Google has failed me - can anyone else help?

What I'm looking for (wrt a study in Durham, England) is a generalised "Case for (or against) Bus Stations". Treating these main issues - 

- Are Bus Stations good for public transport [users]?

- Are Bus Stations a good thing in terms of sustainable transport policy?

- Are Bus Stations good for town centres?

- Where cities have "got rid" of Bus Stations (or never had them), what has been put in their place, and what effects has it had on PT users and the city centre?  (And in this case, something dealing with particular cases would be useful - Oxford, Cambridge, Norwich, York are perhaps examples.)

All in relation to medium-sized free-standing cities - preferably in the UK, but experience elsewhere may be relevant.

Seems DfT are only interested in such things if they relate to their pet preoccupations of security, RTPI, or interchange (what %age of bus journeys in the UK involve interchange I wonder?).  The first six pages of Google on <<"Bus Stations" UK>> came up with a lot of specifics but nothing more useful than the following - 
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Good practice for interchange
Sheffield, Leeds and Laganside in Belfast are examples of high quality bus stations that have been opened in recent years. They have smart and clean waiting facilities, with electronic passenger information systems, travel enquiry centres, retail outlets and security arrangements; [DETR doc quoted on Camden Cycling Campaign website]

For people who have mobility difficulties, bus stations are an excellent place to start or finish a journey.  [Merseytravel website]

"World's Bleakest Bus Stations"  http://www.photo-transport.co.uk/buses/bleakest-bus-stations/bleak.htm
(No sign of "World's best bus stations".)
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All contributions gratefully received.

Alan


-- 
Alan Howes
Associate Transport Planner
Colin Buchanan and Partners

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