LETTER:Pavement politics will get us nowhere

From Mr Saul Billingsley

Sir: So the Revolutionary Pedestrians' Front has declared war on the "cult of the motor car" ("Pedestrians' Lib takes shine off new Alfa", 5 June).

I wonder whether it has occurred to these latterday Luddites that membership of the "car cult" numbers some 30 million people - all are pedestrians, many are also cyclists and public transport users.

Cars are an integral part of our society. For many people, they provide an essential means of independence and allow access to a range of economic and leisure activities.

The difficult trick for modern transport planners is to balance this dependence on the car with attractive alternatives that will reduce car use.

Looking for new ways of financing clean and reliable public transport, developing roadside technology that can improve traffic flow on existing roads, arguing for realisable environmental improvements with on-board and external emissions monitoring: these are all constructive contributions to improving Britain's transport network.

The ludicrous Revolutionary Pedestrians' Front and the rest of the naive tendency should stop throwing paint and start helping the grown-ups to find real solutions to our transport needs.

Yours sincerely

SAUL BILLINGSLEY

Parliamentary Officer

RAC Motoring Services

London, SW1

5 June