Baffling Bus Stops For Beginners
Bicester's main shopping thororughfare is Sheep Street now a pedestrian precinct, seen below ftrom the northern end.
Sheep Street becomes Market Square at the southern end, also pedestrians only plus a few trees.
There are plenty of pictures around of this noble shopping street, but none show buses. It is, however, reasonable to assume that services would leave from stops around the Market Square.
But where now?
A canter round the operators' web sites finds a few routes leaving from Manorsfield Road, clearly marked on the map. They are:-
Red Rose 17 to Aylesbury
Grayline Coaches E1 to Elmsbrook
Hallmark 250 to Kirtlington and Oxford
Not at all obvious from the map is buses leaving from Pioneer Square. This includes the Stagecoach group of town services, 26, 27, 28 and 29 plus the linked service H5 to John Radcliffe Hospital.
Stagecoach Locals plus J R Hospital
Also Stagecoach S5 to Oxford
Stagecoach 505 to Brackley
So, as the potential passenger wanders disconsolately round Bicester, it should be possible to spot a clutch of Stagecoach beauties and thus find Pioneer Square.
Departing from the Pedestrian Precinct, Market Place
Our Bus Barton Community Service
Which leaves a couple of routes with their stops in Bure Place, also not marked on the map.
Grayline 21 to Highfield
And, separate from the company's other routes ...
Stageoach X5 to Bedford
The X5 no longer runs through to Cambridge, thus severing a long-standing link between the two ancient University cities. Was it not once run by Premier Travel?
But, as always, It's All On Line! Google maps can perhaps guide us to Bure Place via one of its little blue lines, which doesn't quite hit the street name.
But there is what looks like a small bus station ...
... with a back door to Tesco ...
... a toilet block ...
... and a car park ...
... with an exit on to Manorsfield Road.
Sweet! It would appear that, when Sheep Street was pedestrianised, the buses were moved to a minI terminal "round the back" on Bure Place.
But why do only two services now use it?
Answer. Because it is not there!
Tesco has become B & M ...
... and the car park has become a huge Shopping Centre (Sainsbury's plus oodles more) ...
... seen on the right where the little stream once tinkled relaxingly to the delight of shop-weary Bicester blokes and blokesses.
Bure Place now looks like this ...
... a part of the shopping centre and utterly bereft of anything that runs on wheels (except prams, shopping trollies and mobility scooters) and certainly no buses will ever call there.
The shopping centre is called ...
... Pioneer Square!
So, to summarise. Here are the Manorsfield Road bus stops:
Here are the Pioneer Square bus stops:
Here are the Bure Place bus stops:
And here (presumably) is the Market Place bus stop:
They are all on Manorsfield Road!
Public Transport - Good, innit?
And thanks to Alan (the Northampton one) for propelling fbb into this minefield of omnibological befuddlement.
Building Back Better - phooey'
Next Pink service blog : Wednesday 18th August
The actual Market Square was in that triangle of roads to the south, and the bus stops were in the eastern end of that area in the 50s, then moved round the corner to the southern end of Sheep Street, just below where 'Market Square' is marked.
ReplyDeletePremier Travel and also Percivals used to run between Oxford and Cambridge, although not over what is now the X5 route.
ReplyDeleteStagecoach started the X5 in the 1990s.