ČSAD buses start the renovation of the bus station in Plzeň

Plzeň - The company ČSAD buses is starting the renovation of the nearly 30-year-old central bus station in Plzeň. For the repair of the ticketing building, which costs 6.5 million crowns, it has obtained 36 percent from the European ROP program. The repair will begin in April and be completed by the end of October. Within two weeks, the investor will choose a winning bid from five offers. This was stated by Miroslav Hucl, the director of the largest carrier in West Bohemia.
    "In the ticketing building, we will be renovating the roofs, cladding, ceilings, sanitary facilities, and insulating it," he added. ČSAD will install two information boards measuring two by three meters at the platform and in the hall. There will also be a barrier-free access to the hall, a new navigation system for visually and hearing impaired individuals, a renewed transportation center for passengers, a sound information system, and WiFi internet access.
    The station is the third largest in the Czech Republic, after Prague and Brno. It handles approximately 235,000 connections annually. Up to 15,000 people pass through the building and platform daily, and the services offered and their quality are, according to Hucl, among the best in the country.
    Initially, the company planned to also repair seven platforms for an additional 13 million crowns. The platforms are on city land, which prevented the company from applying for subsidies. "We are considering modernizing them together with the city in the next phase; we are in agreement," said Hucl. Just the larger replacement of metal roofs on one row of platforms will cost one million crowns. A bicycle parking lot is also expected to be created in the unused courtyard of the complex.
    Seven platforms with 42 parking spaces are fully sufficient; the station does not need to be expanded. There are 35 foreign carriers that come to the terminal, with about 550 buses passing through daily. In the hall, which is open daily from 05:00 to 22:30, there are 60 seating places. Besides bathrooms for the disabled, the building also includes a buffet, a food shop, a newspaper and gift shop, and six ticket counters.
    According to Hucl, it is not a problem that the main train station is more than two kilometers away from the bus station. Both serve entirely different segments of passengers, and there is no movement of people from one to the other, he added. From the bus station, it is possible to transfer in all directions within the Czech Republic and Europe.
    At the station, which was reportedly the most modern in Europe when it was completed in 1983, 19 people work at the ticket counters, information desks, dispatcher, luggage storage, warehouses, and as maintenance staff. Drivers have their own rest area, which they call the "driver's room."