A SECOND major bus station could be built in Glasgow in a bid to ease the chronic congestion in City Centre streets.
A SECOND major bus station could be built in Glasgow in a bid to ease the chronic congestion in City Centre streets.
Transport experts have suggested siting a new "hub" close to St Enoch Shopping Centre to serve the south of the city.
Consultants Faber Maunsell said it would not only relieve pressure on the road network but also on Buchanan Bus Station, which is currently "gridlocked" at peak times.
The move - contained in a report commissioned by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport - could go a long way to reducing bus traffic in "hotspot" corridors such as Renfield Street, Union Street and Hope Street.
It means that some services - especially those serving the South Side - could begin and end their journeys at the hub rather than travel through the busy City Centre.
The volume of bus traffic in Glasgow streets has been highlighted by the Evening Times as a major congestion problem since we launched our Get Glasgow Moving campaign earlier this year.
City council officials have pledged to take radical action to cut down on the congestion after our campaign revealed the full extent of the problem.
On Renfield Street and Union Street alone, there are an average of 350 buses an hour.
Thirty-five people have been injured in road accidents in the past three years at the Union Street/Argyle Street junction.
And Hope Street - a bottleneck with queues of buses, taxis and private cars - has only just avoided being named the most polluted street in Britain yet again.
SPT has now agreed to look into the feasibility of providing the new interchange, possibly on land near King Street.
And Glasgow City Council said the move could be a key factor in cutting City Centre congestion levels.
A spokeswoman for First Glasgow, the city's largest bus operator, welcomed the suggestion.
She said: "There is indeed a shortage of terminus capacity within Glasgow City Centre.
"Any new infrastructure that would provide the opportunity to alleviate pressures elsewhere and further enhance the public transport network would be very welcome indeed. We will be following this with interest."
Robert Booth, the council's executive director of land and environmental services, said: "We would welcome a south bus hub as it would significantly reduce the need for cross-city traffic and therefore reduce congestion."
Transport expert Neil Greig also welcomed the idea, although he said it "sounded like history repeating itself".
There was a bus terminus in St Enoch Square for several decades until it was closed down when the area was redeveloped in 2001.
Mr Greig, policy director of the IAM Motoring Trust, said: "Anything that adds extra capacity is going to help, especially if it is going to stop buses having to make long journeys across the City Centre.
"This suggestion would reduce the amount of buses criss-crossing the City Centre.
But it might create the same problems we have with Queen Street and Central stations where passengers have to break their journeys and transfer from one hub to the other.
"If people were to think out of the box they could introduce electric buses - something low emission - to take bus passengers from one station to another.
"From a traffic point of view it would be good news, there is no doubt that bus congestion in the city is a major area of concern.
"And much of the poor air quality in the city can be traced to buses which sit and wait at stops with their engines running."
The Faber Maunsell report also criticised other aspects of bus operations in Glasgow.
The company claimed there is:
- a lack of transport infrastructure including turning circles, shelters and bus interchanges
- City Centre locations where the road network is "constrained" by the sheer volume of bus traffic. The situation will worsen as demand increases, leading to longer journey times
- some facilities in the City Centre, like bus stops and shelters, that do not meet expected requirements and may deter people from using buses
- a number of buses operating in the city that do not meet European standards on fuel emissions.
The report also said that Buchanan Bus Station, which serves 50,000 bus passengers a day, was operating at full capacity.
Difficulties are already presented through the sheer volume of buses using the station.
And when events such as T in the Park, Hogmanay and football matches are on, there's a "significant increase" in bus traffic.
Consultants Faber Maunsell said if bus traffic grew as predicted that, by 2021, 24 extra bus stances would be needed.
Under plans to increase the size of Buchanan Galleries, a multi-storey car park will be built on top of the bus station.
The report pinpointed the entrance to the station from Killermont Street as the biggest cause of congestion.
It said: "The proximity of the bus station to the Killermont Street/North Hanover Street junction results in vehicles queuing back, causing gridlock within the bus station.
"This is a problem during current peak operations and any future increases in passenger demand will exacerbate this situation."
Authors also recommended an audit of the 168 bus stops in the City Centre and an upgrade of those which fall below standard.
The report also said bus priority schemes should be introduced and action should be taken to reduce pollution in the city.
