A NEW problem has emerged for York's "superbus" - its doors keep shutting on people.

At least one woman says she has been trapped inside the electronic doors of an ftr due to glitches in the operating system.

Rachel Lacy, 33, was trying to get off a FTR near her home in the Heslington Road area when the doors shut on her shoulders and arms.

On another occasion she stepped off the vehicle to find a ramp was moving back upwards, causing her to trip on to the pavement.

First bus said it was aware of the problem of doors suddenly shutting - but insisted it was caused by people wrongly pressing the emergency buttons.

Ms Lacy, a mother of one, said: "On Tuesday I was waiting to get off the back of the bus, while other people were getting off at the front.

"But when I stepped through the doors, it shut on me and trapped my shoulders inside with quite strong pressure, before opening again.

"There was a conductor on the bus, who just stared at me, and didn't come over to see if I was all right."

Ms Lacy, who suffered bruises on both arms, said a bus driver who had just finished his shift got off the ftr and checked she was OK.

Describing the second incident, she said: "Last Saturday I was waiting to get off at the back - but when the FTR stopped, only the front door opened. "By the time people walked to the front of the bus, that door had shut, so the driver opened them again.

"When I stepped off there was a little ramp, which was moving back into the bus at the time, and this threw me off into the street.

"But the bus driver drove off without saying anything.

"I don't have a problem with ftr in general, but I think the doors are dangerous and the company ought to sort them out before someone is badly hurt.

"I never pressed an emergency button, and I think it's due to problems with their electric system."

But Peter Edwards, First operations director, said: "It is possible for passengers to press the emergency door control from outside and inside the ftr.

"If other people are pressing a button, then the driver presses his control, the door will momentarily open then close again.

"We are working on a modification to the doors, so that won't happen, and that should be in place before too long. But the doors do not put a lot of pressure on people, so we have not had any reports of passengers being hurt."

Updated: 11:32 Friday, May 19, 2006