Stagecoach officially unveiled the new hub on Friday, with councillors, transport leaders and company representatives invited for a preview ahead of the public opening on Monday 22nd June.
The facility will serve as a customer information centre, offering passengers updates on services across Swindon, while also acting as a base for Stagecoach drivers, controllers and operational staff.
Speaking at the opening, Stagecoach West Managing Director Martin Gibbon said the investment demonstrates the company’s commitment to the town.
“The day is so significant because we are opening our new customer facility in Swindon. It’s something that we’ve invested in as Stagecoach.
“We’re really proud to be opening this facility for all of our customers, all bus users within Swindon.
“In addition to that, the facility is also a new premises for our staff to have their rest breaks and for our control staff to manage the network.”
Mr Gibbon added:
“Swindon is an important town. We know how important buses are to connecting people to work, education and training, so to be able to put this investment into a customer information centre is just the right thing to do when we’re trying to drive bus use forward in Swindon.”
Councillor Chris Watts described the hub as the “final piece” of the Fleming Way bus boulevard project and said it represents another step forward in the regeneration of the town centre.
“We’re really pleased that they’ve put a control centre right in the heart of Fleming Way,” he said.
“This is where the drivers will come in and get their rosters for the day. There’s going to be information for people using the buses. At the moment people were having to use their mobile devices and that sort of thing online, but being able to talk to a human or actually find out what’s going on there is much better for a certain amount of people.”
Councillor Watts revealed that bus operators have already reported increased passenger numbers since the opening of the bus boulevard.
“I think it was a couple of months ago at a meeting where one of the bus companies was saying bus use is up seven per cent since this opened, which is fantastic.
“The bus companies are really pleased with it as well. It really helps their operations, helps keep their costs down and it’s much slicker than it was before.”
He also pointed to wider investment taking place around Fleming Way and the town centre.
“We all know this was a starting point, a fulcrum if you like, where extra investment was going to begin.
“When you look at Knowledge Central, what’s going on there as well, what’s happening with Falcon House and the flats being sold there, it all starts setting everything in the right direction.
“It’s not going to be sorted overnight, we all know this, but you’ve got to start somewhere, and this was the starting point.”
Councillor Jake Chandler said the opening fills an important gap in the town’s transport infrastructure.
“Bus drivers on the new bus boulevard now have an opportunity to rest and recuperate, and the public have a centre where they can go in and get information about timetables and services.
“We now have a proper bus hub at our bus boulevard.”
