Public transport is not for the faint-hearted. It certainly isn't suitable for the elderly and disabled.

Walking to the bus stop in the rain, standing at a bus stop trying to dodge the skateboards and scooters, sharing a bus with anti-social passengers, carrying shopping bags home from the bus - all of these activities are best suited to those who are nimble, strong and capable of defending themselves.

For an elderly or disabled person, public transport means misery, inconvenience - and danger. That's why they rely on people to give them lifts to important appointments, or pay out of their own pockets for taxis. But not everyone has the financial resources, or other people available to chauffeur them around. And they shouldn't have to rely on the goodwill of family, friends or neighbours - they have a right to be independent.

The Free Travel Scheme should be expanded or amended to include a Government contract with taxi firms, enabling the elderly and disabled to use their Bus Passes for taxi journeys. A limit could be set on the monthly mileage and number of taxi journeys (eg, 20 taxi round-trips per month, each journey twenty miles max).

And leave the bus to the young, able-bodied people.