Stagecoach Bus Merseyside is arguably the largest bus operator in the Merseyside region which…read moreincludes Lancashire, Cheshire, North Wales, Wirral - some bus routes even go between these boroughs including the X2 which connects Liverpool to Preston, via Southport, at 2 hours and 16 minutes this is one of the largest bus journeys's I've come across, this, by comparison, is about the same length of time as a train into London and enough to get the train from Liverpool to Preston and back, with time to spare via Transpennine Express or even the slow Northern train! It amazes me how Stagecoach Bus in Merseyside hasn't been reviewed since July 2010, which is nearly ten whole years. In that time, so much has changed and it seems Stagecoach have got worse, perhaps that is through the complacency of being ahead in the region for too long with little competition. Due to how big Stagecoach is, if you're planning to use public transport around Liverpool you're pretty much going to have to use either Merseyrail or this. They do run train services to Anfield on a match-day, however because of traffic around the ground and the fact the bus has a further route to go after the stadium, they are forced to divert however despite having signs around Queens Square Bus Station and telling the bus driver where I was going, no one told me about the diversion and even other match-goers on the bus didn't seem to know, this was after a long wait for the bus which seemed to suffer delays as well to make it even worse (luckily I didn't miss kick-off!) Buses are typical Stagecoach across the UK, not too modern in most regards. Despite the growth of Arriva in Liverpool, Stagecoach are still the main players and it really does seem that from service, time-keeping and overall condition of buses they are taking that too granted, yet still anything beats First Manchester which caused me trouble for a great number of years closer to home and I do think they make their routes a little clearer than other operators, even if they don't factor diversions into it. 2*

Since my last review, I now have a negative comment about Stagecoach much to my annoyance and shall…read moretherefore drop not 1 but 2 stars in its rating. More recently if you take the 21 route or any other Stagecoach bus that travels along London Road, the driver tends to change driver which could sometimes mean a 10 minute wait which is obviously not good if you're in a hurry to get somewhere. If you're lucky, the switch of driver will take place instantly but on one occasion, I had to wait nearly 15 minutes with other disgruntled passengers because the driver did not turn up, so I had to watch the original driver take a cigarette break whilst I was waiting to get to work on time but ended up late all because of poor service and an arrogant driver who did not even apologise to anybody. Other fed up passengers actually got off and waited for another bus and when that occurred, the driver immediately got back on and started driving; I not only felt sorry for those passengers but thought this was rude and felt as though he was playing games. I requested if he could let me off at the traffic lights as I was already late for work but he simply replied "no" with no apology and without realising that he kept everyone waiting longer than expected. I applaud the group of girls who pressed the stop button several times as they got off. It was obvious that most people were annoyed by the driver's actions. Even though it may not be entirely the driver's fault, Stagecoach should sort out their poor timing when switching drivers (very much unlike them); this took me by surprise. I aim to lodge a formal complaint if this happens more than once and I will suggest others also do so if they experience the same.

Had to get a replacement bus pass which required the woman working( forgot her name but was working…read moretoday) to ring multiple people but she sorted it as quickly as she could and I got my pass. I should of had to go to Manchester but she sorted it there in Wigan. Was very friendly and I'm very grateful!

Queen Square Bus Station is one of the two main bus stations in Liverpool city centre, alongside…read morethe Liverpool One Bus Station, obviously as in its' name the Queens Square Bus Station is located in Queens Square which is close to St John's and Liverpool Lime Street Station, unlike the Liverpool One bus station, it mainly serves the Merseyside area, albeit some services do run a little further such as to Preston via Southport, albeit the latter service is much quicker to get the train to one of those cities. The layout and setup of Queens Square Bus Station is quite different, it mainly involves around 13 glass bus stands with different numbers, each serving different services, the bus stands are clearly labelled hower this approach has two big drawbacks - It's harder to tell which bus goes where without area knowledge, a map or some sort - It is harder to get in-between stands, some are far away from each other when multiple buses from multiple stands serve different areas, for example on a match-day there's 3 different areas of Queens Square in which you can get a bus to Goodison Park, home of Everton Football Club, or two on any regular day. - The stands are in order however when it splits it's then hard to find further stands, and as you cross the road it loses that order. There are generally staff around the bus station area, but it's been pretty hit and miss on numerous occasions whether they were actively going to help, or just stand there picking up their salary not caring about customers, for example recently there was a confusion with the bus diverting earlier than expected, with no one there to explain if the bus would actually be going where it should, especially on a busy matchday service this should be better - although Stagecoach Buses do share responsibility for this. I did like the live bus times on each individual stand, but then again you have to go to each individual stand to see them, having one main board perhaps in the information area would be so much better showing common destinations, what bus to get and from what platform, which makes it easier than risking going to one bus stand when a bus going to the same place would arrive sooner from the other, similar to what they have in Newcastle Upon-Tyne. Overall, this is the better bus station in Liverpool for more local and regional journeys and the area is a good, central location close to shops (St John's), hotels (Marriott) and numerous restaurants, and basically as you are in the city centre, you're near so much more than the businesses which run alongside the bus-station, nowhere near perfect and with numerous improvements but this is pretty much my go-to place when needing to travel around Liverpool outside of the city centre, and it isn't a bad place to go so it does warrant a solid three-star rating.

