LETTER: Too long in the dark

From Mr Simon Norton

Sir: Nicholas Bond (Letters; "Time-consuming exercise", 27 November) suggests that, as an alternative to moving our clocks, we should change the times of opening for our schools and workplaces.

The trouble is that much of our public transport system, especially in rural areas, is determined by the schedules for school and works buses, and to move these around depending on the time of year will cause even more disruption to other passengers than the consequences of deregulation. Daylight-saving time is the only reasonable way round this problem.

On weekdays, our starting times for leisure trips are restricted not only by available transport but also by the restrictions for off-peak fares (currently after 10am for Network Card holders in the relevant area).

On Sundays, we are free to travel when we wish, but services start so much later that we may not have enough time for what we want to do.

Yours sincerely,

Simon Norton

Cambridge

27 November