Edinburgh Bus Station

Certainly not as bad as some other bus stations I’ve been in (I HATE London Victoria!). Edinburgh’s bus station is fairly clean and easy to navigate around. The buses are down a level from the street (at least at the St. Andrew’s Square side).
There are some shops and cafés inside. Nothing special, a newsagent, coffee shop, Citylink sales office, the usual. Routes operate to all around Scotland, and some National Express and Megabus services to England as well. I, like most people, prefer the train, but you can always be sure of a good price and decent service with a coach from Edinburgh.

Ok first off, the rest of the reviews on this page are delightful in that every single one of them starts with some variation of «this is a bus station» and it makes me giggle.
But you know what? This is a bus station. It’s a valid comment.
Is it a bus station that wowed me with it’s innovative doodads? No. Is it a bus station that shocked me with its unkempt interior? No.
Is it a bus station that more or less completed the task of getting me (or in this case, my good friend) onto a bus? Yup.
It’s clean. There’s a WHSmith. You can buy juice.
It’s kind of boring… which i’m super ok with.
However, I would make one little suggestion box note that they work on their stanchion game. The cords that formed the ticket line doubled back on each other, meaning once you had bought a ticket, you either had to drag yourself and your luggage back through the line, or attempt a strange bus station limbo under them. It was awkward.

As Sara C has said, it would have been easier to leave this review as «it’s a bus station» but it is a very well maintained and clean bus station. At least it always has been when I’ve been there.
Vending machines, a WHSmith and a little coffee/​sandwich shop next door. Lockers, maps, ATMs and plenty of staff to give you help. Everything you need to plan and get a journey on the way stress free.

It’s a bus station.
It’s really tempting to leave the review there…
In all honesty, it’s not the best bus station I’ve been in but it’s also not the worst. There’s lockers, a café, vending machines, a WHS, toilets… eh…yup. There’s also a machine which I didn’t look too closely at but as far as I could tell it printed maps. That sounds like quite a good idea.
The bus station offers connections to, basically, everywhere. London, Belfast, Aviemore etc.
I should have left it at ‘It’s a bus station’ now my review has just become lists.

With plenty of renovation’s being done I’m glad that they returned most of the seating that was there at one time.
The waiting area is always cold in the winter so wrap up well if coming here, wooly had & scarf.
There are plenty if vending machines serving snacks and cold drinks, but mostly they are out if order or net been filled up, some of the vending machines do not take the modern coinage.
There is a WH smith & coffee shop on site but don’t open till later, plenty of lockers to store your bags but are very expensive.

What can I say it’s a bus station right? Well this one is at least clean and doesn’t have a bunch of crack-​heads running around like in the big American city stations. Restrooms seem to be clean as well. I have nothing to complain about.

It’s a bus station. It’s fairly central in town (in fact, very central). There are lots of services that run all over the country. It’s also quite a new building.
It just irks me that they charge 30p to use the toilet! You get off a 6 hour bus journey, where the toilet was… questoinable. You’re creaky and needing to stretch your legs and get your whole body feeling human again, and you have to look around in your purse for a 20p and 10p piece. Let’s just say I wasn’t the happiest of bunnies.
The staff member on duty was nice and kind about it, and it seems to echo what they do in train stations. But I’ve got to be honest; a totally a-​ok train station apart from that.

It is what it is — a bus station. Here you can get you cheap buses to the rest of Scotland or even to London. At night early morning not a nice place. Always drafty — but clean! Several lockers and some snack machines.
This is about buses and you can get them here.

This little bus service @ 9.25 from the bus station Edinburgh, takes you up via Morningside and Hillend then down via the pentland hills and down the Galloway dales to Dumfries and the lovely Solway coastal villages and resorts like kippford, sweetheart Abbey, Southerness.
It also goes past Drumlanrigg castle and it’s park so really you see all Scotland in a day. Agreat day out for about a tenner return and there, there is non of the horrible north sea cold haar or wind. also Dumfries is nice and historic with it’s many associations with King Robert the Bruce as well as Robert Burns and the oldest Theatre in Britain of which Burn’s himself subscribed too.

Modern, clean and airy with good information screens.
Megabus, National Express, Citylink & Stagecoach stop here.
Easy street level access from the shopping centre to the east and St Andrew’s square at the west (escalators).
Loses a star for the pay toilets.
Has lockers and the staff are always helpful.

Umm… A bus stations a bus station, right? Well maybe, but I always find bus stations, wherever they may be, are prime breeding grounds for interesting people. I like nothing better than sitting waiting awhile on a bus and clocking all the interesting characters who go through. I might be a wierdo. Maybe.
You can go anywhere in Scotland from here, practically, and of course to destinations further afield. Lothian Busses, Citylink, Megabus and many more depart from these stances, and I have to say I find that travel in Edinburgh is so much cheaper than Glasgow, which sucks since I don’t live in Edinburgh.
Plus Points: Indoors so helps when we get those occasional, aka constant showers, and the people watching potential is immense.
Negative Points: It’s a bus station. That’s it.

