YOUR article "Transport boss angry at clamour over bus" (May 17) , shows clearly that Peter Edwards and Ann Reid still do not understand what they have done to the people and road users of York.

The problem is not the bus. The clamour is because it has been brought to the unspoiled, ancient, but very busy roads of York, without any clear thought of the effects, to say nothing of the lack of consultation.

Your letters indicate that the proper response should be to take it away from York before it does any more damage. It might do very well on the wide, straight roads of Milton Keynes, on Brighton seafront, or Leeds; you can have ftr now.

Then they should introduce small single-deck buses which can get into the city centre where increasing numbers of older people need to get to markets and shops. Bus companies in Manchester and some other big cities have done just that, at frequent intervals and cheaply.

In Saltzburg and Prague, there are ancient trams and trolley-buses; in Leipzig and Amsterdam, buses small enough to get into the squares and winding streets; they blend with the architecture and tourists seem to love them.

Mr Edwards may have difficulty convincing his directors to bring back trams, but he could bring some London Routemaster buses to York at a fraction of the cost of his ftr. They would be very popular, I suspect.

There has been a failure of imagination on the part of First Bus and the city transport committee.

Coun Steve Galloway says the ftr deserves public support. On the contrary, the people of York deserve better from their elected representatives.

J Pearson, Orrin Close, York.