Ftr
Encyclopedia
FTR is an example of bus rapid transit
, currently in operation in Great Britain
in York
in North Yorkshire
, Leeds
in West Yorkshire
, Luton
in Bedfordshire
and in Swansea
in South Wales
. FTR has been introduced by First Group
, using Wright StreetCar
articulated buses in conjunction with infrastructure upgrades by local authorities. The vehicles are branded as the future of travel, the operator stating that "ftr" is SMS shorthand
for "future".
. Otherwise the vehicle itself is a modified conventional bus, with styling similar to contemporary trams and greater distances between axles in order to maximise the low-floor area for easily-accessible seating. The vehicles are air-conditioned and have tinted windows to enhance the on-board ambience along with ergonomic seating although the seats themselves are more like modern tram seats with arguably less padding than ordinary bus seats. On-board information is provided using an "infotainment" screen which displays the next FTR stop (in a similar fashion to Transport for London's i-Bus system) and related information to that stop including local attractions/facilities and connecting bus/train routes, the screen also displays adverts for local businesses.
was the conversion of Route 4 in York
, which is operated by First York
. The service began on 8 May 2006, after the city council had made significant and expensive alterations to the road layout to accommodate the new vehicles.
Route 4, runs between Acomb and the University of York
and was revised on the introduction of the new 42-seat vehicles to operate every 10 minutes Monday-Friday, every 10 minutes Saturday, every 20 minutes Monday-Saturday Evenings & Sundays replacing eight conventional 41-seater buses each hour. Though now First York
has withdrawn the FTR service after a certain time and started to use double deckers on the route instead.
Following the cancellation of the Leeds Supertram
project, the local passenger transport executive
Metro
suggested various bus rapid transit options as a replacement, one of which was an FTR service.
The FTR system was chosen, and the service began in early 2007. It runs on Route 4 Olive Line (part of the Leeds Overground colour coded network of high frequency First Bus Routes) between Pudsey
and Whinmoor
, via Seacroft
and City Square
. This route also runs every 10 minutes Monday-Friday, every 12 minutes Saturday (reduced from every 10 minutes on 19 July 2009), every 30 minutes Monday-Saturday Evenings & Sundays.
Leeds City Council & Metro have announced they are studying the feasibility of a trolleybus system and tram-train options for the Harrogate-Leeds railway line which would also traverse the city centre streets and the local rail network. Whether this will be instead of the Quality Bus Patnership/Bus Rapid Transit system is uncertain.
has gained a similar operation from 1 June 2009 with FTR's running on Route 4 in a phased introduction over several months. The service, publicised as ftrmetro, links Morriston Hospital
, Morriston
, the City Centre
and the University
/Singleton Hospital
, with five services per hour through the daytime. Extensive streetworks have been carried out along the route, including segregated running through the city centre and an "express route" by-passing the busy residential streets of Hafod
.
, providing a frequent link between the airport and Luton Airport Parkway railway station
. Three of these have now been replaced by Mercedes Citaros, releasing the FTRs for use in Swansea. The use of bigger buses reflects growth in the number of people using the airport rail link
, which has more than doubled since the Parkway station opened in 1999. It now carries almost 10 million people a year. The FTR (along with the Mercs) are branded as train2plane and run every 10 minutes, 19 hours a day (05:00 - 00:00), and connect with all trains from London during the night.
devoted four full pages to it, including its front page and a double page spread of 12 readers' letters, almost all of them hostile. The next day the paper published a defence of the vehicles' teething problems by First York's commercial director, accompanied by another five hostile letters. Another full-page article appeared two days later, and this was followed by national press coverage. On 17 May 2006, councillor Ann Reid was quoted as saying "The majority [of complaints] seem to have come from those who don't live on the route or certainly don't even catch the bus". This claim however seems unlikely in light of the levels of hostility towards the Ftr from University of York
students, most of whom live on the Ftr route, which is the main bus route from the university campus to town. The student press has referred to the Ftrs as "cumbersome purple monstrosities" which "constantly arrive late" and offer "below par service" Student anger has been particularly directed at the price of tickets on the Ftr, which increased by 20% in 2008 for a single ticket from campus into town. The price issue was eventually resolved when the students' union negotiated a £2 student price for a return ticket from the campus to town.
FirstGroup
is presently the only large UK transport company promoting such vehicles, with major operators such as Stagecoach
and Lothian Buses
preferring to avoid the additional outlay involved in procuring the Streetcar-type bus and instead purchase a larger number of conventional single and double deckers for fleet renewal and upgrading.
Some transport planners
believe that the complaints are an expression of general middle class
hostility towards public transport.
Despite initial criticisms the York trial has now attracted good and increasing customer service ratings. The Leeds service was converted to FTR gradually and there was much less vocal criticism.
Industry sources believe that FTR projects may be being used by the government as a cheap alternative to light rail
.
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
, currently in operation in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
and in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. FTR has been introduced by First Group
FirstGroup plc
FirstGroup plc is a public transport company, registered in Scotland at its headquarters in Aberdeen, operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Canada and the United States...
