Of course buses have a limited life and come and go sometimes before we hardly realise they are getting old. For much of my life bus garages and many bus stations managed to stay the same but things have changed greatly in the years since Deregulation with some improvements but a lot of asset-stripping. Like Bretonside in Plymouth, Paris Street Bus Station in Exeter has gone too I believe. I'm not sure about Marlborough Street in Bristol but I think Taunton and Yeovil are still very much the way they were. Even in later years there would be a spring in my step here as I recalled Devon General AEC Regents and Reliances and Exteters green and cream Massey bodied Leyland PD2's and the short Leopards which were just waiting to go into service the first time I visited in 1966.
Paris Street Bus Station, as you will remember it, has not quite gone. Currently, 7 bays remain in use, other routes use nearby street termini. The whole site is being redeveloped for retail, office and residential use. A new, smaller Bus Station is included in the scheme due to be completed, I believe, in 2020.
ReplyDeleteThanks Philip for the info.
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