Back in the 70s Stroud had a proper bus station along Merrywalks, as shown below. There was also a bus depot where the busses were repaired and stored.
Below are some old photos of the old Stroud bus depot, probably taken in the 80’s before it was demolished to make way for a Waitrose supermarket.
I think Waitrose in Stroud was built in the early 90s.
The next photo shows an interesting collection of bus types along with some Davis coaches at the far left. Davis operated from what’s now the small car repair garage in Minchinhampton. It was impressive how they managed to cram their coaches into the small space.
The main bus station and everything around it was demolished in 2005 and the busses now stop along Merrywalks, which was supposed to be a temporary solution.
There was once a great plan for a transport interchange between the bus station and the railway station as they’re separated by a very steep hill and are nowhere near each other.
Obviously that never happened unless you count getting a taxi or walking as a solution.
Update – July 2024
There is talk of money being made available to update the rubbish bus station along Merrywalks with upgraded shelters and live status displays of where the bus you’re waiting for is along with a few other enhancements.
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