Situated in Queen Square, is where most of the public get off from the bus to access the city…read morecentre. The bus station is modern with spacious accessible bus shelters with each bus shelter incorporating bus timetables and information screens. The site of the bus station is on a long and rather steep incline but well designed and easy to understand. A pelican controlled crossing and tactile guidance pathway is provided for easy crossing from one side to the other. There are also induction loops and a help point in each shelter should you require any emergency assistance. If you require any further information or want to purchase save-away ride tickets, there is a travel centre nearby where you can gain access to complete bus timetables as well as other related tourist travel information. Staffs are friendly and can provide general details.

Birkenhead Bus Station is actually one of the best things about Birkenhead! For a start, it gets…read moreyou out of there as soon as you like, secondly it's nice to look at as it's a huge glass frame, thirdly it's warm, and finally it's secure so you won't get mugged here. I remember when it first got built and people would marvel at its sheer beauty.. Well that's a lie, people would just bicker and sigh that their buses were late, much as they still do today. But it's a great sheltered space with bus routes leading over to Liverpool and all over the Wirral as far as New Brighton, Heswall and West Kirby. They have two help desks in case you're not too sure what bus to take, or you need a bus pass or a TRIO or Saveaway. They also have a machine that vends cans of pop, and one with hot drinks. What more could you want?

It's not too bad as bus stations go. But all the announcements are proceeded with a very loud…read moredoorbell. Incredibly cheap and quite a shock if you're not deaf. Spend any length of time waiting there and you will end up with post traumatic stress. It's actually quite close to Conway Park station. However for buses; considering it's the nearly the last stop before Liverpool there's actually a large gap between Liverpool buses if you don't have the right ticket. Merseytravel couldn't even sort out a shared ticket arrangement whilst the rail tunnel is closed. It really should do better in terms of providing a shuttle link between Birkenhead and Liverpool.. considering this link is completely covered by a Merseytravel Monopoly (Tolls, ferries, buses, train .. all ultimately accountable and paid to Merseytravel). There's no cycle way in the Birkenhead tunnel's lower deck for example. It terms of some buses it's built in the wrong place... most notably peak time 471,472 bypass the bus station and go straight to Liverpool. The ding-dong doorbell announcements say it all ... an expensive project .. but couldn't be bothered going the extra mile.

Why no phone number? Have tried to get in touch to check ticket prices from Bootle bus station to…read moreLiverpool Airport as need to travel before 9.30am. I am a pensioner and could not use my pass before this time.

Bootle Bus Station is situated round the back of Bootle Strand Shopping Centre. It is accessible…read morefrom inside the centre as well as the outside. The information posters and timetables are clearly displayed throughout the station and it is easy to find the correct stop to catch your bus from as they are all clearly numbered. The station is kept clean and tidy. There are rubbish bins throughout.

Liverpool One Bus Station is right behind the Hilton Hotel close to both the One Shopping Centre…read moreand Albert Dock, it is probably the worst of the two bus stations within the city centre, compared to the other Bus Station which is still within walking distance of the one, with the added benefit of being close to Lime Street Station, in Queens Square. It is an outside bus station but the stands do have shelters which might not offer much protection in heavy rain or wind, but it's the same sort of idea around Queens Square. There were very few staff around the station, even on a busy day such as before kick-off at the Manchester City - Liverpool game at Anfield (meanwhile there were staff around Queens Square), making it hard to get any sort of information which considering how badly the buses were being delayed, it really would have helped! Each stand has full real-time departure boards but not all of them seemed to be working fully, I'd even say it wasn't clear or easy enough to see what stand goes where, which should be laid out better. Compared to the bus station at Queens Square, this one is really run down and not fit to serve the city centre of a large city especially one built to serve and name after the country's 9th largest shopping centre. I really hope it does get an improvement soon with more services coming from it, as it seems since the late 2000s (and 2011) when this station got a large amount of good, positive reviews it has continued to go on a downward slope.

