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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buses in an attempt to relieve traffic congestion and provide alternative transport to cars, before they were withdrawn in 2015 in favour of smaller-capacity buses.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 have 37 seats. [2] Stops are placed approximately every 500m [3] and passengers pay for tickets on-board from a conductor rather than from the driver. [4]
The bus runs 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 is 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 has been altered to accommodate a two-way bus lane and new access roads have been developed near the Civic Centre. Further road developments include 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, is complete. 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 and the city is the twenty-fifth largest in the United Kingdom. Located along Swansea Bay in the south-west of Wales, with the principal area covering the Gower Peninsula, it is part of the Swansea Bay City Region, historic county of Glamorgan and the ancient Welsh commote of Gŵyr. The principal area is the second most populous local authority area in Wales with a population of est. 312,872 in 2021. Swansea, along with Neath and Port Talbot, forms the Swansea Urban Area with a population of 300,352 in 2011.
The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was the venue for the world's first passenger horsecar railway service, located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom.
Singleton Hospital is a general hospital in Sketty Lane, Swansea, Wales. It is managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board.
Morriston is a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county.
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.
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 in Swansea.
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 located about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the west of the Swansea city centre on Gower Road. Sketty falls within the Sketty council ward of Swansea. It is also a community.
Hafod is a district of the city of Swansea, in South Wales, U.K., 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.
Bendy buses were rarely used in the United Kingdom compared to other countries, until the turn of the millennium. This was due to the UK preference for the quintessential double-decker bus for use on high capacity routes. As of June 2006, there were over 500 articulated buses in the UK, although they are 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 in South East Wales around the hub of Cardiff Central. The first phase was approved for development in October 2013. Works are currently underway with a brand new depot under construction at Taff's Well and new trains being constructed at the Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) 15,000 sq metre factory in Newport. This will also include the electrification of the core Valley Lines and new stations. This will be the biggest overhaul to the railways of South Wales since their construction 170 years ago.
MetroBus is a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England. It is a joint project between Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils. The first route, service m3, began operations on 29 May 2018, followed by m2 on 3 September and m1 on 6 January 2019.
New Adventure Travel is a bus and coach company in South Wales. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ftrmetro Swansea . |