Overview

Leeds Bus Station has an interesting setup, as it is almost like a semi-detached house together with the National Express bus station. Because of this, I am drawn to compare the two and have to say that I prefer the setup of the stances at Leeds Bus Station, as there is inside seating and a space for travellers who need wheelchair assistance to wait at every stance. Nonetheless I am glad that there are the two of them, since only National Express has functional toilets at the moment! My favourite part of the complex remains the Travel Centre, though, where I had some lovely interactions with staff and generally enjoyed the welcoming and tidy setup.

Transport & Parking

In addition to the buses stopping at the bus station, there are also bus stops on York Street, for example Cultural H (4, 4F, 16, 16A, 19, 19A, 64) and Cultural G (75, 163, A1 Flyer). There is limited on-street parking, but the NCP The Markets and Victoria Multi Storey Car Parks are close by and the latter also has EV charging stations.

Access

Leeds Bus Station has two entrances, both with automatic sliding doors, one from York Street and one from Dyer Street. The York Street entrance has a ramp going around to the left of the steps leading up to the entrance. There are three steps up with several railing and tactile markings as well as contrasting black lines. You can follow the tactile markings into the station and they branch off towards the stances (in ascending order) on the right and the Travel Centre, security office and shops on the left. The stances have large signs with their number above the sliding doors leading outside. There are rows of seats with backrests and armrests in between the stances and a waiting area for wheelchair users to the right of the doors. The ticket machines have touch screens that are quite high up. The touch centre counters are low and there are moveable chairs at each window. There is a QR code to scan at the leftmost counter to get up BSL translation on your mobile device. There’s a hearing loop at the counter as well and staff told me that they are happy to provide information in large print or use a translation software to communicate with people who do not have a lot of English.

Toilets

When I visited, all toilets at Leeds Bus Station were unusable for the foreseeable future due to structural issues. Customers were encouraged to use the toilets at National Express instead.

Staff

The staff I spoke to at the Travel Centre (which operates independently from the bus station management) was very friendly and aware of different ways to make their services more accessible.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The National Express bus station is connected to the Leeds Bus Station through walkways in the middle between the buildings.

Photos