BUS PASSENGERS have been left without a dedicated waiting area after facilities at the Malakoff Bus Station in St Ives have been closed.

The building, which is run by First Bus, provided passenger facilities and an indoor waiting room for people to wait form buses away from the elements as there is no shelter outside the site. Bus users will now be forced to wait for buses outdoors without a seating area or a roof overhead.

The station building, located on The Terrace road and next to the bus stop, was built on a cliff on top of a privately-owned premises. Bus services at the station will continue as normal and the Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) screens will remain in use next to the bus stop.

A First Bus spokesperson said: “We recently took the decision to remove customer hosts from St Ives bus station, due to fewer customers using the station during the winter and the Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) screens at the station now providing updates. This was done after full consultation with our colleagues and the Union.

“We are assessing if it will be possible to reopen the waiting room, but unfortunately, with falling customer demand, and the costs of keeping the waiting room open, it has become commercially unviable to maintain. We will continue to review this, and let customers know if this changes.”