Outmoded bikes

Don’t punish coach Thanks, drivers

Why does this country seem to be hell-bent on punishing the coach whenever a sports team loses an important match?

Within seconds of the All Blacks’ loss to Ireland last weekend, we inevitably started hearing ‘‘forecasts’’, from the public and the media, about Steve Hansen ‘‘considering his future’’. Within minutes, rumours were spreading about his ability to carry on. Based on what? Gossip? Prejudice? Surely not on his consistently proven ability as a coach.

National sports teams are made up of players who’ve been considered good enough to represent their country. Coaches are appointed on their knowledge of the game, and their ability to improve the performance of the players. But it’s the players who will ultimately be the ones charged with winning the game.

So why is it that the coach is always the first to be slated when things don’t go according to plan? How can a coach be expected to know what tricks the opposition might have up their sleeves? If a player makes a ‘‘wrong’’ move because, despite all the team’s planned attacks, an opposition player suddenly gets in the way, why punish the coach because the other team was ahead when the final whistle blew?

Daphne Tobin, Aotea [abridged] There have been frequent complaints about the Wellington bus service, but for people around Owhiro Bay there is a half-hour bus service up to Brooklyn, and in between times a half-hour service back to Newtown. The service here is better than it has ever been, so the planners have done something right.

The drivers show considerable skill in driving a vehicle the size of a railway carriage around the hilly suburbs of Wellington, and they know that it requires total concentration every minute of the journey. They also know that you cannot drive a bus with brain in neutral, and their effort should be acknowledged. A 51⁄2-hour shift without a break seems unreasonable.

If fares were raised by say 10 per cent (or possibly 50 cents), with the amount given entirely to the drivers, would that be enough to give them a 10 per cent pay rise? If not, then could the managers please tell us how far it would go towards a rise? Donald Beswick, Brooklyn When are people like Dave Armstrong (Wellington cycle plans are on the right track, Nov 20) going to realise that cycling as a means of transport, as opposed to recreation, was superceded when the car was invented 130 years ago.

Bikes are severely compromised in bad weather, for carrying anything significant, in hilly terrain (e-bikes excepted) and downright dangerous in today’s cities for everyone trying to get about. We can’t turn back the clock and it is unreasonable to waste millions of dollars trying to do so for a small percentage of stalwarts.

It is like promoting a return to candles over electricity on sustainability or environmental grounds – never mind that the light output is hopeless and they cause fires.

Pete Jenkins, Whitby