When we moved to Sheffield in 1974, I was amazed to find that it cost only 7p to travel the three miles into the city centre by bus, and that the service was so frequent (The Guardian view on fare-free public transport: good for people as well as the planet, 7 January). When I commented on this to my colleague Jeff Chapman, a South Yorkshire councillor, he explained that the aim was to make it a free service for everyone. Margaret Thatcher’s government put paid to that, of course. Sheffield’s roads are now jammed with traffic at peak times, which, despite bus lanes, slows their progress. And, without concessions, fares are many times more expensive than in the early 1970s.
But don’t underestimate the difficulty in getting people out of their cars and on to public transport. There was plenty of resistance 50 years ago from middle-class motorists in Sheffield, who objected to subsidising the buses through local tax income. It will be even harder now that cars are designed to cosset their occupants and isolate them from the outside world. On the other hand, today there is a greater recognition of the impact of motor traffic on climate, pollution and safety.
Also, travelling by public transport is generally more relaxing. It is, after all, a “hands-free” form of motoring, that doesn’t require sophisticated technology.
John Kirkwood
Sheffield
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