Victoria Coach Station

Victoria Coach Station is the largest coach station in London, located in the central district of Victoria in the City of Westminster. It serves as a terminus for many medium- and long-distance coach services in the United Kingdom, and is also the departure point for many countryside coach tours originating from London. It is operated by Victoria Coach Station Limited, a subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL).[1] The station reports 14,000,000 passengers with 472,000 individual coach arrivals or departures.[2]

For the London Buses station, see Victoria bus station.

Victoria Coach Station
The main entrance in 2012
LocationBuckingham Palace Road
Victoria, London, SW1
England
Coordinates51.4931°N 0.1486°W / 51.4931; -0.1486
Owned byTransport for London
Operated byTransport for London
Bus stands22
Bus operators15
ConnectionsVictoria
History
Opened1932 (1932)
Passengers
14 million (2016/17) [1]
Location
Victoria Coach Station
Location within Central London
The TfL roundel of the coach service.

It should not be confused with the nearby Green Line Coach Station for Green Line Coaches, or with Victoria bus station which serves London Buses operated by TfL.

History

Victoria Coach Station was opened at its present site in Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, in 1932, by London Coastal Coaches, a consortium of coach operators. The building is in a distinctive Art Deco style, the architects for which were Wallis, Gilbert and Partners.[3] As built it had space for 76 coaches plus a large booking hall, shops, buffet, restaurant, lounge, bar, the administrative offices of London Coastal Coaches Ltd and some privately let offices on the upper floors.[4]

Most coach services were suspended during World War II and the building was requisitioned by the War Office, be returned with the resumption of coach travel in 1946.[5]

In 1970 the coach operators' association which managed the station became a subsidiary of the National Bus Company.[3]

In 1988, ownership of Victoria Coach Station Limited was transferred to London Transport. In 2000, Transport for London was formed and took over the station.

The freeholder of the site, Grosvenor Group, announced in 2013 that it wished to redevelop the site and relocate the station elsewhere in London.[6] However, the building was listed at Grade II by English Heritage in 2014.[7] Transport for London will have to give up its use of most of the site in 2023, when several leases expire, and so had been looking to relocate the station, but announced in late 2019 that they would instead stay put and change the layout of the terminal.[8][9]

Operation

Victoria Coach Station has separate arrival and departure terminals which are located on opposite sides of Elizabeth Street. The main departures building includes food and retail outlets, left-luggage facilities and a ticket hall.

There are 21 departure gates, with the site covering 3.3 acres (13,000 m2). In the 12 months to March 2014, 14 million passengers travelled on 240,000 services to and from the station.[10]

Passenger and coach numbers

The station passenger numbers have risen in the 10 years (2008 to 2018) by 47% from 9.5 million (2008) to 14 million (2018). Coach numbers have risen by 20% over the same period - from 394,000 (2008) to 472,000 (2018).[2]

Accounting Period Passengers (millions) Coaches (thousands)
2017/18 14 472
2016/17 14.5 476
2015/16 14.5 466
2014/15 14 460
2013/14 14 480
2012/13 11 438
2011/12 10.5 413
2010/11 10.3 399
2009/10 11.8 389
2008/9 9.5 394

Services

Services are operated by:[11]

Connections

London Buses routes 44, 170, 211, C1, C10, N11 and N44 serve the coach station. It is a short walk from Victoria railway station.

Financials

Profits for the Coach Station have increased over recent years.[2]

Accounting Period Revenue Profit
2017/18 £9.9 million £1.3 million
2016/17 £10.0 million £1.2 million
2015/16 £9.5 million £494,000
2014/15 £9.2 million £123,000
2013/14 £8.9 million £654,000
2012/13 £8.6 million £419,000
2011/12 £8.4 million £727,000

References
  1. Companies House extract company no 205610 Victoria Coach Station Limited
  2. Companies House extract company no 205610
  3. "Victoria Coach Station - Celebrating 75 years of service". Transport for London. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  4. "Victoria Coach Station". Historic England.
  5. "Coaches". Transport for London.
  6. Spittles, David (21 August 2013). "Victoria's £2-billion transformation as its coach station becomes a cultural quarter with homes, shops and arts venues". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  7. Historic England. "Victoria Coach Station Ltd, 164 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9TP  (Grade II) (1418262)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  8. "Victoria coach station: Plans dropped to move transport hub from its historic home after backlash". London Evening Standard. 23 August 2019.
  9. "Plan to relocate Victoria coach station to Royal Oak is scrapped". London Evening Standard. 14 March 2019.
  10. Annual Report for year ended 31 March 2014 Transport for London
  11. "Coach companies - Transport for London". Retrieved 25 May 2015.
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