Is the ftr's future in doubt?
by Tony Wilson
Added to website 8 January 2012
With the days of the bendibus in London over, there now appears to be a move in another city to rid itself if not of all, but certainly some
more of the bending buses. As reported during December 2011 on the Focus Transport Blog site
HERE,
it appears that there are moves afoot to rid the
city of York of the fleet of Wrightbus ftr type bendibuses. These have operated route 4 from Acomb through the city centre to the University
apparently quite successfully. However, it appears that there is opposition in certain quarters that they are not the right vehicle for the
city’s streets. If successful, will this also mean the removal of the whole FirstGroup bendibus fleet from the streets of York City, and indeed
what will replace them. Currently they operate alongside a fleet of Mercedes-Benz Citaro G bendibuses employed on a network of routes that
serve various Park-&-Ride sites around the city’s extremities.
The Wrightbus ftr or Streetcar is based on the Volvo B7LA chassis and there are currently eleven in operation in York as fleet numbers
19001-19011 and have been in service since May 2006. A further nineteen are operated by First in Leeds (19012-19028 and 19031), with a final
eight (19000/32-38), in Swansea with First Cymru. So far these are all of the type that are in operation within the British Isles, although
there are several others in America. All British based vehicles operate in a distinctive blue, purple and white livery.
1. Two of the Wrightbus ftr type numbers 19001 and 19003 passed by one another in August 2009 at the western end of the Ouse bridge through
the city centre as cyclists, pedestrians and cars all vied for the thoroughfare.
2-3. First’s number 19007 swung through Rougier Street in August 2007 and carried a healthy loading of passengers, many of whom were standing.
The distinctive livery of these eye-catching and head-turning vehicles was shown off to good effect in June 2011, as 19008 set down passengers
outside the Travelodge in Bridge Street.
But the ftrs have not been the first such bendibuses to operate in the city. A network of Park-&-Ride services has been operated by
FirstGroup for several years with rigid single-deckers, but more recently has been run with bendibuses. Initially these were Wrightbus bodied
Volvo B7LA, originally a number from a batch of six (1122-1125), operated by the Yorkshire Rider subsidiary of First in Leeds.
4-5. Here Volvo 10039 accelerated away from the bus stops outside the principal York railway station on the East Coast Mainline and displayed
the dual-door configuration, one in each compartment. The bus was bound for the Askham Bar Park-&-Ride site on the west side of the city, handy
for visitors and others coming off of the main A64 trunk road.
The offside of number 10043 was about to disappear beneath the battlements of the walled city centre in August 2007 as it operated over route 2
out to the Rawcliffe Bar Park-&-Ride site.
6. Park-&-Ride service 2, marketed as the “Green Line” served a site on the north side of the city. Here 10040 would have just come from
beneath the main East Coast railway line and passed the National Railway Museum, before turning into the small one-way system near the city walls.
In 2009 the older Wrightbus bodied Volvo B7LAs were replaced by a fleet of new Mercedes-Benz Citaro G bendibuses. Fifteen were acquired
as the Park-&-Ride network expanded, and these were 11101-11115 in the FirstGroup nationwide fleet numbering system.
7-8. Mercedes-Benz Citaro 11106 illustrates the offside aspect and the revised livery for the Park-&-Ride network of services as it paused
for custom on Bridge Street in the city centre.
The nearside of the type is shown off by number 11107 as it circumnavigated the short piece of one-way system around and through the ancient
city walls as it operated over route 3 out to the Askham Bar Park-&-Ride site.
9-10. The rear aspect of 11106 also provides an opportunity to illustrate the air-conditioning pods on the roofs of the two compartments
of the vehicle, as it passed by the railway station.
This image of number 11112 provided a fine illustration of the length difference between the bendibus and a standard double-decker, the latter
a 20-odd year old former London Buses Leyland Titan, now confined to tourist trail duties around the city.
11-12. A comparison here of design styles, between one of the current Mercedes-Benz Citaro Gs and a Wrightbus ftr. Both were taken on the
west side just outside the city walls in Queen Street.
13-14. And indeed from those very same city walls an elevated view of ftr number 19007 as it curled around the bend in the road. Behind it one
can observe the canopy of the main railway station.
Another elevated view provided a rear aspect and the alternative design for the air-conditioning pods on the roof on the ftrs.
15. Unlike the Volvo B7LA or the Mercedes-Benz Citaro G where the trailer unit is shorter than the front portion, the two compartments on the
ftr are much the same in length. This is illustrated here by 19006, outside the front of the main railway station again with a standard
double-decker for comparison.
16-17. The ftrs in York have not been immune from alternative liveries. In August 2007 number 19001 appeared decorated in an allover
advertisement designed by a group of students at the University. Certainly futuristic if nothing else.
By 2009 though the allover futuristic style had been replaced by this mainly black livery in order to promote the city’s Viking ancestry and
an exhibition on that subject.
18-19. The next numerical vehicle in the fleet was also adorned with an overall advertisement. This was pertinent to the city as a whole being
a promotion by the County of Yorkshire that concentrated on the attributes of York itself. Off and nearside aspects are shown as it first passed
along Rougier Street and then later near to the Railway War Memorial beside the city walls, both in 2011. Note how the purple part of the livery
was retained on the mirrors and wheels.
20. This final view of bendibus operation in the city of York shows off two of the current fleet of Mercedes-Benz Citaro Gs, taken from the
city walls in 2011, on respective Park-&-Ride services with the Minster in the background.
So what of the future for the ftr and indeed the bendibus in York? Well if the powers that be and others have their way, very short. When
the ftr was first introduced allegedly FirstGroup expressed an interest in 100 of the type. With less than 50 operating on the British mainland,
has the desire for a Streetcar wained?
Tony Wilson
January 2012