A lot of people visit London every day. Since the capital of Great Britain is an economic, cultural, industrial and tourist centre, there is a need to provide constant transportation. The variety of vehicles in the city is truly impressive. Due to the peculiarities of the location, water transport is quite popular here as well. However, the bus remains one of the most common. Therefore, there are many bus stations in London. Victoria Coach Station is the largest bus station in the city. Let’s learn about its history and the main features of its functioning at london-future.
History of creation and development
The history of the Victoria Coach Station creation began in the first half of the 20th century. The bus station was opened on March 10, 1932, being commissioned by a consortium of bus operators London Coastal Coaches. The building itself is interesting from an architectural point of view. It was built in the Art Deco style, which is characterised by a unique combination of modernism and neoclassicism. Its distinctive features include luxury, strict regularity and ethnic geometric patterns. Various offices and the headquarters of the consortium were located on the upper floors of the building. Initially, the bus station could serve 76 buses, as well as housed various shops, buffets, a restaurant and a bar. Victoria Coach Station’s launch has been quite successful. However, the Second World War began soon. It had a negative impact on many buildings in London. Many of them were simply destroyed. Although the bus station survived, there were changes in its functioning during the war. Bus traffic was restricted, instead the building was used for military purposes.
After the passing of The Transport Act 1968, the bus station became part of the National Bus Company. Subsequently, a number of other changes related to the reorganisation took place as well. In 2000, the bus station was handed over to Transport for London. In the 2010s, there was ongoing controversy over its relocation. However, in 2019, such ideas were rejected and the station remained in the same place. Unfortunately, in the same year, several cases of violation of fire prevention measures were recorded at the bus station. Apparently, it resulted in a decrease in the number of passengers, as from 2010 to 2018, the station was a very busy place. Throughout the year, approximately 13 million people used the services of the bus station. This figure also dropped significantly in 2020 due to the pandemic raging around the world.
Current state
The bus station has a quite convenient location. Both tourists and city residents can easily get there. Nearby is London Victoria railway station, which takes only 10 minutes to reach, as well as an underground station. Moreover, there is a wide range of hotels nearby. They differ in cost, conditions and additional services. In addition, everyone has the opportunity to get to know London better and go sightseeing. Thus, Buckingham Palace is located nearby.
There are toilets, cafes and storage rooms on the territory of Victoria Coach Station. Here, you can use the services of Flixbus, BlaBlaBus, Megabus and National Express for travelling abroad or to various parts of Great Britain. Passengers travelling to other countries are recommended to arrive at the bus station one hour before departure, while other travellers should also arrive in advance (about half an hour before the time indicated on the ticket).
