ne a minute bus station
Page 26
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A FIVE-SIDED bus station— completely under cover—has just been opened in Chatham. It has 18 departure points and completely surrounds at second storey level a new shopping centre known as the Pentagon.
At busiest times one bus a minute will pass through the station and some five million passengers a year will be handled. The operating Company— Maidstone and District Motor Services—was first approached with the idea some 13 years ago by Chatham Borough Council. The advantages of the new bus station were obvious —it would remove a multitude of bus stops from streets which would eventually be pedestrianised—and would provide a central interchange point for passengers.
The five-sided design of the bus station presented problems of bus control and communication which led to the decision to install a system of 26 tele vision cameras and also telephone points for passenger inquiries.
Buses enter and leave the station by two ramps—both of which have de-icing equipment. The perimeter carriageway which forms the station is a little over a quarter of a mile long and has two lanes for buses. The outer one is for moving vehicles and the inner one for 'pus bays.