The demise of the ftr – although welcomed by some – has proved to be bad news for the Number 4 bus service. The old style double deckers, pushed into use on the service, have proved to be unsuitable for what is the busiest route in the City.
Gone is the air conditioning while space for wheelchairs and pushchairs is often cronically inadequate.
Some advertising paint jobs (such as “Chocolate York”) completely obscure the vehicles. So if a bus painted like this leapfrogs a stop, waiting passengers can only guess whether there were any empty seats.
The higher double deckers bang against overhanging tree branches frightening children and prompting fears that windows will shatter.
But it is reliability that has suffered most. All too frequently these days two number 4’s will follow within a few yards of each other. This effectively reduces what should be a 10 minute frequency service to a 20 minute one.
On Thursday this week buses had been running in tandem all day. A check on reliability at teatime revealed only 1 bus ran from Foxwood to Acomb between 4:10pm and 5:25pm (there should have been 7).
Then something large came into sight (for what happened next see the video at http://youtu.be/-myCQ-BiOwQ).
One passenger reported that it had taken 90 minutes to get from the University to Foxwood. (It should have taken 45 minutes maximum)
The cause is easy to see. The ftr had a conductor (host) who took fares when the vehicle was between stops. Now, in common with most other York services, the driver takes the fares. At a busy bus stop – and the are many on the number 4 route – this can take around 3 minutes. Inevitably the bus behind will catch up and run in tandem at least until the next timing point.
The ftr had the advantage of a GPS management system which gave an accurate indication of where individual buses were on the loop. A nominated route manager could then intervene to realign the services. The technology is still available but does not seem to be used proactively.
The Labour run Council is largely to blame for the decline in service standards. It supported a populist “ftr out” campaign without ensuring that there was an adequate replacement.
Over £200,000 has been spent on an abortive attempt to introduce a new bus contract. An option which was never likely to be available in a City where bus usage remains relatively high.
So what should happen now?
The ftrs are unlikely to return to the City but the congestion and reliability problems could be addressed, in the short term, by reintroducing the use of conductors to take “on board” ticket sales.
In the longer term, cashless ticketing should improve boarding times and this needs to be built into the specification for the next fleet of buses planned for key routes in the City.
In the meantime more cooperation between the Council and bus operators is urgently required.
We have raised passenger concerns with both First York and the Council.