Alec Acomb of Nether Poppleton must have had some frustrating car journeys into York (Red flag motoring, Letters, December 17). Why he chooses to blame pedal cyclists for this situation is beyond me. Suburban residents who choose to car share, walk, cycle or hop on a bus, have helped to stave off gridlock and excessive pollution in York for many years.

By contrast, some 60 per cent of peak car trips in York are of similar short distance. The majority are single occupancy, and are parked up all day.

That does little to help the movement of buses, taxis, servicing and deliveries, plus essential car users such as those with blue badges.

York is but one of many UK cities who are using legal powers and grants from central Government to encourage some voluntary switch from car use.

Current expenditure includes new infrastructure, child and adult training, secure parking and encouragement of cycling through schools and workplaces. The local cycle lobby in York supports this, but did not initiate it.

Your correspondent suggests that cyclists should be ignored, until they also “pay taxes to use the roads”.

I beg to remind readers, for the umpteenth time, that the Government is merely taxing a popular activity, to raise funds for the Chancellor. The income is not ring-fenced for roads.

Most is spent on anything from Third World aid to nuclear missiles. A minuscule amount, incidentally, finds its way into the Highways Agency budget, along with contributions from VAT, income tax, etc.

This funds motorways, which cyclists can’t use, plus trunk roads like the A64, which most cyclists avoid like the plague.

York’s local highways are maintained and repaired with council tax income to the tune of some £8 million a year.

Most householders contribute to that, regardless of their transport choices.

Paul Hepworth, Windmill Rise, Holgate, York.