Oldham bus station

Oldham
Oldham West Street bus station, 2026
General information
LocationCheapside / West Street, Oldham
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
England
Coordinates53°32′35″N 2°06′58″W / 53.5431°N 2.1162°W / 53.5431; -2.1162
OperatorTransport for Greater Manchester
Bus routes 57   59   76   76A   81   82   83   84   149   159   180   183   184   343   350   356   403   409   411   415   426   540 
Bus stands13 (Arrivals, A-M except I)
Bus operators
ConnectionsNo
Other information
Websitehttps://tfgm.com/travel-updates/live-departures/bus/oldham-bus
History
Opened2001 (Cheapside), 2006 (West Street)
Location

Oldham bus station serves the town of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is sited on Cheapside, at the junction of West Street, and was opened in January 2001 replacing its predecessor at Town Square and the bus stops on Cheapside and West Street. The bus station is operated by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

History

There were three termini in Oldham:

When the bus station opened, all services terminating in the town would terminate at the new bus station.

Interior of West Street bus station, 2026

The new station opened in January 2001; it won two awards within the first two years of opening.

Originally, there were eight stands, A to H. Due to the number of buses arriving in Oldham every hour, plus National Express coach services, it was decided that some services would use bus stops around the corner on West Street. After complaints from passengers of suffering from the elements, GMPTE decided to build a smaller bus station, based on the one on Cheapside for West Street. This was opened in September 2006 at a cost of £2.2m. There are now 12 stands, from A-M, excluding I.

Services

The majority of bus services are operated by Stagecoach Manchester, with other services by Metroline Manchester, Diamond North West and Go North West, all of which operate under contract to the Bee Network.

There are frequent buses running to a large number of surrounding areas of Oldham and Greater Manchester, including Manchester, Middleton, Rochdale, Saddleworth and Tameside, with one local bus service running out of the region into Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire. National Express serves the bus station twice per day on its 540 route between London and Burnley.

Safety concerns

A former crossing point at the Cheapside bus station, closed due to safety concerns

One problem with the bus station is the safety of the zebra crossings. In January 2007, 56-year-old Ann Kerridge was killed after being knocked down by a First Manchester single-decker bus while using a crossing, Following another accident at the same crossing in September 2007 and a report by GMPTE obtained by the Oldham Evening Chronicle newspaper, showing potentially fatal flaws at the two crossings at the ends of the bus station: one being near the entrance to the Travelshop and the other near the junction of St Mary's Way. It stated that it had led to the family of Ann Kerridge to demand that the crossing should be closed.

The issue is that bus drivers approach the crossing on a 90 degree bend, which would restrict the view of both the driver and the pedestrian, sometimes approaching the crossing slightly too fast. Some drivers have also been known to have stopped at the junction, waiting to turn right out of the bus station, blocking the crossing, making it harder and more dangerous for pedestrians to cross over.[citation needed] Following the report from the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, the pedestrian crossings were reallocated to the sides of the bus station next to stands G and H; however, calls are still being made for them to be removed altogether. Zebra crossings were placed near to the bus station in September 2023 and the original pedestrian crossings were removed.

Notes

  1. ↑ With the exception of some First services which terminate at Mumps Bridge.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Oldham Bus Station". Bustimes.org. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Oldham West Street Bus Station". Bustimes.org. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Oldham Local Development Framework" (PDF). Oldham Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  4. ↑ "Going Up Town in 1980s Oldham". East of the M60. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "the borough Oldhamer, issue 35 November/December 2006". Oldham Council. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "£2.2m bus station". Oldham Advertiser. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  7. ↑ "Austin-Smith: Lord - Our Work - Transport - Bus And Coach - Oldham Bus Station". Austin Smith Lord. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "Bus Station Departures - Oldham" (PDF). Transport for Greater Manchester. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "540 - London - Burnley". Bustimes.org. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  10. 1 2 Ayala, Beatriz (11 December 2009). "Crossing death fight for justice". Oldham Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  11. ↑ "Oldham Chronicle page 1". Oldham Evening Chronicle. 2 October 2007. p. 1. Retrieved 2 October 2007.[permanent dead link]
  12. 1 2 Abkor, Ruhubia (12 December 2007). "Gran's death leads to rethink over bus station safety". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  13. ↑ Jones, Lewis (26 January 2011). "Plea over danger crossing". Oldham Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  14. ↑ Metcalf, Jacob (26 January 2017). "Crossing 'is still a danger' to public". Oldham Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 8 March 2025.