Your piece about bus driver morale (The Argus, February 12) stirred up a bit of a hornets’ nest, especially online.

Too many people have been quick to jump to their keyboards to criticise our drivers just as there are many ill-informed comments on your story.

This was about internal matters but let me state that I am very proud of our drivers. They are rightly recognised as being among the best in the country. Last year our independent rating from the Government watchdog Passenger Focus moved back up to 91%.

I will defend the excellent record of all our staff and, when things aren’t right, as a responsible manager, I will address those issues too.

We have more than 800 drivers and the number of disciplinary awards made is tiny compared with this number.

Most of the time, most of our people are doing an excellent job, providing the essential travel our city needs, despite the challenging conditions they face.

Martin Harris, managing director, Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company