First it sheltered millions of York tram users from the elements. Now it does the same for the city’s bus passengers.
And after 104 years of providing a refuge for travellers, the shelter is due for some TLC of its own.
Located on Station Road, opposite York Railway Station, the shelter was originally built for passengers using York’s electric tram service from 1909.
The last tram ran in 1935, and the half-timbered shelter has since been a haven for bus users.
Now it is in for a £20,000 restoration, with money from a Better Bus Area Fund grant awarded by the Department For Transport to City of York Council in 2012.
The structure will be cleaned and repainted. Lighting and guttering will be repaired or replaced.
When the work is completed, display boards offering a brief history of local transport in York will be put up.
“Even small parts of York’s heritage are important and we are glad to have the opportunity to renovate this structure,” said Julian Ridge, Better Bus Area Fund programme manager at the council.
Around two million people arrive in York by rail every year, and the same number catch buses outside the station, he said.
“The shelter is very visible and its renovation will contribute to a positive first impression for many visitors to York as they enter the city from the station.”
York transport milestones
| 1841 | Horse-drawn buses running in the city |
| 1879 | York Tramways Company formed |
| 1882 | Horse-drawn trams taking passengers on extended line through Tower Street, Clifford Street, Ouse Bridge and Micklegate to the Mount by 1882, with a branch along Rougier Street to connect with the new railway station |
| 1886 | City of York Tramways Company takes over the tramway system |
| 1909 | Start of electrification of the trams |
| 1910 | Electric tram service was opened from Fulford to the city centre line |
| 1914 | Corporation authorised to introduce both motor-buses and trolley-buses (buses powered by electricity from overhead cables) |
| 1935 | Last tram journey in November, as buses take over |
Source: History Of York
Other improvements
Other improvements to bus stops at the railway station will include:
- real-time screens at all bus stops
- glass replaced in the station portico canopy
- cleaning and improving paving
- replacing all bus stop flags
- and improving lighting at stops.
Improvements are also due to be made to facilities for passengers at Rougier Street and Exhibition Square.
An enquiry desk for bus passengers has also opened in the Station’s Travel Centre.