WINCHESTER is full of mysteries. What did happen to the bones of King Alfred the Great? Who made the mizmaze on St Catherine's Hill? And why are there three bus stops within 50 yards of each other on City Road?

The black shelters glower along the road like a row of rotten teeth.

Perhaps the answer to the question is the fact that the bus stop shelters are essentially advertising boards which accrue income from business, in this case McDonalds.

The shelters are operated by Clear Channel UK which according to Wikipedia "is the British division of iHeartMedia, a global media conglomerate based in San Antonio, Texas, United States of America." They are biggest provider of out of doors advertising.

City Road is one of the most important roads in the city, one a par with Southgate Street, Stockbridge Road and Hyde Street. In the recent past it had several unsightly businesses including a tyre workshop and petrol station. But as property prices have increased one result is that those businesses have been edged out and the street has returned to the wide thoroughfare that it once was. As a one route into the city centre from the station the bus stops hardly add to the quality of the street scene.

Belgarum asked for comments from the city council as the planning authority, the county council responsbile for transport issues and Clear Channel too.

A spokesman for Clear Channel said: “I would strongly recommend you get in contact with Winchester City Council with questions about locations and quantities of shelters. They own the contract for the city’s bus shelter network, and will have instructed Clear Channel on the locations required and granted all of the planning permissions.

“I’m sure they’re packed on drizzly days, during peak travel times. This is something the council or bus operators could confirm.”

He added the company was “continually working with councils across the country to relocate shelters, or to install new shelters, if the street scene is being changed or re-developed. It’s something we’re very happy to do and would be keen to engage with the council to align with any re-development plans."

No tax-payer money is spent on Winchester’s bus shelter network, the spokesman added. A large portion of the revenues driven by the advertising goes back into cleaning and maintaining the estate. The Winchester estate is a mix of advertising and non-advertising shelters.
“We know bus shelters can bring some extra benefits to the local area too. Some of our recent developments, things like Living Roofs, are welcome additions and have a direct impact on the surroundings. We’d love to discuss these things with the council and see if they would be welcome additions to Winchester.”

In a statement the county council said: "City Road one of the key and busiest roads into Winchester city centre, and as the highway authority, Hampshire County Council has a duty to keep traffic and buses flowing and support making bus services easy to access for passengers.

"There are two reasons for having more than one stop spaced out along the road. Firstly, traffic management. If one bus is at the front of the stopping space and another bus is behind it, the second bus would have difficulty setting off safely, if the first bus is still waiting for passengers to alight during that time. Or, if a stopping space is full, a third bus cannot safely stop and this can result in traffic being blocked. Cramming bus stops together into a smaller space can often make a traffic situation worse, not better.

"Secondly, having specific stops for different services helps to make it clear to passengers which stop they should wait at for their destination. Having one stop would require space to be sufficiently long enough for a high number of passengers and could lead to confusion and risk passengers boarding the wrong bus.

"In conclusion, having separate stops improves clarity for passengers, congestion is kept to a minimum and buses do not need to attempt to carry out potentially unsafe manoeuvres on what can be a very busy road."