ftr – the bogus claims

ftr on York's number 4 route

Artic defence - click to enlarge

Strange article in The Press earlier in the week with the Council Leader apparently saying the ftr running agreement would be scrapped “in June”.

Strange because the 5 year deal had already come to an end in June 2011; 5 years after it was signed at a York Racecourse ceremony.

There was never any question of the agreement being extended.

It was put in place to ensure that the number 4 bus route remained unaltered for a period long enough to ensure that taxpayers got a return on the investment made in providing off street car parking, resurfacing roads, improving junctions and installing raised kerbs to improve access from bus stops.

It was thought that the Press story was linked to a bus service report that is due to be considered at a Council Strategy meeting next Thursday (5th Jan). However the report makes no mention of individual bus routes and simply agonises over the need to consult residents about further changes to the bus network (more on this later in the week).

While no one would pretend that the ftr has been greeted with universal acclaim, the vehicle the vehicle provides high levels of accessibility for disabled people and set new standards of comfort in its spacious air conditioned passenger compartment. The hosts/conductors are generally friendly and valued while the ultra modern appearance still attracts children to the City who simply want to “have a ride” on the vehicle.

Time moves on though, and improved engine technology means that more economical buses with lower emission levels are now becoming available.

The last Council hoped to use hybrid type buses on the new Park and Ride routes. It would be a small step to extend the modernisation to include “stage carriage” services like the number 4. Trials of some of the low/zero emission bus options available took place earlier in the year on the Designer Outlet to City centre Park and Ride route. The trial was abandoned by Labour when they took control of the Council in May.

A key issue would be the cost for companies who want to modernise their bus fleets with, for example, the new style double deckers recently introduced in London costing 4 times the price of an £300,000 ftr.

The London Mayor – Boris Johnson – hopes to get the cost of his “Routemaster” style vehicle down to £315,000 each through bulk purchase. 11 mpg on the new hybrid is promised although the inclusion of a “hop on, fall off” rear platform means that a conductor would have to be carried.

The ftr has a capacity of 100 (53 seated, 47 standing) compared to the new “Boris bus” (87 people — 62 sitting and 25 standing) so overcrowding could be an issue.

More realistically, a conventional 2012 hybrid “bendy bus” has many advantages and costs only about £20k more than an ftr.

In the meantime a resident writing on the Press website has suggested that the Council Leader is tilting at windmills when claiming to “slay” the ftr.

A Don Quixote approach we do not need. Just some clarity on what changes are to be made to bus services and – crucially – how any such changes are to be paid for?

Humour week – caption competition 2

Life

I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: – ‘No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself,’Lillian, you should have remained a virgin.’
– Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter)

Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement..
– Mark Twain

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible
– George Burns

Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.
– Victor Borge

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
– Mark Twain

By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.
– Socrates

I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.
– Groucho Marx

My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe.
– Jimmy Durante

I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.
– Zsa Zsa Gabor

Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
– Alex Levine

My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying.
– Rodney Dangerfield

Money can’t buy you happiness …. But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
– Spike Milligan

Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was SHUT UP.
– Joe Namath

I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap.
– Bob Hope
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I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it..
– W. C. Fields

We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.
– Will Rogers

Don’t worry about avoiding temptation.
As you grow older, it will avoid you.
– Winston Churchill

Maybe it’s true that life begins at fifty.. But everything else starts to wear out, fall out, or spread out..
– Phyllis Diller

By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step, he’s too old to go anywhere.
– Billy Crystal

And the cardiologist’ s diet:
If it tastes good spit it out.