First York is the Main bus operator for the city of York, They operate 100 vehicles with the majority being under 3 years old, with three different types of route.
The routes
The Metro routes which are colour coded and "should" run on a set frequency depending on which route you're ... Read review
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Advantages: Local Bus service provider forYork, Newish vehicles. Disadvantages: High Fares, Rude drivers,
First York is the Main bus operator for the city of York, They operate 100 vehicles with the majority being under 3 years old, with three different types of route.
The routes
The Metro routes which are colour coded and "should" run on a set frequency depending on which route you're on it can be anything from every 10mins to every 30mins (Mon- Sat daytime) which there are 8 services that come into this category. ...you can use on any First york bus including park and ride. If you live within The city of York boundry and are over 60 You are entitled to free travel on the buses, which has caused problems with overcrowding.
Plus points
They are the local bus company for York and there is very little choice of other operators.
The £3 day ticket makes it cheap.
Newish vehicles.
First York is the Main bus operator for the city of York, They operate 100 vehicles with the majority being under 3 years old, with three different types of route.
The routes
The Metro routes which are colour coded and "should" run on a set frequency depending on which route you're on it can be anything from every 10mins to every 30mins (Mon- Sat daytime) which there are 8 services that come into this category.
Park and ride. These are operated on behalf of the city council and run at least every 10 mins from five seperate car parks to the city centre fares are charged on a two tier system in which it costs more to travel if you buy your ticket at the city centre end as appose to the car park end.
Grey line services. These don't run very frequently through the day and are run more as a life line service with some being supported by the council.
The vehicles The company recieved an almost complete overhaul in 2001/02 with a fleet of new vehicles theese are mainly single deck vehicles with a handful of double deckers. The vehicles incorporate alow step with a buggy zonewhich can accommodate 2 buggies or a wheelchair or a few sideway seating passengers. There are also some articulated vehicles for The park and ride services.
Fares These are calculated on a zonal basis and for single fare can be quite expensive, but if you intend to use more than 2 buses it is advisable to get a £3 day rover ticket which you can use on any First york bus including park and ride. If you live within The city of York boundry and are over 60 You are entitled to free travel on the buses, which has caused problems with overcrowding.
Plus points They are the local bus company for York and there is very little choice of other operators. The £3 day ticket makes it cheap. Newish vehicles.
Minus points.
They do tend to run late or get cancelled at very short notice, this can sometimes be down to the fact that York is a dreadful place to drive in. ( i have fallen victim to it many a time.), The company only seems interested in Park and Ride routes. Drivers can be very rude at times looking at you as much to say how dare you flag my bus down. Service changes not pulicised early enough so you dont get to find out til the day before if you are lucky.
In all.
First are have a near monopoly on Local buses in York and they play on it, at the start of 2006 they introduced an inflation busting fare increase (although this could be linked to the introduction of free travel for the elderly), The other day i manged to get a free ride due to the fact an earlier bus had been "taken off the road" and there was a long gap (1 hour) between services. Although i feel that a replacement bus could've been found due to the fact it was a Sunday so fewer vehicles would have been required.
Update July 2006
First York have Introduced a new concept of travel on route 4 called the "FTR" (text speak for Future) which is an articulated vehicle and said to be a cross between a Tram and a bus. The main points of the FTR are: Driver is located in a cab seperate from the passengers, and now referred to as a "Pilot". Passengers are have to use an electronic ticket machine in order to buy tickets on board which has lead to problems in the following ways: The vehicle can start to move whilst you're trying to buy your ticket which can cause people to fall. The machines only accept coins and don't give change (unlike the traditional pay driver routes). The seating is set out in a strange lounge style toward the back of the vehicle which has caused problems with legs rubbing together. The FTR has recieved quite a lot of negative feed back in relation to the ticket machine, The driver been seperate from the passengers (haven't these people been on a route master). aswell as delays caused by teething problems which has left people late for work etc.
marcla 17.03.2004 (07.07.2006)
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Quick review of First York
First York promise a great deal but rarely deliver the advertised service.
Their services operating between the town centre and the Woodthorpe area appear to take no account of fluctuations in demand at different times of the day as the buses either run almost empty or overcrowded at peak times.
There also appears to be staff shortages and high turnover of personnel resulting in a busload of passengers being 'held' for periods of up to 15 minutes during crew change overs on a near daily basis due to rota errors or 'missing staff'.
The much publicised FTR service is nothing more than a mobile road hazard yet it carries no more passengers than a normal bus, is hated by everyone and breaks down regularly! ...
JohhnyC 03.06.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of First York
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