Updated Friday 9 August
New, more modern bus shelters will shortly be installed on Exeter Street viaduct and at Derriford Hospital.
The new shelters will have better lighting, improved seating and repositioned ‘real-time’ displays to make it easier for passengers to view information about the next services to arrive.
The shelter replacement will start on the viaduct on Monday 29 July. Work to remove the existing shelters and install the new ones will take around two weeks to complete and all of the shelters (on both sides of the road) will be out of use during this time.
Passengers will need to use the usual stops before or after the viaduct. Depending on the bus service and direction, these are on Royal Parade, Exeter Street (outside/opposite the Leonardo hotel), Cobourg Street, Drake Circus (outside/opposite the University of Plymouth) or Ebrington Street. There will be no disruption to buses that normally stop on Charles Street.
One of the two shelters on the inbound side of the viaduct is only used very occasionally for dropping off passengers so will be removed as part of the upgrade. All buses serving the viaduct will use the other stop.
Update: Work to install new shelters on the Exeter Street viaduct has been slightly delayed by bad weather. Those on the outbound side will now stay closed until Monday 12 August. The stop on the inbound side (outside the Barcode) will reopen on Saturday 10 August as planned but the shelter will be replaced at a later date. Further details will be made available as soon as possible.
The next phase of the shelter upgrade will get under way on Monday 12 August at Derriford Hospital.
This work will be carried out in phases and will take around four weeks. All buses will continue to serve the hospital, but passengers will temporarily need to use a different stop in front of the hospital while their usual shelter is being replaced (as was the case for the recent work on Royal Parade). Some buses will need to operate through the interchange in the opposite direction to usual while departing from their temporary stop.
There are seven shelters at Derriford Hospital but only six are currently used. These six will be replaced in time for when the schools reopen for the autumn term and the seventh will be replaced and brought back into use shortly afterwards.
Notices will be placed in all shelters ahead of their removal to let passengers know their nearest alternative stop during the works. Full details can be found on our Exeter Street viaduct and Derriford Hospital pages.
Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport said: “As part of our Bus Service Improvement Plan we’re committed to delivering a thriving bus network that connects everyone to important people and places by services that are frequent, reliable, fast, affordable, safe and clean. This will also help Plymouth to achieve its net zero goals by 2030.
“Both Exeter Street viaduct and Derriford Hospital are key public transport hubs providing important drop-off and pick-up points for a significant number of passengers.
“These new shelters will deliver against three of Plymouth’s nine passenger priorities – safety, simple and understandable information and more enjoyable bus stop environments. I’d like to thank passengers for bearing with us while we improve their shelters.”