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 The new Central Bus Stop (ZOH)

The new Central Bus Stop (ZOH)

© Stadtarchiv Bocholt

28. April 2023City history

History of Bocholt: The Central Bus Stop at Europaplatz

Photo of the Month May // Series on Bocholt's Town History

The Central Bus Stop (ZOH) planned from May 1965 - today the "Bustreff", is the motif of the Photo of the Month for May 2023.

At the beginning of the 1950s, rail transport in Bocholt showed a downward trend in both freight and passenger transport because car and bus traffic was steadily increasing. The statisticians counted about 50 bus arrivals and departures at the station every day.

The call for the creation of a central bus stop became louder and louder during this time, but the implementation failed because of the location issue and not least because of the insufficient municipal infrastructure.

It was not until May 1965 that things got rolling again, after the flow of visitors to the city centre had increased further and the border to the Netherlands had long since been reopened. At the time, the Bocholt Retailers' Association agreed with the city of Bocholt to set up a central bus stop on Nobelstraße, on the southern part of the park in front of the Kolpinghaus.

5000 users daily

At that time, the bus service comprised about 300 rounds with about 5,000 users daily. Construction work began in September 1965 according to the plans drawn up by city building officer Winfried Hinz. However, they had to be temporarily interrupted during the winter and could not be continued until the end of January 1966. Accordingly, the stopping bays were provided with capital letters, which indicated the arrival and departure times as well as the direction of travel of the buses on a signboard.

In addition, the signpost showed the identifiers for city, rail and postal buses in different colours. Passengers were greeted by a covered lounge area with benches, showcases, fountains and flowerbeds. The ZOH was also equipped with a large standard time clock, two telephone booths and a stamp machine.

Successful dress rehearsal

At the time, an elderly lady commented on the new facilities: "The bus station is quite nice, but on a winter's day it should be really nasty here!" In February 1968, a heated waiting hall was finally added. Incidentally, after the completion of the central bus stop, the section of Ravardistraße from Markt to Kirchstraße was extended for pedestrians.

On 24 May 1966, the day before the official opening, the employees of the city administration demonstrated the smooth functioning of the new Central Bus Stop (ZOH) in a dress rehearsal, so to speak, when they and their spouses - there were about 500 passengers in total - took 13 buses on a company outing to Wesel and from there by ship to Arnhem.

More contributions to the "Photo of the Month" series can be found at www.bocholt.de/foto-des-monats.

Photo: Bocholt City Archive / Text: Wolfgang Tembrink

 The new Central Bus Stop (ZOH)

The new Central Bus Stop (ZOH)

© Stadtarchiv Bocholt