buses will be stopping whilst the work is done. Don't the new buses arrive later this year or don't the midi buses count.

[Roy]

The Centro document states that the £2.2m is for brand new euro 5 buses that would not otherwise be procured for the region. This investment will include enhanced internal features as part of a higher quality vehicle specification and include branding of the new buses.  There would also be On Vehicle Displays and speakers on up to 40 buses serving the strategic routes. 

Thus, this would suggest that, as the order for 30 midibuses was announced before the BBA grant for Brierley Hill was announced by the government, they would not be included in that £2.2m total.  What the document doesn't say is how much Rotala and Hansons are contributing for new buses for the 002 and 226.

What I have been told about the bus station is that it will take up an area about a third larger than the current one, by removing part of the car park in front of JJB Sports.  Therefore, buses will have to terminate somewhere else during the rebuilding period.  I would guess that part of an existing car park could be "borrowed".

There's a link to the pdf document from the following page :- http://www.centro.org.uk/bus/services.aspx

[PM]

Maybe the new rotala buses are the versas?

[richie]

The Centro document states that the £2.2m is for brand new euro 5 buses that would not otherwise be procured for the region. This investment will include enhanced internal features as part of a higher quality vehicle specification and include branding of the new buses.  There would also be On Vehicle Displays and speakers on up to 40 buses serving the strategic routes. 

Thus, this would suggest that, as the order for 30 midibuses was announced before the BBA grant for Brierley Hill was announced by the government, they would not be included in that £2.2m total.  What the document doesn't say is how much Rotala and Hansons are contributing for new buses for the 002 and 226.

What I have been told about the bus station is that it will take up an area about a third larger than the current one, by removing part of the car park in front of JJB Sports.  Therefore, buses will have to terminate somewhere else during the rebuilding period.  I would guess that part of an existing car park could be "borrowed".

There's a link to the pdf document from the following page :- http://www.centro.org.uk/bus/services.aspx

You can bet the 222 would have never got these midi buses if the bba grant was not given even though they were ordered and I would say that they will be on the 297 also just a guess seeing as the 222 only uses 7 buses

[D10]

Sorry to be a moaner but with regard to the 30 new midis:

Remember that on other forums we have all established that several of the Midis must be going to BC for the 99 due to the Emission Zone in Brum from early 2013. So not all 30 of them will be ending up on Penentt routes serving Merry Hill Bus Station anyway.

[wilmotm (Matt Wilmot)]

Another factor here to consider is where the buses for the 246 and X96 are going to come from? Obviously I'm sure the Merc's could be upgraded to Talking technology but seems a little wasteful on ageing buses, plus the fact different buses are used each day, perhaps we may see an order following on from Demo 1908 which seems universally popular to me