BRISTOL City Council should know whether it can swap bendy buses for a light tram system by the autumn.

Ultra Light Rail is essentially a tram that can run on branch rail lines and roads, is environmentally friendly and does not require electrification.

Unlike trams, the tracks can be laid down on road surfaces, which means roads don't have to be dug up to make it work, and overhead electric cables are not needed.

Currently, the West of England Partnership – which includes the city council and its three neighbouring local authorities – has government funding bids in for £288 million of bendy bus routes across Bristol.

But, as previously reported in the Evening Post, the city council believes the Coalition Government is keener on ULR than the bendy bus Rapid Transit System and so is considering a switch.

If Bristol introduced urban ULR it would be the first city in the country to do so, although a small scale operation runs on one rail line in Stourbridge in the West Midlands.