Salisbury bus station
{{Short description|Bus station in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Salisbury bus station
| native_name =
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| symbol_location = gb
| symbol = bus
| image = Salisbury bus station 5.JPG
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| caption = The bus station in 2009
| other_name =
| address = Endless Street, Salisbury
| borough = Wiltshire
| country =
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| owned =
| operator =
| bus_stands = 5 (A-E)
| bus_operators = Salisbury Reds
| bus_routes =
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| bicycle =
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| website =
| opened = 1939
| closed = January 2014
| passengers =
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}}
Salisbury bus station was a bus station in the city of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The station had five stands underneath a red brick building which was built in 1939 as the headquarters of the Wilts & Dorset bus company. It was closed in 2014 on the grounds of high maintenance costs.
Services
The only operator at the station in its later years was the Salisbury Reds brand of Wilts & Dorset, by then a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. The station was mainly a hub for local services, including Salisbury's park and ride scheme serving five sites around the city.{{cite web |last=Riddle |first=Annie |date=25 February 2010 |title=Park and ride losing £1million |url=http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/5024727.Park_and_ride_losing___1million/ |website=Salisbury Journal}} Longer distance services, known as 'X' services, ran between the city and other surrounding areas, such as Southampton (X7), Pewsey (X4) and Bournemouth (X3).{{cite web |last=Robertson |first=Miranda |date=10 May 2015 |title=New bus timetable as Salisbury Reds takes over park and ride in the city |url=http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/12941387.New_bus_timetable_as_Salisbury_Reds_takes_over_park_and_ride_in_the_city/ |website=Salisbury Journal}}{{cite web|url=https://www.salisburyreds.co.uk/timetables/|title=Salisbury Reds Timetables|website=www.salisburyreds.co.uk}} National Express coach services have always called at the Millstream coach park in the northwest of the city centre.
Closure
Only a third of Salisbury Reds' services called at the station by the time it closed in January 2014. It was also expensive to run, with services later making use of street stops and the city's park and ride sites instead.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-25603828|title=Bus station closes after 75 years|date=4 January 2014|work=BBC News: Wiltshire|access-date=16 April 2018|language=en-GB}}
Despite being described as outdated and underused by Salisbury Reds, the station's closure, announced in November 2012,{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-20392200|title=Salisbury and Amesbury bus stations to close|date=19 November 2012|work=BBC News: Wiltshire|access-date=16 April 2018|language=en-GB}} was unpopular with Salisbury residents as it provided a focal point for services. A spokesperson from Salisbury Reds also said that the station was originally opened for the much larger Wilts and Dorset bus company and the present company didn't need all of the space available. Even though the main reason for closing the station was to cut the costs of maintaining the ageing building, Salisbury Reds had been awarded £400,000 in March that year to improve the station and its services.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-17489489|title=City gets cash to improve buses|date=23 March 2012|work=BBC News: Wiltshire|access-date=16 April 2018|language=en-GB}} The station was closed at the same time as Amesbury bus station.
Present day
Shortly after closure, the bus station was demolished. The construction of retirement homes, branded as 'Sarum Lodge', on the site was completed in February 2018.{{Cite web|url=http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/15980097.Retirement_complex_opens_on_former_bus_station_site/|title=Retirement complex opens on former bus station site|last=Riddle|first=Joe|date=8 February 2018|website=Salisbury Journal|language=en|access-date=16 April 2018}} Despite the closure of the station, Salisbury retains its Park and Ride services which terminate at various street stops in the city centre.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{coord|51.070|-1.794|region:GB|display=title}}
Category:Transport in Wiltshire