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CompanyPrice
Arriva773
FirstGroup347
Go-Ahead1095
National Express223
Optare5
Rotala35
Stagecoach172

Share prices at: 31/08/10.
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RegionPrice
Northern Ireland118.6
Scotland118.0
Wales118.1
North117.4
North West116.9
Yorkshire & Humberside116.7
West Midlands117.3
East Midlands117.4
East Anglia118.1
South East118.1
South West118.1
London118.5

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09 May 2006 | UK

First day niggles for 'ftr' in York

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FIRST heralds the ‘ftr’ service in York as the beginning of a new era in urban public transport. But its first day of operation was not quite the seamless service that it promised.

There is many a true word spoken in jest, as First chief executive Moir Lockhead may have had cause to think on Monday.

At the launch of the ‘ftr’ service in York on Monday morning, he related how a lady in the city earlier that morning had asked him if ‘ftr’ meant ‘free travel’. The audience chuckled appreciatively.

By Monday afternoon the joke had become reality. A software failure had rendered the ticket machines inoperative on First’s new fleet. Free travel had arrived.

The York ‘ftr’ introduction highlighted both the good and the bad of modern British bus practice. The concept is excellent. The Volvo/Wrightbus StreetCars are among the most stylish urban transport vehicles in service in Europe. They are world class. They turn heads.

But on the first day of operation there were gaps of up to 30 minutes in a service with a 10 minute frequency, and buses could be seen running in pairs. As one young lady observed to her companion in the street: “They’re supposed to run every 10 minutes and there’s two of them together.” The positive spin on that exchange is that at least there was a high level of awareness of the service.


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