Richard Bowen asked if York’s bus services can be improved, before any proposals to ban private cars in the city centre become a reality (Letters, January 2). Unfortunately we have a chicken and egg scenario here, where bus service reliability cannot be improved until there are fewer private car journeys, coupled with more bus lanes and priority at signalled junctions.

It must be a daily nightmare for bus controllers to try and prevent bunching, turnarounds short of destination and other delays which are encountered. Transport for London no longer operate buses to a timetable but try to maintain an advertised frequency. All their fleet has GPS tracking which enables a live overview and appropriate decision-making to be made.

I looked in vain at Julian Sturdy’s New Year message for some commitment to public transport, walking and cycling. Instead he wants to encourage more car use on widened roads, which will inevitably become as congested as existing ones.

Paul Hepworth,

Windmill Rise, Holgate