Readers' letters - May 12

The answer to poor public transport, congestion, and pollution is to make public transport (buses) free of charge to all users.

The driver would not need to collect fares, resulting in quicker boarding and shorter journey times.

New buses could have more doors.

More people using the buses would mean more buses – a service every few minutes instead of every hour, or half hour.

More people using the buses would mean fewer cars on the road, resulting in less congestion and even shorter journey times.

Fewer cars means less pollution, and reduced infrastructure and road maintenance costs.

The net cost would be met out of taxation, presumably council tax, meaning everyone pays (perhaps with the exception of those with no reasonable access to a bus service).

Even those who through choice, or necessity, choose to use their own vehicles, benefit from shorter journey times, and more available parking.

Steven Wood

Address supplied

Stop being dirty man of Europe

Successive governments have directed taxpayers’ cash to prop up fossil fuels which poison our air and trash our commitments to cut climate-changing emissions, despite

promises to phase out polluting technologies entirely.

This hypocrisy must stop.

The next Government must end all fossil fuel subsidies and guarantee that the coal industry will not receive Government funds in the future.

The UK must not again become the dirty man of Europe.

Earlier this year we celebrated the first day where the UK was powered entirely without coal – and there are huge opportunities to increase green energy production if the next Government commits to long-term investment in

jobs and infrastructure that will support a future powered by clean, renewable energy.

Simon Bowens and Kierra Box

Friends of

the Earth

Learn lessons from history

If the Tories win the election on June 8 – which I think is highly likely – it might just convince Jeremy Corbyn

that he’s got to go and make way for someone more moderate in the party for Labour to stand a chance.

It spent 18 years in opposition due to being way to the left of where most of the electorate were and only got re-elected because it reclaimed the centre ground which, in the late 1990s, was crowded space because the Tories and Lib Dems were also there.

What baffles me is the party’s inability to learn the lessons of history.

Adrian F Sunman

Address

supplied

Let interviewees answer, Piers

One of the worst interviewers of guests on TV is Piers Morgan.

On two occasions this week he was putting questions to members of two different political parties and butted in the whole time – in fact one of the guests was so exasperated, he just gave

up and ended his efforts to reply.

Edna Levi

via email