A ROLLING repair programme will see York's ftr buses get a hi-tech makeover.

But transport bosses at bus giant First said today passengers will not notice a thing.

All 12 of the city's fleet of purple bendy buses will be driven off to Leeds where engineers will put the finishing touches to the vehicles.

Most of the changes are technical, involving on-board electronics and pipe work, and are designed to make the buses more "robust in service".

First commercial director Peter Edwards, said: "These buses were a new development, and during the course of the buses' service the manufacturers have identified various jobs they want to do across the fleet.

"They got those jobs together into a list and set aside time to do a concerted campaign'.

"A lot of the changes will be invisible, under the hood - technical alterations to make the vehicles more robust in service. None are safety critical."

The buses will each spend a week in Leeds for the engineering work. They will go one after the other, and James Street-based First has drafted in an extra bus from Leeds to keep the York fleet at full strength.

The rolling programme of work started two weeks ago, and is set to take another two months.

Mr Edwards said: "There are 12 ftr buses in York, of which we require 11 on a daily basis, with one spare. We now have an extra bus from Leeds while the York buses go backwards and forwards for the next eight weeks."

November marks six months since the ftr first hit the streets of York. The buses have been dogged with complaints from some commuters about the reliability of ticket machines, and "bunching" on the bus network, but First say they are working to solve "teething troubles" with the vehicle, and today Mr Edwards pledged: "They are here to stay."