OVER the past six months I have approached relevant local tradesmen with requests to carry out the following tasks: a. Paint the eaves of my property.

b. Build me a step from my property into my garden.

c. Fit a new tap in my bathroom.

d. Carry out a repair to the bodywork of my car.

e. Re-plaster the ceiling of my kitchen.

Despite providing quotes for these jobs, none of the above tradesmen have made contact with me. Is this lack of enthusiasm just in York or is it becoming nationwide?

RD, Clifton Moor, York

Cyclists look the part but they don’t act it

I WAS walking into Piccadilly from Pavement when a pair of cyclists resplendent in their matching cycles and matching gear scattered a gaggle of older ladies as they crossed the road (against the red ‘don’t walk’ light).

The abuse meted out to these ladies by the man on the cycle was totally unnecessary and out of order. It is no good dressing the part (of a cyclist ) if you don’t have the decency to act the part. We all should live and let live, be more tolerant of others and make allowances for other people’s mistakes, not behave towards others as if there is a war going on between cyclists, pedestrians and other road users.

D M Deamer, Penley’s Grove Street, Monkgate, York

Even non-drivers pay for our roads

KEITH Chapman suggested (Letters September 22) that bus travel is cheaper than train travel, because the latter has high infrastructure costs for maintenance, repair and upgrades.

This begs the question of whether the true cost of road upkeep, plus hidden costs such as policing and collision repercussions, are truly borne by road users. If they were, I suspect that driving motor vehicles would become far more expensive.

Vehicle Excise Duty (wrongly called “Road Tax” by some) contributes to roads managed by Highways England viz motorways plus strategic trunk roads like the A64. General national taxation tops this up. Other roads are managed by Local Authorities, like City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council. Much of their expenditure comes from Council Tax. So even non-drivers contribute to these direct costs.

Perhaps the time is ripe to replace all this by a national “pay as you drive” scheme.

In urban areas, this could be a useful tool for damping down optional car use, for many short journeys.

Paul Hepworth, Windmill Rise, Holgate, York

Lack of nobility raises tax question

CAN I withhold the portion of my income tax that contributes to Tory MPs’ salaries until the Government shows “some nobility of purpose?”

Rod Bell, Chatsworth Terrace, York