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| Lancaster Bus Station |
Although never the warmest place on the planet, passengers at Lancaster Bus Station have been suffering more than usual from the cold this winter.
Each of the 20 departure stands has a door that is intended to keep passengers and moving buses apart, something deemed essential in this Health & Safety conscious age, although no similar protection is offered at any of myriad other places where passengers and buses come into daily contact! The doors are "automatic" and work on the basis that they remain firmly shut until there are passengers wishing to board on one side of them and a bus ready to receive them on the other. At least that's the theory.
But this winter it hasn't worked like that and despite the Bus Users' Group's best efforts things still aren't right. Following comments from our members, we noted in September that no fewer than 9 of the 20 doors were stuck in the "open" position whilst the two exit doors on to Cable Street, which double as fire exits, were also stuck - one permanently closed and the other permanently open!
Our findings were reported to the City Council on 9th September and, several weeks later, we had a reply saying that they were only aware of a problem with one door, but would investigate. Having heard nothing we chased them up in early December to be told that the Council now had a quote for the repairs but no firm date for the work to be carried out. We asked for at least an indication of how long we might expect to wait - but had no reply.
A check by the Group on 5th January found 8 doors now stuck open and the Cable Street fire doors still stuck - one open and the other closed. In addition, one door was seen to be opening and closing seemingly at random, despite the absence of passengers or buses! This time, according to the City Council, "contractor availability" was an issue, but the "Automatic Door Company" would be on site in the next few days to investigate the problem and advise on ways to stop it recurring. This seemed a little odd, given that the Council had supposedly accepted a quote for the work to be done back in December, but at least things were happening - or so it seemed.
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| Passengers wrapped-up warmly against the wind! |
Our latest check, on 19th February, showed that no progress had been made and passengers were still shivering in the icy winds that blow through the station on a regular basis. Now the Council tell us that following the visit of the Automatic Door Company they have obtained a quote for the work (last December's quote has seemingly been forgotten) but that as it is "over their procurement threshold of £10,000" they will need to get alternative quotes and that even then scheduling the work will depend on the usual "contractor availability" and the availability of spare parts. At at least £1,000 per door we hope the repair work comes with a lengthy guarantee!
The BUG is tempted to say that at least passengers will have the benefits of cooling breezes wafting through the station should we have another hot summer like last year, but really we feel that the Council should pull its finger out and get the work done. After all, if it was the doors in the Town Hall that were faulty they'd have been fixed months ago.