The council is considering abolishing travel tokens for the over-60s because, they say, they can save lots of money by this deprivation.

I suppose that's because those who prefer the tokens won't bother to have a bus pass, hereby saving even more in bus fares.

We don't use the buses, for a number of reasons. They are inconvenient, unreliable, often grubby, overcrowded and a lot of the drivers are extremely inconsiderate to the needs of passengers. They won't wait for people to be seated - that's assuming there are any seats to be sat upon. How parents with young children, a pushchair and shopping manage is difficult to imagine.

That aside, the buses don't go where, or when, we want to go. On making inquiries a little while ago, I was told that what would be a ten-minute car journey to the hospital would take approximately one-and-a-half hours by bus, with a walk across town to Exhibition Square. No contest. We use our car.

The travel tokens were our train fare to Manchester Airport when we went on holiday, and are a lot more use to us than an unusable bus pass, which seems to have enormous limitations, such as a person can travel only at certain times of day.

If a person prefers a bus pass, that's fine, but for those who don't want, or can't use, a bus pass, the tokens should still be available. The amount was already reduced from £50 to £40 a few years ago, even though the cost of travel has escalated.

Other areas that the council is considering reducing their costs are those that affect the elderly and the vulnerable.

Perhaps if these councillors cut down on their expenses it would go a considerable way to saving the money they say they desperately need.

Janet S Kitchen-Cooper, Ashley Park Road, York.


A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "The proposal not to offer travel tokens next year as part of the council's Concessionary Travel scheme is one of a number of proposals that the council is currently consulting on to balance its budgets.

"Travel tokens have been provided by the council for a number of years as an alternative to bus passes for the elderly and disabled.

"There has been a gradual decline in the use of tokens in recent years and, with the introduction of the national bus travel concessionary scheme from April, it is expected that there will be a further significant transfer by token users to bus passes."