Bradford Interchange passengers on 'fiasco' of bus station closure

Bradford Interchange bus station is closed until further notice

The closure of Bradford Interchange bus station has brought fresh problems for travellers at a time when the borough's transport bosses are trying to build an infrastructure worthy of the 2025 City of Culture title.

The city's main bus station is shut until further notice after it was forced to close suddenly earlier this month when structural damage caused by bad weather was discovered.

It's the latest headache for Bradford's commuters and transport planners, with parts of the city centre already gridlocked on a daily basis as 18 months of work on several key regeneration projects continues.

The BBC spoke to people waiting at a makeshift bus stop at the Jacob's Well car park about the city's transport issues - and what they want the authorities to do about them.

'It's been a fiasco'

Winnie Morley says the disruption has been "hell"

Seamstress Winnie Morley had been in town shopping for fabric when we caught up with her.

The 74-year-old was wrapped up for the freezing conditions as she waited for the 425 to take her to Drighlington.

"It's been atrocious.

"This is my third time this week and it's been a fiasco," she vented.

Listing a litany of shortcomings, she said: "The first time, none of the buses knew where to go, none of them knew where to pick up. There's no signs to say on the street, this bus here, that bus there. Sometimes they pick up on the street, sometimes they pick up over there. It's been hell, to say the least."

Ms Morley had heard the interchange may be shut but wasn't clear what was happening.

However, she had a clear message for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), which is responsible for public transport infrastructure in the region: "You should have dealt with it better. Communication. There was nothing, there was no cubicle to ask anybody, there was nobody around with a jacket and to me that is not good enough."

'Everything has slowed down'

The closure means Alex Bouaguireu now misses his connection

Office worker Alex Bouaguireu commutes from Leeds and today he is waiting for the 576 to Great Horton Road.

"I work in the city centre and get the bus from Leeds every day, so it takes me at least one hour-and-a-half to get home. It is a long journey. "

The closure has meant problems for the commuter - previously he was able to get off the train and be in time for the bus - but due to the closure the timings are different and often when he arrives his ride is gone.

"There was no information at first. It is still disruptive. You cannot easily plan your journey.

"Around Bradford itself, it has been slowing down, all the circulation and for the public transport users, it's causing big trouble.

"We need everything to speed up, but actually everything's slowed down."

'It's ridiculous'

Sandra Clarke has been unable to top up her bus pass for cheaper fares

Sandra Clarke is sick of the queues - not just when she waits for a bus, but the ones she's also encountered trying to top up her bus pass.

"Two hours I've trailed round to get that done and you can't get it done anywhere," she says, brandishing the pass.

"The interchange is shut so they sent me up to the train station. I've just queued there. There were 10 people in front of me," the 59-year-old sewing machinist explains.

"And then when I got there, she said 'oh we don't do them, we're just doing senior passes at the moment'. So where do you get it done?

"It tells you on Google, you can go to a post office so I went to the post office in Broadway. They don't do it, but after you've queued again!"

Ms Clarke, who gets four buses a day, is in no doubt about her view on the situation: "You can't get nothing. It's ridiculous."

'A really good city'

Tasmiyah Khan says the problems haven't put her off Bradford

Tasmiyah Khan, who doesn't live in Bradford, was mystified when the bus she was on went a different way and she had no idea where she was heading.

"I was thinking: 'I wonder where is this bus taking us?' and then they told us!"

The 43-year-old visitor, who was waiting for a service to Dewsbury, said the changes had affected her "dramatically".

But she believed that in the long term the disruption on the city's road network and fix to the bus station would be worth it.

"I come to Bradford for all sorts. I come for my sessions, I come for shopping and I've got my family and friends living in Bradford.

"So I like coming to Bradford. This doesn't put me off, not at all. I know my way around Bradford.

"The roadworks do slow down the traffic, but once that's all done with, it should be better afterwards. It's already a really good city, you know?"

'Would this happen in Leeds?'

Opposition councillors are demanding answers from the WYCA about the closure

Matt Edwards, leader of the Green Party group on Bradford Council, was unhappy with the shut station and how bus users had been affected.

"It's already been closed for a week, and at the moment, we don't really have much in the way of knowing what the problem is, or how serious it is.

"I'm not confident we are talking about weeks. This does feel like something we're going to be looking at maybe months down the line," he said.

"It's ultimately a big distraction for council officers who are meant to be trying to deal with this challenging financial situation that we're in," added the councillor.

"Would it be taking this long if it was Leeds Bus Station that was closed?"

A spokesperson for WYCA apologised to passengers for the inconvenience, saying: "We took the precautionary decision to close Bradford Interchange bus station because public safety is our top priority.

"We moved quickly to ensure bus services were not affected and are working hard to limit disruption to people's journeys.

"Contractors are onsite to establish the extent of the damage and what is required before it can be safely reopened.

"Because the survey work could take several weeks, we are exploring alternative options to limit disruption for passengers, operators and the city centre."