(24 Nov 2015, 10:05 pm)BusLoverMum wrote Somehow, Eldon Square seems to tick over OK, most of the time, even though it's a similar capacity with a similar volume of traffic.

I think the big problem with Durham bus station is that it's built for a city the size it is, forgetting that it's a major hub. Peterlee is the same size as Durham, but is both less of a destination (understatement) and less of a hub so it's only slightly lower capacity bus station is rarely overcrowded (though it tends to be so full of people who have conversations at the top of their voice that we tend to join the people shivering in front of the doors, there!)

With Eldon Square, you can probably have about 6-7 buses queueing to get into the bus station. At Durham you can have 2, before you're overhanging on to the roundabout. 

The other difference is that Eldon Square is fully managed. Two Nexus clowns, and a GNE supervisor during the day. Give Nexus their credit, as they seem to communicate stand changes straight away, and it runs as clockwork. There's also a lot more space inside too, which allows queues to flow better. 

Durham on the other hand is unmanaged, at least as far as I'm concerned. I know they have staff on, but they couldn't make it more obvious that it's the last place they want to be. They offer absolutely no knowledge about the bus network, and generally hide away in their little cupboard at the top. Not great, when you have buses being dumped into stands, and buses due off those stands having to find alternatives. It causes chaos at peak times.