Why extend bus lane times to ease congestion when the buses are to blame?

Richard Hall, managing director of Lothian Buses, wants the operating times of bus lanes to be extended (“Congestion sparks call for city bus lane hours to be extended”, The Scotsman, 29 December). He wants this to ease the “gridlock” that he says is gripping Edinburgh.

Mr Hall makes no mention of the fact that the city is absolutely flooded with buses, very many of which are half-full at best.

The sheer number of users cause their own congestion in large parts of the city centre.

Also, the city’s roads department (or whatever fancy title they are operating under currently) do not help the situation with poorly-adjusted traffic lights and impositions such as the current lunatic one-way scheme at Abbeyhill. This is allegedly to cope with the longterm closure of Leith Street, in itself a highly questionable decision.

I would also like Mr Hall, or anyone else, to explain to the people of Edinburgh and its surrounding towns why bus lanes are required coming out of the city in the morning and going into town in the evening?

That is a completely illogical and thoughtless rule that only frustrates the motorists and causes unnecessary congestion, delays and pollution.

Some joined-up thinking might be more beneficial than yet another ban on our freedoms.

DAVID K ALLAN Hopper Gardens, Newcraighall

Richard Hall of Lothian buses rightly condemns the strangulation of the city centre by excessive traffic, but his proposed solution merely alleviates the symptom when we should be addressing the cause.

There is an obvious answer. Edinburgh should adopt measures already in place in Perth, Australia and Seattle in the United States – and even in Alexandria, Virginia, which is hardly a hotbed of socialist transport planning.

We already have bus passes for the over-60s. Why not extend this privilege to every citizen and residents in outlying areas? This would immediately reduce the volume of private traffic on the city’s main routes and encourage commuters to leave their cars at home. As an extra sweetener, buses, taxis, and emergency vehicles could travel in their reserved lanes at 30mph, while the 20mph limit could be retained for other vehicles.

It would also enable Edinburgh to operate within the legal limits of hazardous NO2 and CO2 pollution which it is currently breaching, at some cost to the NHS.

DAVID J BLACK St Giles Street, Edinburgh