Letter: Time to stop dithering and follow Europe's lead in curbing the car

Sir: I have just returned from a visit to the Far East and read your leading article (25 March) promoting curbs on 'the four-wheeled menace'.

This is in interesting contrast to a cutting from the Bangkok Post that I brought back which reports that the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou (formerly Canton) has declared war on the bicycle. The city's chief engineer told a conference in Hong Kong that bicycles are blamed for much of the city's crippling congestion and they planned to slash the number of bicycles in the city from three million to one million 'to clear the streets to make way for cars'.

Yours faithfully,

DAVID SHAMASH

London, WC2

25 March