Seeing the ongoing interest in trolleybuses in these columns prompted me to point out that two cities in France (including Lyons, the second city) are currently renewing their trolleybus fleets in support of their tram routes.

Vehicle builder Irisbus has produced a spectacular new single-deck trolleybus which incorporates all the newest technology at a fraction of the price of new tramcars.

It is available in an articulated version (like London's new Mercedes "bendibuses") as well as in a normal two-axle version.

The investment cost of installing a tram system in Brighton and Hove would be difficult to justify on the grounds of the size of the city and, of course, a tram route once installed is difficult to change.

Why not reap the benefits of clean (at least at street level) electric transport and the existing bus lane infrastructure and use trolleybuses instead?

-Martin Nimmo, Letchworth Close, Bromley, Kent