‘Significant concerns’ halt Broad Street bus ban plans

Aberdeen bus operators Stagecoach and First Bus have taken issue with the plans, as have disability representatives.

By Kirstie Topp

October 9 2023, 11:56 am

First Bus and Stagecoach have introduced the offer. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson.

Plans to ban buses from Broad Street could stall until more is known about the sweeping changes being enforced on city centre roads.

City chiefs were tasked with looking at the implications of closing the Aberdeen street to public transport in December.

A £3.2 million revamp in 2018 left it a shared surface with little to warn the visually impaired of the difference between the pavement and the road surface.

The ban would have seen the road between Queen Street and Upperkirkgate closed to buses. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson

Officials were this week expected to outline the impact of a bus ban between Upperkirkgate and Queen Street.

Instead, they will say Stagecoach, First Bus and the Disability Equity Partnership’s “significant concerns” are enough to waylay the work.

They want to see how road changes – already described as a “war on motorists” – in the city centre take hold first.

Stop the bus, we need a rethink: Broad Street bus ban could come later

Instead, continued bus access to Broad Street will be looked at through other the council’s masterplan.

More change is expected in Aberdeen – including a potential bus through route to the beach on the Castlegate – as the multi-million-pound work continues.

Other projects, fuelled by the national Bus Partnership Fund, could be expanded to include Broad Street in the future too.

That Scottish Government scheme has already helped pay for the new bus gates, which have confused motorists in Aberdeen.

Haud the bus: Firms protested as soon as Broad Street ban was suggested

In December, First Bus argued that removing public transport from the city centre would have “potential significant ramifications” for both passengers and businesses.

A convoy of buses on Broad Street. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson

Stagecoach pleaded with the local authority to maintain access as their passengers “depend” on Broad Street as a route to the centre of Aberdeen.

Ending the shared surface, resulting in full pedestrianisation, was a manifesto pledge by the Liberal Democrats.

When they agreed joint control of the council, they and the SNP promised to ensure Broad Street was “accessible to people with disabilities and limited mobility”.