Just across the road from the Albert dock, or in the opposite direction, from the main shopping…read morecentre, this is a modern bus station which is accessible to everyone. There are raised kerbs to enable level boarding at all ten bays, and automatic sliding glass doors beside the departure points. There are plenty of places where you can sit to wait beside the bus shelters but it can be a bit draughty. The Travel Centre for your tickets or information is open from 9.00am to 5.30pm Mondays to Saturdays and 10.30am to 4.30pm on Sundays. (I found the man in there quite helpful) There are toilets, including a parent and baby facility and disabled toilet (radar key required in the evenings which is available from staff) The bus station is staffed 24 hours a day and there are CCTV Security Cameras.

And when he eat the cookie he got good Formby…read more This is a super cute little station that is located on Merseyside on the way to Southport, and it's part of the Liverpool area and one of the nice stations that you'll see. It's an impressive and resplendent site (and sight) as it looks brand new, even though it's actually really old. And this station does a great job connecting Formby to the other parts of the greatest city in the UK. Liverpool.

This station looks like it's big, but it really isn't. You get off the train and think--wow, surely…read moreup those stairs inside that big brick building there's a cafe and a shop! But the only thing up there is a ticket booth, a vending machine, and some loos. There are two massive, enclosed shelters either side of the tracks for waiting in, which is great--but I can't help thinking they could have used the space better. There's not a whole lot around here, but there is a park on Duke Street and the local library branch is across the street from the park.

Arriva North West is one of the largest bus operators in Merseyside and Cheshire while operating…read moreother services around the North West in areas such as Greater Manchester and Lancashire - although most of their services do involve the Merseyside however, where they operate most bus services. I used Arriva North West on a recent trip to Goodison Park as they offer services from Queens Square Bus Station going to the stadium, they might not offer the most services on that particular route but I found the buses to be nicer, better priced and quieter than their main Stagecoach competitors. The buses seem nice enough and the wi-fi onboard is probably amongst the best wi-fi I've ever received on a bus, especially compared to the days of First Manchester who restrict your use to just a few MB (fair usage - meaning it goes in minutes) Both services I used did seem to run a couple of minutes late and there was confusion to whether the bus would actually come as it disappeared from the screen on the bus station - but this is probably an issue with the bus station of how they displayed the buses, rather than Arriva's - but the lateness issue with them still remains. The drivers seemed A-OK. There still remains a lack of consistency between buses both new and old, double and single decker. Not a bad bus company - they served the route I needed to go at a reasonable price, albeit a slight delay - It is a real shame Arriva North West didn't expand into the Manchester market when they had the chance (First recently sold two of their largest depots in the region to Go-Ahead Group, forming Go North West and Rotala joining Diamond North-West - here's hoping they might consider taking over the Oldham depot!) 3* - Consistency between buses, adding more buses on to popular routes at peak times and improving timekeeping is a must.

In Liverpool there are a few bus services to choose from, howver Arriva is the most expensive. They…read morecharge a flat fee of £1.70 to go anywhere within the Liverpool area which seems pretty reasonable if you're going on a longer journey, however if you just want to pop to into town or only go a few stops it's quite expensive, especially as a return journey will double the price at £3.40. A day ticket is £3.30 which is decent if you're planning to make a few trips throughout the day, and a weeky pass is £12 - £13 as of Sunday. The routes aren't bad but not really very reliable, the buses are hardly ever on time, especially the less frequent ones such as the 78. The regular "every 5 minutes" buses are as the saying goes "just like buses" - there's none for an hour then three at once. If I had my choice, I'd probably pick a different provider if it had a similar route to the one I was after.

St. Helens Bus Station is very well laid out, as it is logical in fashion thus allowing passengers…read moreto easily understand the system in place. I certainly didn't experience any problems when I searched for the correct stand and did not need to ask for assistance. The station is well sheltered to keep you from wind and rain with plenty of seating available. Timetables are clearly positioned on each stand without being confusing. Also, there are tactile controlled and uncontrolled crossings with rotating cones to assist blind and partially sighted people. As a whole, the station feels safe (and well lit at night) with the inclusion of CCTV. Plus, the area is well staffed at all operating times. If you have any queries, there is the travel information centre adjacent to the station. The only thing is that I failed to spot any toilets around.

Ormskirk station is a proper old English train station. It makes me think of the Narnia books--yes,…read morethe books, not the films. I grew up on the books, and that's probably partly why I fell in love with England and eventually moved here. Naturally it's been done up to modern standards, but it still has the feel of an old railway station, making one almost wonder if at any second Miss Marple might hop off the train. Definitely a favourite station of mine in the North West.