[UK] The FuTuRe is Wright - 第一約克街車

After all the hype from First, they finally launched the York ftr on 8th May.
Altogether, 11 StreetCars, built jointly by Wright and Volvo, are bought to
convert the route 4 (Accoms - University of York).

The ftr is First's idea of providing a relatively low cost mass transit solution,
with much less time required to put the system in operation. They hope the
whole ftr concept will attract city councils that require a rapid transit system,
but cannot afford building a tram network. In York, First work in close partnership
with York City Council to introduce various bus priority measures like reworked
road layout, traffic light priority, repositioning bus stops with raised kerb, and
real time countdown information.

With all the support and optimism, First was obviously looking forward to the
success of the ftr, right in the city of their flagship operation - First York.





Unfortunately, since the launch nearly a month ago, things have not been as
smooth as First was hoping. as John reported in his post a couple of weeks ago,
reliability of the schedule was poor, and it was widely publicised in the media.
So, another 2 weeks went by when I visited York yesterday, has the "future"
improved?

Sadly, I have to say, no.



The truth is, the system has been slow, and very slow. When the ftr concept
was launched, it was supposed to operate under the same "pay before you
board" scheme that works with some success (if we disregard fare-dodgers)
in London. Passengers can only board the StreetCars at the front door, much
like ordinary buses, to buy tickets from an on-board ticket machine, which is
not very reliable.



Of course, the result of this is a significantly longer standing time at each bus
stop. First is hoping for an average loading time per stop of 22 seconds, but
typically, 1-2 minutes is the more realistic expectation.

Another problem is the StreetCar itself. They are longer, at a length of 18.75m,
which means it is quite a challenge to get through the heavy traffic on the narrow
streets of York.

Also, the StreetCar is heavy. With the extra length, plus the air-conditioning
and extra equipment, it weighs at 19.1 tons, nearly 3 tons (or 20%) more than
a normal Volvo B7LA/Wright Eclipse Fusion that the StreetCar design is based
on. Ironically, it retained the same D7C-275 engine as the B7LA, and it proved
to be a struggle to pull out at stops and traffic lights, not to mention the hill
it has to get up on its way to the University of York. So, the rapid transit that
First was hoping becomes a crawler on the street.

Otherwise, it is very hard to fault the vehicle itself. Wrightbus is renowned
for its design flair, and the striking style of the StreetCar, both inside and out,
live up to everyone's expectation. The chassis is supplied by Volvo, and it is
modified from the B7LA articulated chassis. Apart from being longer, the front
axis has been moved forward, and the biggest change was the repositioned
of the radiator from the nearside rear to the roof at the rear. This has improved
the interor at the rear very significantly, giving a much more roomy and bright
feeling.

The cabin also retain a stylish feel. The driver, or the "pilot" as First prefer to
call, sits inside an enclosed driving compartment. The StreetCar is fully air-
conditioned, but the more innovative feature are the "lounge" chairs in the
rear carriage, which is quite well liked by a number of passengers.





First has bought 11 StreetCars, numbered 19001-11,  for the York ftr, which
has a peak vehicle requirement of 10. One of which, 19001, received a special
design livery:



Whilst 19004 and 19006 received christened registration plates:





All in all, the ftr package is an excellent, if not yet a highly successful attempt,
from First. It remain to be seen if things will improve in the near future, but it
is certain that the challenge that First is facing wil be much more difficult than
they initially anticipated.

Thats true, the concept of 'ftr' is based on European ticketing system, where passengers bought their ticket before on-board. But the thing is much different here is UK where you buy the ticket from drivers in most towns and cities, this would slows down the process if passengers do not have their ticket before boarding, and I guess what First York using a conductor onboard during the first day is a better move.... may be we should consider bringing Routemaster's style back to ftr now!

An excellent article indeed! As Norris said, the European ticketing system would be ideal for the ftrs.  However, I personally do not think the Brits are really ready for such system as yet.  As we can all see the "sucess" in London after some 4 years?  now. Also installing the RTMs arent cheap at all.  Its costing us London taxpayers some 400 pounds each on the London streets!!