ftrmetro Swansea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Swansea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transit type | Bus rapid transit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of lines | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of stations | 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Began operation | September 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | First Cymru | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of vehicles | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ftrmetro Swansea was a bus rapid transit route in Swansea, Wales. The route was served by FTR articulated buses in an attempt to relieve traffic congestion and provide alternative transport to cars, before they were withdrawn in 2015 in favour of smaller-capacity buses.
The Welsh Assembly Government provided £2.2m in funding to help launch the scheme, [1] and the local bus operator First Cymru paid for the fleet at a cost of £300,000 per vehicle. The buses, built by Northern Ireland-based Wrightbus, each had 37 seats. [2] Stops were placed about every 500 m [3] and passengers paid for tickets on-board from a conductor rather than from the driver. [4]
The bus ran along a route from Morriston Hospital to Singleton Hospital, via Morriston, Swansea railway station, Kingsway, Swansea bus station, Civic Centre and Swansea University. The off-peak journey time between Morriston Hospital and Swansea University was timetabled to take 50 minutes. [5]
Alterations were made to a number of roads to provide a dedicated bus lane. Orchard Street and The Kingsway were converted to a one-way streets for cars with a separate two-way bus lane. West Way was altered to accommodate a two-way bus lane and new access roads were developed near the Civic Centre. Further road developments included a bus lane along parts of Oystermouth Road and a bus bypass road past the Hafod area. [6]
Phase 1 of the road development scheme, for Orchard Street and Kingsway, was completed. The service between Morriston Hospital and Singleton started on bus route 4, using a single ftr vehicle, on 1 June 2009 with official launch of service in September 2009. [7]
Critics of the scheme attacked the disruption caused by roadworks to accommodate the vehicles [8] and the impact of changes to the road network. [9]
On 24 June 2015, First Cymru announced that it was to remove all FTR articulated buses from service on 28 August 2015, replacing them with standard single deck buses. [10] Later in 2015, the dedicated two-way FTR bus lane on the Kingsway was removed and replaced by a standard one-way system, in response to high-profile accidents. [11]
Subsequently, three bendy buses were brought back into use, transferring students from the main Swansea University campus on Oystermouth Road to the new Bay Campus.
Swansea is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea.
The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was the venue for the world's first passenger horsecar railway service, located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom.
The Leeds Supertram was a proposed light rail/tram system in Leeds and West Yorkshire in England. It would have been a three-line, 17-mile (27 km) system with 50 stations. It received provisional government approval in 2001, and was specifically for corridors ill-served by the existing heavy rail network. Supertram would have been 75% funded from the public sector, with final contracts for construction and a 27-year operating concession due to have been awarded in 2003. By 2004, disquiet about rising costs had caused the scheme to be scaled back, and it was finally cancelled in 2005 by the Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling.
Singleton Hospital is a general hospital in Sketty Lane, Swansea, Wales. It is managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board.
Cockett is a district and community in Swansea, Wales falling within Cockett ward. It is located about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Swansea city centre. It includes the eastern half of Gowerton.
Swansea city centre in Swansea, Wales, contains the main shopping, leisure and nightlife district in Swansea. The city centre covers much of the Castle ward including the area around Oxford Street, Castle Square, and the Quadrant Shopping Centre; Alexandra Road, High Street, Wind Street and the Castle; Parc Tawe; and the Maritime Quarter extending down to the seafront.
Transport in Wales is heavily influenced by the country's geography. Wales is predominantly hilly or mountainous, and the main settlements lie on the coasts of north and south Wales, while mid Wales and west Wales are lightly populated. The main transport corridors are east–west routes, many continuing eastwards into England.
FTR was a British rapid-transit bus system formerly operated in Leeds, Luton, Swansea and York. FirstGroup introduced the system, using 39 Wright StreetCar articulated buses in conjunction with infrastructure upgrades by local authorities. The vehicles were branded as "the future of travel", the operators claiming that ftr is Abjadic textspeak for the word future.
Morriston Hospital is a 750-bed hospital located in Cwmrhydyceirw near Morriston in Swansea, Wales. It is managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board. Alongside its role as a district general hospital, Morriston is a teaching hospital for medical students of Swansea University Medical School.
First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. With its headquarters previously in Swansea, it is now part of the First Wales and West region which also covers Bristol, Bath and Worcester, with its headquarters in Bristol. With 220 vehicles, it is the second largest bus operator in Wales after Stagecoach South Wales.
The Wright StreetCar is an articulated bus developed by Wrightbus and Volvo for FirstGroup. It was built on the Volvo B7LA chassis, featuring a separate driver compartment at the front, resembling to some extent similar designs in Europe.
Transport in Cardiff, capital and most populous city in Wales involves road, rail, bus, water and air. It is a major city of the United Kingdom and a centre of employment, government, retail, business, culture, media, sport and higher education.
The suburban district of Sketty is about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the Swansea city centre on Gower Road. It falls within the Sketty council ward of Swansea. It is also a community.
Hafod is a district of the city of Swansea, Wales, and lies just north of the city centre, within the Landore ward. Hafod is the home to the Hafod Copperworks, founded in 1810 and closed in 1980 which is now being developed into an industrial heritage site.
Articulated buses, colloquially known as "bendy buses", were rarely used in the United Kingdom compared to other countries, until the turn of the millennium. This was due to a preference for the double-decker bus for use on high capacity routes. In June 2006, there were over 500 articulated buses in the United Kingdom, although they were still heavily outnumbered by double deckers. The majority of this fleet was used in London, although these buses would be withdrawn by end of 2011.
The Stoke Streetcar was a proposed bus rapid transit system for The Potteries Urban Area in England. It would have consisted of two lines, serving five of Stoke's six towns, the city centre with its new Central Business District, Newcastle, Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent railway station, the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, both universities and both football clubs. The proposal was developed in partnership with First Group, and included plans to use the same Wright StreetCar as the FTR services found in York, Leeds and Swansea.
The South Wales Metro is an integrated heavy rail, light rail and bus-based public transport services and systems network currently being developed in South East Wales around the hub of Cardiff Central railway station. The first phase was approved for development in October 2013. Works are currently under way, with a new depot under construction at Taff's Well and new trains being built by Stadler Rail in Switzerland. The development will also include the electrification of the core Valley Lines and new stations. All nine lines will be electrified, and the service is expected to be in operation by the end of 2024.
The Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro, or simply the Swansea Bay Metro is a proposed enhancement of railways, buses and active travel around the Swansea Bay and South West Wales areas of South Wales. The project could take up to 10 years to complete.
Bus transport in Wales is a significant form of public transport in Wales. In 2021–22 52.3 million journeys were travelled in Wales on local buses.