I HOPE that our local council won’t be intimidated by the tabloid press articles grumbling about bus lanes, just as they did about cycle lanes.

Unfortunately, they pander to fear of change that drags us all down if allowed to get out of hand.

We need more and better bus and train transport in all our towns through BCP, and I for one would like to see our council applying for as much central government funding for bus lanes as we can get.

Private security guards 24/7 at Poole bus station and around Westover Road/Bournemouth Square are also essentials.

The town hall has them and so should bus passengers waiting to change buses.

Private cars have been a terrible drain on the public purse for decades with so much taxpayers’ money having to be spent on them.

Car tax barely scratches the surface of paying for the health damage they cost the NHS through pollution and obesity, the expense of building extra lanes and maintaining the damage to roads, let alone the cost of policing drivers through traffic police, traffic lights and traffic orders.

With public transport some walking exercise is guaranteed to and from the bus stop.

We should be taxing cars fairly for what they cost everyone by charging for every mile driven instead of a tiny token annual payment taken as car tax.

Unfortunately, this is seen as far too bold a move politically, so levelling the playing field with some help towards public transport is better than nothing.

Could readers please be sure to let their councillors know what public transport improvements they need locally to them.

As for the park and rides, let’s make sure this becomes reality at Wessex Fields this year well before the summer influx of tourists arrives.

SUSAN STOCKWELL

Britannia Road, Poole