Great Western Coffee Shop

In the very recent past two new bus shelters were built on Kingsweston Lane near my home. Of the latest design and equipped with 'Next Bus' displays. All very nice and most welcome to the users of the half hourly services from them to Shirehampton/Avonmmouth in one direction and Westbury-on-Trym/Southmead/Bristol Parkway in t'other.

Here they are:

(http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bignosemac/busshelters_zps8fr7jdmu.jpg)

Quite nice, eh?

Want to know how many buses a day now serve them?

None. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Bugger all. Bristol City Council withdrew funding of services Wessex 501/502 and now fund First 18/18A which takes a different route.

I asked my local councillor, who campaigned for improved bus stops and shelters in my area, how much these stops each cost. Unit cost including installation is £22,000. Add to that maintenance and upkeep of around £500 per stop per annum.

So Bristol City Council spent £44,000 of Council Tax payers money for these two stops and then withdraws the funding of services that serve them. Wonderful long term thinking there.  ::)

I'm celebrating a little victory after a bus stop I use six days a week has finally been repaired two years after it was damaged.

The end panel was bent after a car left the road and hit it. A couple of days later the panel was removed. Since then it has been open to the prevailing wind and when it rained offered little protection.

Last week I finally got round to writing to Clear Channel who own the structure. They wrote back by return of post to say it had fallen through the system and they thought it had been repaired when it hadn't.  Last Friday the end panel was finally replaced.

The stop is used by around 30 buses a day, so money rather better spent than in Bristol it would appear.

[advocate mode=devil]Since bus services can change at just 56 days notice, prior to that (on commercial routes at least) the changes being shrouded in secrecy, is it possible that there's a cunning plan somewhere?[/advocate]

£22,000 for a bus shelter :o

A dozen would cost about the same as a house ! A dozen bus shelters would seem to contain far less material, and require less labour to build than a house. AND the price of a house includes the land on which it stands, whereas the bus shelters presumably involve no purchase of land.

Not just a bus shelter - a LOVELY and NEW bus shelter  ;D

I looked up bus stop costs ...
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/bus_stopshelter_replacement_cost
... comes us with lower figures

However,  for a new bus stop (no shelter - just a stop on a lamppost) we've been quoted £1000 for a safety evaluation, and I do wonder if the Bristol price include the Harrington Hump and road markings too.    It all adds up all too quickly.

Also to include in the price I was told is the 'Next Bus' display and GPS system.

Glad to see the council have spend money on somewhere dry for the local white lightening and special brew drinkers to hang out.  ;D

It's okay. I have a council flat. I can drink my White Lightning and Special Brew at home.

Great cure for toothache!