, using Wright StreetCar
Wright StreetCar
The Wright StreetCar is an articulated bus developed by Wrightbus and Volvo Buses for FirstGroup. It consists of an adapted Volvo B7LA chassis, featuring a separate driver compartment at the front, resembling to some extent similar designs in continental Europe.They feature air-conditioning and a...
articulated buses in conjunction with infrastructure upgrades by local authorities. The vehicles are branded as the future of travel, the operator stating that "ftr" is SMS shorthand
SMS language
SMS language or textese is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used due to the necessary brevity of mobile phone text messaging, in particular the widespread SMS SMS language or textese (also known as txt-speak, txtese, chatspeak, txt, txtspk, txtk, txto, texting language, txt...
for "future".
Elements
FTR is a collection of many innovations being introduced simultaneously: the vehicle type, its configuration, the fare collection arrangements, the changes to infrastructure and an integrated data handling system for voice radio, vehicle location, real time passenger information, on-board displays, vehicle diagnostics, and ticket machine data.Vehicles
Each 'StreetCar' vehicle costs over £300,000, and has a separate driver ('pilot') compartment at the front, resembling to some extent similar designs in continental EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Otherwise the vehicle itself is a modified conventional bus, with styling similar to contemporary trams and greater distances between axles in order to maximise the low-floor area for easily-accessible seating. The vehicles are air-conditioned and have tinted windows to enhance the on-board ambience along with ergonomic seating although the seats themselves are more like modern tram seats with arguably less padding than ordinary bus seats. On-board information is provided using an "infotainment" screen which displays the next FTR stop (in a similar fashion to Transport for London's i-Bus system) and related information to that stop including local attractions/facilities and connecting bus/train routes, the screen also displays adverts for local businesses.
Ticketing system
The main fundamental difference to conventional bus services is the method of fare collection. This initially involved payment of cash fares to a self-service ticket machine or to a conductor known as a "Customer Service Host" rather than to the driver, who is not intended to have any contact with passengers. This feature was promoted as helping to reduce journey times. On the FTR Route 4 in Leeds, all METRO bus passes and permits are issued and accepted on the bus. However, in York issues with ticketing machines mean the FTR buses have now gone back to having dedicated conductors to collect tickets, some of the only buses to do so.York
The first instance of FTR in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
was the conversion of Route 4 in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, which is operated by First York
First York
First York is the largest bus operator in York, England. It is part of First Group, a major bus and train operator with a turnover of nearly £2.5 billion a year and 62,000 employees across the UK and North America...
. The service began on 8 May 2006, after the city council had made significant and expensive alterations to the road layout to accommodate the new vehicles.
Route 4, runs between Acomb and the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
and was revised on the introduction of the new 42-seat vehicles to operate every 10 minutes Monday-Friday, every 10 minutes Saturday, every 20 minutes Monday-Saturday Evenings & Sundays replacing eight conventional 41-seater buses each hour. Though now First York
First York
First York is the largest bus operator in York, England. It is part of First Group, a major bus and train operator with a turnover of nearly £2.5 billion a year and 62,000 employees across the UK and North America...
has withdrawn the FTR service after a certain time and started to use double deckers on the route instead.
Leeds
Leeds Supertram
The Leeds Supertram was a proposed light rail/tram system in Leeds and West Yorkshire in England.-Initial proposals:Proposals for the reinstatement of trams or a light rail system in Leeds which were withdrawn in 1959 have been ongoing since the 1970s with various plans for varying light rail...
project, the local passenger transport executive
Passenger Transport Executive
In the United Kingdom, passenger transport executives are local government bodies which are responsible for public transport within large urban areas...
Metro
West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the executive arm of the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority and was originally formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport...
suggested various bus rapid transit options as a replacement, one of which was an FTR service.
The FTR system was chosen, and the service began in early 2007. It runs on Route 4 Olive Line (part of the Leeds Overground colour coded network of high frequency First Bus Routes) between Pudsey
Pudsey
Pudsey is a market town in West Yorkshire, England. Once an independent town, it was incorporated into the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds in 1974, and is located midway between Bradford and Leeds city centres. It has a population of 32,391....
and Whinmoor
Whinmoor
Whinmoor is residential area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area is 5 miles to the north east of the city centre, adjacent to Swarcliffe and Seacroft in the LS14 Leeds postcode area...
, via Seacroft
Seacroft
Seacroft is an outer-city suburb consisting mainly of council estate housing covering an extensive area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leeds city centre and lies in the LS14 Leeds postcode area....
and City Square
Leeds City Square
City Square is a paved open area in Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England.In 1897, the Leeds city council of the time wanted to improve the open space near to the Post Office and in 1899 work was completed. The city square was enhanced with the erection of statues, the grandest being the...
. This route also runs every 10 minutes Monday-Friday, every 12 minutes Saturday (reduced from every 10 minutes on 19 July 2009), every 30 minutes Monday-Saturday Evenings & Sundays.
Leeds City Council & Metro have announced they are studying the feasibility of a trolleybus system and tram-train options for the Harrogate-Leeds railway line which would also traverse the city centre streets and the local rail network. Whether this will be instead of the Quality Bus Patnership/Bus Rapid Transit system is uncertain.
