MY bus was delayed by about ten minutes as passengers were still boarding until moments before we set off.

Perhaps the bus company would care to comment as to why the bus keeps its engine running all the time. Surely the buses batteries are capable of powering the lights for a few minutes while the bus is stationary. No power was used to open or close the bus door while we waited; the door remained open.

The volume of green house gases that a bus pumps out over ten-minutes waiting period will exceed the amount of carbon dioxide that my small, well-maintained car will produce during my journey to town and back.

Allowing for the environmental lobby over-stating their case, is there some good reason for waiting buses to keep their engines running as I have described?

John Savage,

Newlands Drive, York.