Getting it Right

Swansea Metro

Swansea has got it about right. Rather than rapidly introduce First’s ftr BRT, the council’s paused and gotten its infrastructure in place, first. After all, there are millions of pounds of expenditure to get in place. Both partners have learnt from the York launch debacle and the teething problems in Leeds.


From what I saw, much of the infrastructure’s in place. It’s been a painful process at times, with the city under fire from unfriendly residents, usually motorists, resentful of the car being squeezed out or with London-style concerns about squished cyclists. But the works will ensure as smooth an operation as possible from day one, when the service launches in April 2009. It connects key destinations, running from Morriston Hospital north of the M4 to Swansea University and Singleton Hospital.

Tidy Fleet

The Quadrant bus station was busy in terms of both passengers and buses. All main city and suburban servies operated at least every 10 minutes. From what I saw, First presented a decent imagine in Swansea, with lots of accessible SLFs. Even the fewer older buses appeared up together. Compare this to neighbouring Neath, whose network is almost 100 per cent step entrance Dart-operated. The condition of First's Neath buses was noticeably poorer than Swansea’s.
BOB – Bright Orange Bus

Meanwhile, First’s invested in new ADL Enviro200s for its frequent term time (and less frequent vacation time) 82A. It re-uses the orange branding previously on the service but in a more First-like style. Orange is a concept also used for the Bath universities service. And Brighton has The Big Lemon. Perhaps bright, signal colours attract students. There’s good money to be had in the university bus market and Swansea’s no exception. The 82A links Swansea, university and halls.


Excursions

First in Swansea joins a trend to register some services as excursions rather than local bus services. This means that elderly passengers may be charged a 'fare', something handy here in England were reimbursements are less generous. But this is Wales and the reimbursement rate is about 73 per cent. What it does is ensure that such services as the X10 Swansea-Abergavenny aren't swamped by older people. Still, it's unusual these days for a former National Bus Company subsidiary to operate such a range of proper coach excursions, as they once did.

Veolia

Different story here, though the buses I saw were new and in good order. There was some evidence, however, of continued birth pains within the Veolia Cymru conglomerate.


There were rumours of poor performance, complaints unanswered and the usual negativity following recent withdrawals. Yet, the fleet was in good order, following considerable investment. Pullman’s was once a well-run outfit but reports of problems may have taken off the shine. The Shamrock (Wales) constituent’s reputation seemed little better since Veolia’s takeover.