I have to disagree with Peter James (Letters, May 28). As a motorist who wanted to reduce my carbon footprint, I find I no longer need my car in Brighton.

Far from being a "ridiculous bus lane" the London Road bus lane has given me a reliable bus service, which gets me into town quickly, comfortably and regularly. As for "searching for a bus" there are websites such as traveline.info which help you plan your journey door to door with ease and various phone enquiry lines.

As a motorist I do not feel like the victim of any council vendetta. It feels like responsible action to ensure we have a decent public transport system that people choose to use. It also benefits hugely the many who have no choice but to use buses and trains.

Without bus priority we'd be stuck in a vicious circle of slow, unreliable bus journeys, fewer passengers and more cars on the road. That would be totally irresponsible in the face of the environmental impact of congestion and pollution.

We have freedom to drive whenever we want to. But as a motorist I don't expect my freedoms to take precedence over the need to minimise the impact of traffic. Neither do my friends, who love coming to Brighton.

Most are delighted to choose the train as a less stressful option and the others are willing to accept the parking restrictions.

As for yobs on the trains, you're just as likely to find them in multi-storey car parks or waging road rage.

Brighton is not alone in recognising that you cannot go on catering for unlimited traffic growth. This is happening in towns and cities all over Britain - and even in Los Angeles, where the car has been worshipped as nowhere else on this planet, cars are being reined in and public transport networks rapidly built to tackle traffic nightmares.

John Richards
Varndean Road,
Brighton