York's FTR bus (former 'FTR in York')

In May 2006, FirstGroup tried to replicate the qualities of a tram, in a bus. This was meant to attract more people to public transport without having to build an expensive tramway.

However, many people dislike the FTR or believe that more CAN and needs to be done to bring it up to the same standard as a tram. Some viewers have already commented that the FTR is far from the 'future' because of critical omissions in interior design and equipment.


This video highlights good points and bad points of FTR.

Take the ticket machines (not included in the video) - they have had such damning verdicts that I decided to buy my FirstDay ticket on conventional bus line 5 instead! Drivers are more reliable ticket dispensers than those FTR ticket machines!

Thankfully now these ticket machines have been replaced by conductors. This is the same practice as Sheffield Supertram use.


I hope that this video makes potential future passengers of FTR (when it is introduced to other cities) aware of the lax beautification of a typical bus they might be getting instead of something as cool and reliable as a modern tram, if they don't intervene to say what they want as customers!

On a more positive note, a recent FirstGroup survey of passengers indicated an 87% satisfaction rating amongst users. PLUS 5% of its passengers used to use their cars for that journey and have now converted. If the traffic priority system became a reality, this percentage could double!

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• FTR
• bendi
• bus
• door
• buttons
• York
• First
• Group
• public
• transport
• traffic
• lights
• passenger
• info
• system
• tram
• copy
• qualities

[dancemusic0]

You can get fined £100 by pressing the passenger door button if there's no emergency.

[bwhugul]

Exactly. It's not like a tram or train where the buttons only work when the driver unlocks the doors.

Yet the FTR is supposed to be more like a tram. I'd have thought that passenger-operated doors would be one of the simplest things to do (it's only a minor change in the circuit) - much easier than trying to improve accessibility or to deal with the narrow bit in the middle of the vehicle!

[FYE2000]

Regarding your comments on the traffic lights, your comment is not correct - this system has been implemented and works very efficiently, with good input from the Local Authority to ensure the success of it. The vehicles are tracked using a form of GPS system, that connects to the traffic light co-ordination network (among other things) and changes the lights accordingly, particularly when the ftr is late. The lights you show on red are an independant pedestrian crossing, located at Nessgate.

[bwhugul]

That makes sense!

[islandtraction]

First are a joke, and a very bad one at at that! Transforming Travel? Yeh, into an abysmal and expensive failure for users, yet one which nets themselves huge profits for threadbare service provision.

This monstrously ugly vehicle fails to achieve what it sets out to other than in one respect, namely imitating a light rail vehicle cheaply and nastily.

Of course that's Firsts' major consideration, and also to try and impose pay freezes on their drivers in 2009 too. They're utterly shameful

[Electric77887]

I think these buses are UGLY I hate all the purple too. You will see in a few years all the fancy screens and doors will break, nothing will work and they will annoy everyone. All bus companies need to get the idea of "if we get some new buses everyone will go on them" WRONG if you come on time, have lots of services and low fares then people will go on them.

[scottyboi159]

these buses are alot better than the service here in Canada the buses all are set to leave at the same time and then you have three buses going the same route not to mention our high fares for this service which ae constantly being changed with very little notice oh and i should mention the drivers and their very poor attitude towards customers but then again this is a government service SUPRISE!!!!

[coastlinersmithy]

Stupid passengers would open them before the bus came to a stop. Also the front doors can't open when the steering wheels are on right-hand lock.

The FTR's are most likely going to be replaced at the end of its contract by the Mercedes Citaro's, which are working on the Park and Ride, and go back to OPO working

[coastlinersmithy]

Secondly the traffic system in York is an absolute joke. If the City Of York Council got their act together (ha!) and placed a congestion charge say, between 0730 and 1800, a two mile radius outside the city centre (or even inside the city walls), then traffic would flow a lot better. All you have to do is look at the chaos being caused by Old Moor Lane bridge being shut. The stupid idiots never bothered to change the light phasing so the traffic queues right back on St. Helens Road!!!

[coastlinersmithy]

I work for First on the FTR as a driver and I get sick of people saying "They're too big for the roads" or "They're always running late and there's no room to sit down."

When I started 10 years ago it was a 15 minute service from the University and a half hour service from Foxwood into town with rickety old vehicles that were 15-20 years old then.

[dancemusic0]

I've been on the FTR in Leeds and when the passenger uses the door button as the driver closes it, it corrupts the door system as the bus will not move as the doors are jammed open and won't close. That's why First use this penalty to stop passengers "breaking" the doors.

[yorkyboy1992]

and then we will have to use them veolia ones which run about 1 bus every hour.