A "crazy" waiting system at Colchester's new bus station will leave passengers sprinting to catch services, a pressure group has claimed.
Council chiefs working with developers on plans for the subterranean station at St Botolph's are considering a design that will see arrivals flashed up on a screen in a special waiting concourse
Passengers would wait to see where their bus had pulled in, before heading off to get on board.
Colchester Bus Users' Support Group, which is campaigning for the bus station to stay in Queen Street, today condemned the plan.
Chairman Peter Kay branded the system as "crazy". He said: "With only 12 stands, the bus station is nowhere near big enough to cope with future demands if run on a normal basis, and council officers are now busy scraping the barrel for 'clever' ideas like this to try to dream up ways of making it work.
"Everybody knows that these electronic information systems are always breaking down, and when that happens people will presumably be left to run around at random."
Robert Davidson, Colchester Council's portfolio holder for regeneration and partnerships, said he agreed that the number of bus stands should be increased. But he insisted the waiting concourse would benefit bus users.
Mr Davidson said: There are new bus stations like this working successfully all over the country."
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article