Thursday, June 29, 2006
Lapdog local "news"paper fails on ftr breakdown
This is the website for our local newspaper, as the price for democracy is eternal vigilance we must indeed be grateful for having watchdogs such as these to be on the lookout for information which may concern us.
I am yet to blog about the ftr the “Future of travel”, Drinking from home mentions them here. It is a huge bendy bus capable of carrying a massive 37 passengers all at once. The introduction of these white elephants has been subsidised by the poor taxpayer, at the very least in terms of unnecessary, (but for the ftr) road works and who knows what else? Their introduction has also been controversial for their huge size, poor carrying capacity, lack of passengers and useless fare payment options.
You would expect then that when one breaks down after scarcely being used, that the story and pictures would be of interest to the local “news”paper. You’d be wrong, this particular ftr happened to break down and was spotted on the evening of Wednesday 28th of June 2006. An informant offered these pictures to the “news”paper; they did not even receive the courtesy of a reply. So they’ve allowed me to post them on this site, the images are copyright and may not be used without permission. They also informed me that passing motorists were keen to offer helpful advice such as “scrap it” to the recovery agent.
Look at the size of the vehicle and the recovery truck; fortunately the ftr has broken down on a residential street after the evening rush hour. What chaos would have been caused had it happened at 8am in the centre of town?
I can’t imagine why the local “news”paper wasn’t interested in the story perhaps they already have pictures and another informant (but lack of publication so far suggests not), although I suspect they have an agenda of being nice to the council no matter what they foist upon the taxpayer. With these lapdogs to defend democracy there’s no danger at all to our rights and liberties.
| On first approaching, the infromant thought the ftr was just stopped and it appeared the pilot (as they’re no longer bus drivers) was taking a break, the observer then realised the pilot wasn’t in the “cockpit” and the ftr wasn’t at an authorised stopping point The pilot was later located in the rear of the ftr. Had he abandoned it, no doubt the local residents would have shown their appreciation. |
| Rear view, showing ftr well beyond the authorised stop. |
| Side view showing removal of side panels. Has a roadside repair of the ftr been attempted? Note also the England flag placed on the vehicle, I think this is a cynical "jelly bellied flag flapping" exercise to try to make the ftr popular and liked. It isn’t working. |
 | Finally the recovery truck arrives, the livery suggests it is based in Doncaster, a long way to come for a broken down bus. |
 | The “hero” ftr pilot assists in preparing the ftr for its best journey yet. You can make out his white coloured shirt towards the front of the ftr. |
 | The ftr reaches a previously unassailable height. |
 | The ftr is ready for flight. Actually it looks like the ftr is about to "mount" the recovery truck and thus do to it what it does to the poor council tax payer. |
 | Another ftr arrives on scene; thank goodness no one needs an ambulance. No obstruction to the highway here. |
It then became too dark for further images although I’m informed that Volvo (who apparently make some of the ftr (remember that if possibly purchasing their products)) came out to it. I’m informed the vehicle was still on the road at about 10:30pm
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