Swansea
SwanseaSwansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
has gained a similar operation from 1 June 2009 with FTR's running on Route 4 in a phased introduction over several months. The service, publicised as ftrmetro, links Morriston Hospital
Morriston Hospital
Morriston Hospital is a 750 bed hospital located in Cwmrhydyceirw near Morriston in Swansea, Wales. Morriston is the largest hospital in the city and county of Swansea and is operated by Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board. Alongside its role as a district general hospital, Morriston...
, Morriston
Morriston
Morriston is a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston ward. Morriston is sometimes referred to as a distinct town , however Morriston never had a town charter, and is now part of the continuous urban area around Swansea, the centre of which lies three...
, the City Centre
Swansea city centre
Swansea city centre in Swansea, Wales, contains the main shopping, leisure and nightlife district in Swansea. The city centre covers much of the Castle ward including the area around Oxford Street, Castle Square, and the Quadrant Shopping Centre; Alexandra Road, High Street, Wind Street and the...
and the University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
/Singleton Hospital
Singleton Hospital
Singleton Hospital is a 550 bed hospital located in Sketty Lane, Swansea, Wales, operated by Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board. The main building was completed in 1958. The hospital adjoins Singleton Park and the main campus of the Swansea University where there is a nursing school and...
, with five services per hour through the daytime. Extensive streetworks have been carried out along the route, including segregated running through the city centre and an "express route" by-passing the busy residential streets of Hafod
Hafod
Hafod is a district of the city of Swansea, Wales and lies just outside the city centre in the north of the city. It falls within the Landore ward....
.
Luton Airport
Four FTR buses were working for First Capital ConnectFirst Capital Connect
First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
, providing a frequent link between the airport and Luton Airport Parkway railway station
Luton Airport Parkway railway station
| Luton Airport Parkway railway station is the railway station for London Luton Airport in Bedfordshire, England. The station opened in 1999 and is located south-east of Luton and west of the airport....
. Three of these have now been replaced by Mercedes Citaros, releasing the FTRs for use in Swansea. The use of bigger buses reflects growth in the number of people using the airport rail link
Airport rail link
An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city; by mainline- or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover or light rail...
, which has more than doubled since the Parkway station opened in 1999. It now carries almost 10 million people a year. The FTR (along with the Mercs) are branded as train2plane and run every 10 minutes, 19 hours a day (05:00 - 00:00), and connect with all trains from London during the night.
Developments
The launch of the FTR in York generated almost saturation coverage in the local media. On 10 May 2006 The PressThe Press (York)
The Press is the local daily paper for a substantial area of North and East Yorkshire, based on the city of York. It is printed by the Newsquest Ltd, a subsidiary of the Newsquest Media Group....
devoted four full pages to it, including its front page and a double page spread of 12 readers' letters, almost all of them hostile. The next day the paper published a defence of the vehicles' teething problems by First York's commercial director, accompanied by another five hostile letters. Another full-page article appeared two days later, and this was followed by national press coverage. On 17 May 2006, councillor Ann Reid was quoted as saying "The majority [of complaints] seem to have come from those who don't live on the route or certainly don't even catch the bus". This claim however seems unlikely in light of the levels of hostility towards the Ftr from University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
students, most of whom live on the Ftr route, which is the main bus route from the university campus to town. The student press has referred to the Ftrs as "cumbersome purple monstrosities" which "constantly arrive late" and offer "below par service" Student anger has been particularly directed at the price of tickets on the Ftr, which increased by 20% in 2008 for a single ticket from campus into town. The price issue was eventually resolved when the students' union negotiated a £2 student price for a return ticket from the campus to town.
FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc
FirstGroup plc is a public transport company, registered in Scotland at its headquarters in Aberdeen, operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Canada and the United States...
is presently the only large UK transport company promoting such vehicles, with major operators such as Stagecoach
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
and Lothian Buses
Lothian Buses
Lothian Buses Plc is the only municipal bus company in Scotland and the largest provider of bus services in Edinburgh, Scotland. City of Edinburgh Council own 91.01% of the company with the remainder being owned by East Lothian and Midlothian councils. As well as serving Edinburgh, Lothian Buses...
preferring to avoid the additional outlay involved in procuring the Streetcar-type bus and instead purchase a larger number of conventional single and double deckers for fleet renewal and upgrading.
Some transport planners
Transportation planning
Transportation planning is a field involved with the evaluation, assessment, design and siting of transportation facilities .-Models and Sustainability :...
believe that the complaints are an expression of general middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
hostility towards public transport.
Despite initial criticisms the York trial has now attracted good and increasing customer service ratings. The Leeds service was converted to FTR gradually and there was much less vocal criticism.
Industry sources believe that FTR projects may be being used by the government as a cheap alternative to light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
.
External links
- FTR Official Website
- BBC coverage of the trial in York
- BBC coverage of the Swansea announcement
- A more detailed FAQ on the actual buses
- Article in student newspaper Nouse - 'FTR buses meet fierce criticism'
- Latest FTR and bus rapid transit news on Transport Briefing
- A proposed route in Coventry and Warwickshire branded as "Sprint"
- Article on Luton Train2PLane