We all like new things. Especially when we have had to wait a long while. In the case of Newark bus station the old one closed in May 2010 (see TRANSPIRE website HERE) and for 18 months the buses have had to pick up in various streets around the town.

So it was with great anticipation that we ventured to Newark on the first day of operation of the new facility, Saturday 12 November 2011. The ASDA store that is part of the development is due to open on Monday 14 November.

On the final day of operation of the old bus station, Stagecoach provided Stratford Blue Routemaster 12565 to run on various routes . . . and on the first day of the new bus station there was that Routemaster again (see right)! As before, the Routemaster spent much of the day on Newark town services finishing up with a return trip to Mansfield (around 25 miles each way).

So what is the new bus station like? The waiting area, with seats, is fully enclosed with automatic doors to the stands when buses are there. There is one toilet for ladies, one for gentlemen and one for the disabled. Though hardly a generous number, at least they are free to use and two ladies were busy cleaning them. There is an electronic departure screen and timetable and information boards. Paper timetable leaflets were stacked on a table, though this may be temporary as there was an information desk that appeared to be a work in progress. Staff were prominent to give advice to intending passengers.

The bus station is open 7am to 7pm Monday to Saturday. In the evenings and on Sundays buses pull onto bay A which is accessible from the outside.

The bus station has five bays, but nowhere for buses to lay over. I find this most surprising as with the considerable traffic congestion in the road outside throughout the time we were there, buses driving off to find somewhere to wait makes the jams even worse and the nearest place (the lorry park) may take up to 20 minutes to reach in the traffic. Surely this is one economy too far. The Stagecoach 28 route from Mansfield on most journeys had a 17 minute wait in Newark - ideal to regain time on a route that often runs late. From the day the new bus station opened, Stagecoach revised the timetable, sending the 28 round Newark to serve the hospital so the loading time in the bus station is reduced to 3 minutes. Is this a coincidence?

Not all bus services come into the bus station but use the stops in the narrowish main road outside, or round the corner near the castle. Surprisingly, National Express still use the Wharf (the former 'temporary bus station', about a ten minute walk from the new bus station) though perhaps this is until new timetables are brought out.

After running on Newark town services, the Routemaster for reasons stated above had to leave the bus station during its break before the 1550 run to Mansfield. It came back just in time (having been held up in the traffic) and gave us a lovely smooth run over the mainly rural roads, though it struggled to keep to time. The Routemaster (which had come from Leamington Spa earlier in the week) was arranged by Mark Butler, Operations Manager Stagecoach Lincoln and Newark depots, but in the afternoon he was nowhere to be found! Apparently because of a staffing problem he had taken the wheel of a more modern 28 to Mansfield.

Though much smarter and with more modern facilities, it has to be said the new bus station seriously lacks the space for buses of the old one, a situation which I suspect will make it far less efficient. There does not appear to be any facilities for bus drivers, either. The fairly new Notts County Council Retford bus station (a town I think not as big as Newark) has plenty of space for buses off service so I find this omission even more surprising. I hope the same mistake is not made when the new Mansfield bus station opens shortly!

I really hope I am exaggerating my reservations and trust the good people of Newark benefit from their new bus station. Thank you, Stagecoach East Midlands, for laying on the Routemaster on this special occasion.