Continuing the reflections on First's York ftrs...
Part 1 Here
One problem about the light lilac seat trim on ftr is that it does not easily mask soiling. So it was that a number of seats were already disappointedly sullied. Not a major issue, you may think, but we all know that the average British passenger will avoid a heavily stained seat unless there really is no alternative. Darker fabric is more practical. The rest of
the interiors were clean and in good condition, though.
Just when you thought that build quality these days had mastered early rattles, one StreetCar squeaked along. One had a disturbing draft from what appeared to be a poorly sealed window. One gave out two alarmingly loud clunks from the articulated joint.
The Ticket Machines
The ticket machines had come under considerable unfriendly passenger fire for their complexity, lack of change and cheaper off-bus ticket prices. We applaud the idea of a self-service, automated ticket system. I think every operator would like to introduce something similar, on- or off-bus (like in London, for example) and may be we will all learn from York. It worked well at speeding the ftr, as the driver was able to take off from the stop straight after boarding. In spite of the criticisms, the instructions were easy to understand. People (except me) were ready with the exact fare (and how operators have tried, and failed, to educate passengers on this in the past).
There were, however, two downsides. A number of passengers fumbled away while the vehicle was in motion, a couple loosing their footing. And, more passengers than I would be comfortable with (if I was running First York) walked straight on without paying or presenting a pre-paid ticket to a barcode reader. Who knows whether they had held valid tickets or not. There appears to be a real issue here, something First may recognise with the increase from £35 to £50 in the penalty fare.
Trying to get the exact fare, the ticket machine steadfastly rejected my repeated attempts at using two 5p pieces. This meant two things: first, I had to use a 20p coin and overpay by 10p and secondly, I caught my hand on the rather rough edge of the returned coin shoot.
One problem about the light lilac seat trim on ftr is that it does not easily mask soiling. So it was that a number of seats were already disappointedly sullied. Not a major issue, you may think, but we all know that the average British passenger will avoid a heavily stained seat unless there really is no alternative. Darker fabric is more practical. The rest of
the interiors were clean and in good condition, though.Just when you thought that build quality these days had mastered early rattles, one StreetCar squeaked along. One had a disturbing draft from what appeared to be a poorly sealed window. One gave out two alarmingly loud clunks from the articulated joint.
The Ticket Machines
The ticket machines had come under considerable unfriendly passenger fire for their complexity, lack of change and cheaper off-bus ticket prices. We applaud the idea of a self-service, automated ticket system. I think every operator would like to introduce something similar, on- or off-bus (like in London, for example) and may be we will all learn from York. It worked well at speeding the ftr, as the driver was able to take off from the stop straight after boarding. In spite of the criticisms, the instructions were easy to understand. People (except me) were ready with the exact fare (and how operators have tried, and failed, to educate passengers on this in the past).
There were, however, two downsides. A number of passengers fumbled away while the vehicle was in motion, a couple loosing their footing. And, more passengers than I would be comfortable with (if I was running First York) walked straight on without paying or presenting a pre-paid ticket to a barcode reader. Who knows whether they had held valid tickets or not. There appears to be a real issue here, something First may recognise with the increase from £35 to £50 in the penalty fare.
Trying to get the exact fare, the ticket machine steadfastly rejected my repeated attempts at using two 5p pieces. This meant two things: first, I had to use a 20p coin and overpay by 10p and secondly, I caught my hand on the rather rough edge of the returned coin shoot.
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