'Crammed' bus station needs upgrade, locals say

Bus passengers in Douglas have welcomed the government's decision not to move the town's main bus facilities to the Sea Terminal, but said that a better shelter should be a priority.

The Department of Infrastructure (DoI) has ruled out the move after assessing five options for improving passenger facilities in Lower Douglas.

Instead, it wants to spend an estimated £735,000 upgrading facilities on Victoria Street and at the Bottleneck.

Beryl Payton, from Port St Mary, said the "crammed" bus interchange needed to be improved, adding that she often had to "stand in the rain" while waiting for the bus.

She said the location of the bus station mattered less than the facilities available.

"I'm not too bothered where the station is, it certainly isn't in desperate need of a move," she said.

"But a while ago, they removed a lot of seating. When you go to town and get a lot of shopping, it's nice to have a sit down afterwards whilst waiting for the bus, and you can't do that a lot of the time."

The proposed developments are due to be presented to Tynwald in July, but would not be funded until the 2027-28 budget at the earliest.

In 2024, Tynwald approved a motion which called for improved facilities for bus passengers in Douglas.

Five options have since been assessed, including two proposals to relocate bus stops to the Sea Terminal, which have now been dismissed.

The preferred scheme combines new bus stands and shelters on Victoria Street, with improvements to waiting facilities at the Bottleneck near the ferry terminal

The Victoria Street shelters would provide seating, lighting, Wi-Fi and real-time passenger information, while the Bottleneck improvements would include similar facilities.

For regular bus user Peter Cannell, improving the shelters should be the main priority.

"Elderly people need toilet facilities, and better shelters; there's limited space, which becomes a problem when the weather's bad," he said.

Another local, Harry Leming, said the long-delayed redevelopment of the Lord Street site left passengers waiting in these "cramped" shelters.

He also said that "something should be done" about the empty site that the bus stop sits next to.

Plans for a major 12-storey development on Lord Street, including 85 apartments, a cinema, commercial units and a bus centre were approved in February of this year, but construction has not yet gone under way.

The department said redevelopment of Lord Street remained the long-term solution, but acknowledged the project was "significantly overdue" with no clear timetable for construction.

If funding is approved through the 2027-28 budget process, the Victoria Street and Bottleneck improvements could be completed during that financial year.

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