Volvo B6BLE outside York railway station on service 1 |
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| Parent | FirstGroup |
| Headquarters | Tanner Row, York James St, York (Depot) |
| Service area | York |
| Service type | Bus |
| Routes | Routes Include York Park and Ride |
| Operator | FirstGroup |
| Web site | www.firstgroup.com |
First York is the largest bus operator in York, England. It is part of First Group, a major bus and train operator with a turnover of nearly £2.5 billion a year and 62,000 employees across the UK and North America.[1] The York depot is in James Street, and maintains a fleet of 106 buses.
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A breakdown of the buses operated by First York is as follows:
2001 and 2002 were significant years, for they marked the arrival of the B7Ls, B6BLEs, B7TLs and Optare Solos - 86 new vehicles in the space of a two year period represented significant investment in the First York fleet. Many buses replaced over the years have been DAF SB220s, both steps entrance and low floor Dennis Darts, Leyland Olympians, Leyland Leopards, Leyland Nationals, Leyland Atlanteans, Scania L113s, Mercedes-Benz 709Ds. For a short while during 2006 First York operated Dennis Tridents from Somerset and also a few Optare Solos before Veolia took over a few routes. A number of Wright Crusader 2s were cascaded to other First companies as newer buses arrived in 2008. The 9 Wright Eclipse Fusion bendibuses have also left the fleet. As of 26 January 2009, 15 articulated Mercedes-Benz Citaros have been introduced to First York's fleet.
There are thirteen colour-coded Overground routes (numbers 1-13) which operate at weekday frequencies of between eight and thirty minutes, and a limited number of other services with less intensive frequencies.[2]
First York also operates the city's Park & Ride network
Between 27 February 2007 and 26 April 2009 , First York operated a service linking the city with Leeds Bradford Airport. This was branded as service 120 York Aircoach/Airlink. It was based on a model and brand successfully used by Aircoach, a sister FirstGroup company operating to and from Dublin Airport.[3] 4 Volvo B10M-62 coaches previously operated by First Coaches and First Trafford Park were acquired for this operation. The coaches were fleet numbered 20461,2,3,4 regeds X191,2,3,4HFB. All wore First Excel coach branding with additional "York Aircoach" branding applied. 20463 has now transferred to First Essex and 20464 is set for transfer to First Cymru. The service was later rebranded as "York Airlink 787" to recognise that coaches were replaced by standard fleet single deckers on the route. This airport route was withdrawn on 26th April 2009 due to low patronage.
Unlike First Companies in many other cities the usage of route branding is somewhat limited on the York fleet. Apart from the heavily branded Park and Ride vehicles and the ftr's on route 4, few if any other vehicles carry route branding. In the past route branding existed on a number of routes including; No.1,5,6,10 and York Aircoaches.
First in York services are:
| No. | Type | From | To | Via | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Line | Wigginton | Chapelfields | City Centre, Acomb | |
| 2 | Green Line Park&Ride |
Rawcliffe Bar | City Centre | Serves Rawcliffe Bar park and ride site. | |
| 3 | White Line Park&Ride |
Askham Bar | City Centre | Serves Askham Bar park and ride site. | |
| 4 | (Ex Turquoise Line) ftr |
University East | Acomb | City Centre | |
| 5 | Orange Line | Strensall | City Centre | Huntington | |
| 5 | Orange Line | Strensall | Acomb Green Lane | Rail Station, Huntington | |
| 6 | Purple Line | Clifton Moor | Osbaldwick | City Centre | |
| 7 | Red Line Park&Ride |
York Designer Outlet | City Centre | Fulford | Serves York Designer Outlet park and ride site. |
| 8 | Yellow Line Park&Ride |
Grimston Bar | City Centre | Serves Grimston Bar park and ride site | |
| 9 | Silver Line Park&Ride |
Monks Cross | City Centre | Serves Monks Cross park and ride site. | |
| 10 | Claret Line | Stamford Bridge | Poppleton | Dunnington, City Centre | Some Journeys Operated by York Pullman |
| 11 | Indigo Line | Ashley Park Bridge | Bishopsthorpe | City Centre, South Bank | |
| 12 | Pink Line | Haxby | Acomb Park | City Centre,- Askham Bar | |
| 13 | Brown Line | Monks Cross | Copmanthorpe | Heworth, City Centre, Askham Bar | |
| 13A | Brown Line | Monks Cross | Copmanthorpe | Heworth Woodlands Grove, City Centre, Askham Bar (York College) | |
| 16 | Grey Line | Station Road | Acomb Green Lane |
York also has its own park and ride service, operated by First York. It was designed to relieve York's overcrowded car parks. These services form a large part of First York's high frequency overground network and are shown in the table above.
First York shuttle buses (Service 197) to and from York Railway Station and the racecourse on racedays only, starting at approximately 11:30 am from over the road from York's railway station, with the last bus departing the racecourse half an hour after the last race. This service is shared between FirstYork, Veolia-Transdev York and York Pullman Bus Company.
In May 2006, First York became the first bus operator in the UK to introduce Volvo/Wright StreetCars as part of the 'ftr' scheme being trialled in the city. A partnership between First Group, Wright Group and City of York Council, ftr is marketed as a "truly groundbreaking service...the future of travel."[4] Eleven articulated StreetCars now operate on the number 4 route which links the University of York, the City Centre and the suburb of Acomb. Each bus can carry 42 seated and 71 standing passengers.
These buses contain a driving compartment separating the 'pilot'(i.e. driver) from the passengers, and will use GPS satellite tracking technology to give traffic light priority to late running buses. Much was made in the marketing of the ftr of the ability to buy 'm-tickets' on mobile phones, and prepaid tickets which can be scanned by the ticket machines. However, the automated ticket system was a failure as there was a high incidence of technical problems, and the machines were taken out of operation and boarded over. As a result, First York was forced to employ further conductors, after a lengthy session of letting people travel for free on their service as a form of compensation, though some think that this was a marketing ploy, to attract more customers to the (then) new service.
The ftr scheme has been largely unpopular with people in York for a number of reasons, such as problems with ticketing, pricing, being late and being excessively long. Protests were especially heated among students and the York University Student Union was engaged in negotiations with First York to introduce student discounts. The University later discussed contracts with York Pullman, which is a smaller firm in the city and as a result of competition, the price of the ticket has dropped significantly.[5]
The ftr scheme has led to extension of bus stop areas to accommodate the length of these vehicles, however in many cases this has been done in contravention of the guidance given in the council's highway design document leading to ftr's blocking the road at keep left bollards, thus causing unnecessary congestion and frustration for other road users. In 2009 First replaced the ftr with conventional buses on evenings and on Sundays.
Following its success at the 2011 local elections, the controlling Labour group on the City of York Council has confirmed that the ftr buses will be replaced.[6]
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