This is the general hub for any long distance or between city travel. Whenever the time comes for me to travel home and back it’s to this bus station I head and I’ll talk here a little about both the journey and the station itself.
The station is well placed; just off Princes Street and its back entrance leading into St James Shopping Centre. This is really a coach station and if it’s local buses you are after you want Princes Street or Georges Street which are both a quick walk away.
Once inside it’s cosy enough and a lot warmer than Waverley Station can be on a cold night. There’s usually plenty of seating, though last time I was here many of the seats had been taken out for some reason, but I’m sure they’ll be back in due course. There’s a few pricey shops here, but apart from toilets not much else, but its a bus station so you can’t really expect much more.
As for the journey, if you are going long distance (and I’ve been on a 13 hour trip from here before) it’s not too bad, but you’ll want to bring a variety of things to do. It always helps pass the time faster if you can swap activity every hour or so. I would recommend the buses from here mostly because they’re cheaper than the train for long journeys.

I really have no experience of bus stations — so my review of this place is based upon only one visit and one journey.
Firstly, I was glad this station was indoors — it was throwing it down and I wouldnt have fancied being made to stand around outside for my coach — on saying that though, the inside seemed really rather shabby, as though it hadnt been looked at properly for years. There were also some huge areas that were boarded up — old shops I presume, which would have come in handy because there really wasnt anything else in this station to keep you entertained when the bus doesnt arrive. I saw one woman being mobbed for information about when a late bus was to arrive — but I’m not even sure if she worked in the station and had any clue at all. Thankfully my bus was on time and the whole getting on board procedure was pretty smooth if slow.

As a general rule of thumb, bus stations are always a bit run down. Unlike the hubbub of commuters that race through train stations and airports, people seem to lack that buzz of excitement, which is replaced by harrassed scowls and groans when they can’t get a seat by themselves. Or, quite freuqently, when their bus is late or non existent.
St James isn’t really doing anything different in this department. As the other reviewers have said, it looks modern, but inside it’s as devoid of energy as any other bus station in the country. It’s a bit bland, with its strip lighting and instant coffee machines. Definitely flavourless.
But if you’re just looking for a bus and aren’t looking for culture, then it has a large number of stances that see Citylink, Lothian Buses and coach holiday tours out on their merry way. Services run like clockwork most of the time, unless there is some sort of weather event that prevents their departure. But you can’t complain about natural occurences, unless you’re the sort of person who blames companies for a volcano going off in Iceland!!!
I don’t like sitting in here, it’s soulless. But at least the walls act as windbreakers, so it’s not the kind of cavernous tramp den that sees wind whistling through its derelict stretches. Functional and conveniently located in central Edinburgh, it’s nae bad for a bus station.

This bus station looks really modern from the outside. Remember what your mum told you — never judge a book by its cover. And it has never been more relevant!
Inside the station it’s a bit shabby and run-​down. When I was there, there was a lot of rubbish all over the floor and I sat on chewing gum. EW! The staff were a bitty snippy too, I was shunned more than once.
The busses generally ran on time, but I’ve heard some horror stories about sitting in the station for hours without knowing what to do or who to talk to. But at the end of the day, it is a good service and a decent enough place!

I quite like this bus station because it is inside and warm. Too many bus stations in this world are outside so you have to freeze your tits off waiting for the inevitably late bus.
Edinburgh Bus Station sends buses all around Scotland the rest of the UK. You can catch a bus here which will take you to the ferry to Northern Ireland. I here it is a very long journey. The buses generally go from the same stance so if you regularly use this bus station you get a good idea of where your bus will be going from. If not, there are plenty screens displaying the arrivals and departures.
The staff are surprisingly helpful and chatty. Although there is a few who could do with a swift kick up the backside as their people skills are non existent. There is a WH Smith which is stupidly expensive, however great for picking up magazines and newspapers for the journey.
There is limited seating at the moment after the station flooded last July. Yes in Scotland we have torrential rain in the summer! So there has been some work going on since then and they have had to remove a lot of seating.
Good station though, gets you on your way.

I have some very fond memories of this bus station. I used to come here every year when I was little with my Gran in order to get a small bus to The Borders for a wee caravan/​beach/​walking holiday. We used to go to a little seaside complex that was untouched by tourists, no souvenir shops and the air there is probably the healthiest you can get.
Coming from Glasgow, Edinburgh was a pit stop on our journey to change buses and to fuel up on snacks. While we were waiting on our bus coming in my Gran would take us to a little café where we would always have a strawberry shortcake and my brother would go for an Empire Biscuit before we started the next leg of our journey.
My trip down memory lane aside, this bus station hosts regular, reliable bus services all over Scotland and further a field too. If you’re looking to go further it’s always best to book as some of the buses get fully booked quick smart. It’s also in a good location so if you’re waiting a while on your bus you can go for a coffee or tea in numerous cafes and bar in the area.

What is it about Edinburgh? Everything seems to be a bit more grandeur than the rest of the country, the bus station included! Probably the nicest, cleanest bus station I’ve ever had to wait in. They have a WH Smith too.

Edinburgh Bus Station is located just off St Andrews Square in the heart of the city, and is also very close to the St James Centre for shopping.
The bus station is modern and clean and has access either by step or escalator, with a lift available for those who are disabled.
Several bus operators use the bus station and you can travel far and wide from here — some trips only head north to Fife, others are heading for Belfast, London or Inverness.
There is a booking hall here which is useful if you want to book a seat on a long haul journey. It can be busy however so it might be a good idea to try to come early in the morning to avoid queues.
There is a WH Smith store selling magazines and overpriced sundries but with the St James’ Centre so close, it would be wise to stock up before you arrive at the bus station.
There are also public toilets here but be warned — you have to pay to use them!
Compared to many other bus stations I have visited, Edinburgh has a pleasant and airy one, and one that doesn’t feel seedy or unsafe in any way.