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The future of travel; ftrmetro officially launched in Swansea
Thursday 17 September 2009
FIRSTGROUP Chief Executive Sir Moir Lockhead OBE joined senior figures from City and County of Swansea and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) at a special event outside the Civic Centre in Swansea today (Wednesday 16 September) to celebrate the past and look to the future of travel, and name a vehicle as part of the official launch of the ftrmetro project.
Swansea is the first city in Wales to use the innovative ftrmetro buses.
The state-of-the-art vehicle has been called ‘City of Swansea’ to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Swansea receiving its city status in 1969.
Over the past forty years much has changed in Swansea, and the new ftrmetro scheme, boasting high tech vehicles, each with air conditioning, spacious layouts and onboard information screens, is considered the future of travel; something designed to take Swansea well into the 21st Century.
The distinctive purple vehicles offer the public a new mode of public transport that delivers the high quality of a tram with the flexibility of a bus. It has been turning heads in Swansea because of its futuristic look since June of this year when work began to phase it into operation on the Service 4 route between Morriston and Singleton Hospitals via Swansea City Centre.
Supporting the ftrmetro vehicles are some extensive road infrastructure and bus priority measures, which mean vehicles can now sail through the city, cutting previous cross-city journey times by up to 10 minutes.
The service also provides a seamless interchange with Swansea Railway Station from the west side of the City Centre; meaning visitors can make the change between rail and bus with relative ease. PlusBus integrated ticketing makes the process even easier for rail customers. The new link with the railway station also makes travelling to and from the Liberty Stadium for football matches and other big events, easier for visitors from outside the area.
Talking about the project, Sir Moir Lockhead said: “Swansea in the 21st Century, like many other cities in the UK, is facing big challenges. It must constantly reinvent itself, finding new and innovative ways to tackle the twin threats of congestion and climate change. By developing a robust transport network, that encourages people to use buses instead of private cars, the city is tackling these problems head on.
“In partnership with the City and County of Swansea and WAG, FirstGroup has taken steps to encourage this modal shift. The ftrmetro offers customers the chance to travel from one side of the city to the other in air conditioned comfort, whilst sitting on leather seats, and gliding past other traffic as a result of the many bus priority measures in place.
“We are still in the early days, but ridership figures are in line with expectations, and are expected to grow further in the coming months, as more and more people opt for travel by ftrmetro, rather than car.”
Swansea ftrmetro is a £14million package run in partnership between First and the City and County of Swansea. The infrastructure work, costing an estimated £10million, has been funded through the Welsh Assembly Government’s Transport Grant, while First has spent some £4million purchasing 10 ftrmetro vehicles as well as upgrading the engineering and parking facilities at its First Cymru head office in Swansea.
Talking about the launch of the ftrmetro scheme, Councillor Alan Lloyd, The Lord Mayor of Swansea, said: “I am delighted to be here to help officially launch the ftrmetro scheme. What we now have is 21st century travel in Swansea. We have embraced the future of public transport and this will have a long-lasting, positive effect in Swansea for years to come.”
A team of eighteen ‘pilots’ have undergone a rigorous training programme to qualify to drive the ftrmetro. They had to learn how to handle the vehicle’s extra length, steering geometry and road handling before they were given permission to go out on the road to carry passengers.
Seventeen jobs have also been created as a team of customer service hosts have been employed to assist customers and to collect fares. The hosts have learnt basic Welsh language, Welsh history/folklore and they have developed a detailed knowledge of Swansea’s facilities and amenities to ensure they are prepared to carry out the important customer-facing role.
For more information about First Cymru log onto www.firstgroup.com/ukbus (selecting South & West Wales from the drop down menu)
Pictured with Sir Moir is Swansea Mayor Cllr Alan Lloyd.