SO it is finally here, the so-called future of travel.

After spending £1.3 million on altering the road infrastructure to accommodate the ftr bus, this is what City of York Council has presented us with - an even heavier, more polluting diesel-engined bus to increase congestion and chaos.

Can I be the only one that finds it incredible that 75 bus stops have been very expensively altered to enable easier disabled access to a bus that can only accommodate one wheelchair at a time?

What was needed was a "Hoppa"-sized fleet with a more environmentally friendly fuel source.

As ftr is obviously not the future of travel, perhaps the designation of ftr is to be taken in a different context. Perhaps it is an instruction to drivers, sorry pilots, of this bus to "forget the road" as they mount kerbs and footpaths along the route. Or possibly, because of this off roading ability, ftr could become "First's toe remover".

Alternatively, ftr will have the same designation as some London buses called "free to ride" because of the payment difficulties encountered together with the ease of evasion. This vehicle is a "far too ridiculous" money wasting farce.

M Warters,

Yew Tree Mews,

Osbaldwick Village, York.

Updated: 10:16 Thursday, May 04, 2006