http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5031222.stm

John Rowland wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5031222.stm

Weird. Areas of the country that *do* want tram schemes have them
refused, and areas that *don't* have them foisted upon them. Is this a
case of 'Nanny knows best?'.

Sid

wrote:
John Rowland wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5031222.stm

Weird. Areas of the country that *do* want tram schemes have them
refused, and areas that *don't* have them foisted upon them. Is this a
case of 'Nanny knows best?'.

Sid


Or its within the M25 - Don't the government want these
http://www.goftr.com/view.php used in the provinces so London can get
more trams etc?

Mark B wrote:
wrote:
John Rowland wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5031222.stm

Weird. Areas of the country that *do* want tram schemes have them
refused, and areas that *don't* have them foisted upon them. Is this a
case of 'Nanny knows best?'.

Sid


Or its within the M25 - Don't the government want these
http://www.goftr.com/view.php used in the provinces so London can get
more trams etc?


'Press release 8 May 2006:-

'Moir Lockhead, Chief Executive of FirstGroup plc, said: "First is
committed to providing high quality public transport networks. The
signing of this partnership agreement sets the seal on a project that I
firmly believe will introduce a step change in the way that local
transport authorities and operators deliver public travel.'

Press release 15 May 2006

We are very sorry for any inconvenience experienced by our customers as
a result of teething difficulties on ftr.

'We are working hard to make sure that we deliver the highest standards
of service and appreciate your patience as we deal with the issues that
you, our customers, are helpfully bringing to our attention. '

On 2 Jun 2006 06:19:51 -0700, "victormeldrewsyoungerbrother"
wrote:


Mark B wrote:
wrote:
John Rowland wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5031222.stm

Weird. Areas of the country that *do* want tram schemes have them
refused, and areas that *don't* have them foisted upon them. Is this a
case of 'Nanny knows best?'.

Sid


Or its within the M25 - Don't the government want these
http://www.goftr.com/view.php used in the provinces so London can get
more trams etc?


'Press release 8 May 2006:-

'Moir Lockhead, Chief Executive of FirstGroup plc, said: "First is
committed to providing high quality public transport networks. The
signing of this partnership agreement sets the seal on a project that I
firmly believe will introduce a step change in the way that local
transport authorities and operators deliver public travel.'

Press release 15 May 2006

We are very sorry for any inconvenience experienced by our customers as
a result of teething difficulties on ftr.

'We are working hard to make sure that we deliver the highest standards
of service and appreciate your patience as we deal with the issues that
you, our customers, are helpfully bringing to our attention. '

Comment on 2 June 2006.

We are very sorry that we chose technology that if anyone with a brain
had been asked to evaluate it we would never have bought. We are also
very sorry that we bought too few buses and cut the frequency compared
to the old service. Finally we are very sorry we could not plan our way
out of a paper bag and this is really why our lovely ftr concept does
not work.

Love and kisses - First Group HQ.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

On Fri, 2 Jun 2006, victormeldrewsyoungerbrother wrote:

'We are working hard to make sure that we deliver the highest standards
of service and appreciate your patience as we deal with the issues that
you, our customers, are helpfully bringing to our attention. '

That reminds me to email them my thoughts on the 'ftr' of travel in York.
--
Chris Johns

victormeldrewsyoungerbrother wrote:

Press release 15 May 2006

We are very sorry for any inconvenience experienced by our customers as
a result of teething difficulties on ftr.

Any word on what these teething difficulties are, and why it's so
difficult to operate what is basically a fancy bendy bus with fancy
ticket machines and a few extra decorative bits of plastic on the
outside?

Neil

On 3 Jun 2006 03:14:46 -0700, "Neil Williams"
wrote:

victormeldrewsyoungerbrother wrote:

Press release 15 May 2006

We are very sorry for any inconvenience experienced by our customers as
a result of teething difficulties on ftr.

Any word on what these teething difficulties are, and why it's so
difficult to operate what is basically a fancy bendy bus with fancy
ticket machines and a few extra decorative bits of plastic on the
outside?

The ticket machines don't work.
The bar code readers for the period tickets and mobile phone bought
tickets don't work.
They didn't get the bar code stickers for OAP permits delivered on time.
They reduced the frequency on ftr compared to the old service thus
increasing boarding times.
They didn't advertise how the new system worked properly.
The real time displays are not real time - they only work based on the
time now against the theoretical schedule.

There will also be the usual issues of passengers and drivers being
unfamiliar with the vehicles and the schedule. This will take a bit of
time to bed down so they can be forgiven this part of their problems.

The above is based on what I have read - I have not been to York to try
the service out.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

On Sat, 3 Jun 2006, Neil Williams wrote:

Any word on what these teething difficulties are, and why it's so
difficult to operate what is basically a fancy bendy bus with fancy
ticket machines and a few extra decorative bits of plastic on the
outside?

The ticket machine was prone to breaking down at first - much to our (the
passenger's) delight - quick boarding and a free ride. The ticket machine
when working is so slow that it must throw the schedules out (which were
reduced from ever 8 mins to every 10 mins when the ftr started).

A few of the busses broke down on the first day, which led to some slating
in the local press. At least one of the 'ftr's must be out of service, as
there's a normal "park and ride" bendybus on the 'ftr' route that
occasionally turns up.

The doors can sometimes misbehave, and theres a big "open" button but
thats only for use in emergencies apparently - which confuses people.
have been incidents (in the local rag) about the doors closing on people.

The bendyness of the busses probably causes more problems in York's
streets - they will fit along "the route" but any obstruction probably
causes them more problems than a tradional bus.

The view of most people i've spoken to seems to be that it was all a lot
of fuss for no gain. I think we're going to be stuck with it as a) they
have the vehicles now and b) it's such a high profile thing for first
(with their new busses) and york council (who did a load of road works to
enable them to run) that they won't admit it's no good.

Cheers

Chris
--
Chris Johns

Neil Williams wrote:
Any word on what these teething difficulties are, and why it's so
difficult to operate what is basically a fancy bendy bus with fancy
ticket machines and a few extra decorative bits of plastic on the
outside?


The ticket machine's crashed on both of my ftr rides so far -
unfortunately after I'd got on and successfully bought a ticket...

Overall... not much difference between ftr and a normal bendybus,
although I can't see how the driver being isolated behind smoked glass
will make passengers feel any safer... (wasn't one of the objectives of
ftr to make bus travel less unappealing to women?)

pete
--
"That is enigmatic. That is textbook enigmatic..." - Dr Who
"There's no room for enigmas in built-up areas." - N Blackwell