Overview

On arrival at the Bus & Coach Station, I was met by a familiar face in unexpected attire. To the left of the entrance stood a statue of Gromit, the dog from Aardman Animation's Wallace & Gromit stop-motion animations, dressed in a Wizard of Oz-themed outfit complete with four red sparkly feet and a pair of sparkly ears. Bristol Bus & Coach Station offers a gateway to travel in and around the city, across the UK and operates an airport shuttle, but let's just see how wonderful my experience was.

Transport & Parking

Parking is not provided at the station but there are spaces at the nearby Marlborough House car park and the NCP on Bond Street. I didn't visit either but the NCP seems to have generally unfavourable reviews. There are a few taxi bays at the front of the station, including some marked for accessible taxis, though these are limited. The 13, B1 and T7 services operate on Upper Maudlin Street, with the 13 also stopping on Marlborough Street, and the 25 and X91 services near The Haymarket, all a short distance from the Bus and Coach Station. I didn't see clearly marked drop-off zones but there are points around the station where I expect you could pull in quickly.

Access

The station has three entrances: the main one is on Whitson Street, which has two sets of outward-opening automatic doors and is located on a hill; an entrance on Cannon Street, which has outward-opening automatic doors; and one on Marlborough Street, which has a single set of automatic outward-opening doors. Inside, there is metal seating in 19 of the bus bays, all of which have automatic sliding doors leading to the buses. There is tactile marking at the end of the kerb where the buses pull in. There is no ramp here but the buses can be lowered or deploy a ramp. As you navigate the station, you'll find a ramp towards the higher-numbered bays, which has handrails. To the side of the ramp, there are steps with rails and tactile markings, though lots of people seem to gather in this area. Departure information can be found on screens overhead and at each bus bay but this is text-based with no alternative formats such as British Sign Language in use. BSL signage is becoming more common so I hope this location follows suit. I went to the customer service desk, which has a lowered section on the right side, to ask about a hearing loop but they weren't sure if this was available. The ticket desk does not have a lowered counter. Within the station, there's a Coffee Room café, which has some seats, offering a place to stop for a warm drink. There's also a Tesco and a Greggs nearby if you need some snacks for your bus trip. At the bays, the platforms do not have fixed ramp access but the buses are fitted with boarding ramps or can be lowered as needed. Outside, there are zebra crossings, dropped kerbs and tactile paving to assist with crossing safely.

Toilets

I give no rating to the accessible toilets for the simple fact that they were "NOT IN USE" according to the sign taped to the door. Whether this has been long-term or not, I can't say but I wish venues would advise when they expect a facility to be operational and where the nearest accessible alternative toilet is. From what I could find, the nearest is 480 metres away at the Cabot Circus shopping area. Standard toilets are available in the coach station but cost 30p to access.

Staff

I spoke to a member of staff to confirm if there was a hearing loop in the station. They didn't know and gave me a number to contact, but it would have been nice if they could have made the call. They were very pleasant, however.

Photos