I note the Government's advisers on disabled person's transport claim the new regulations for wheelchairs on buses create no problems for double buggies (Letters, February 2).

Perhaps they are referring to the new design on London's latest double-deckers, where wheelchair users have to access their designated space by using the exit halfway along the bus.

This may work in London, where those with disabilities travel free, but in the provinces concessions from local authorities are less generous and wheelchair users need to pay the driver and board at the front.

Ironically, the advisers justify the extra grab-pole on safety grounds.

When my company operated buses with separate centre exits many years ago, they proved to be too dangerous and there are considerable risks in wheelchairs boarding and alighting where the driver can only observe through mirrors.

I suspect the committee member who saw a mum with a standard double buggy on a bus in Newcastle was on a single-decker, where I accept there is no problem, providing more seats are removed - not popular with elderly people.

The problem comes with double-deck buses, of which we need many in Brighton and Hove to accommodate everyone who travels by bus.

-Roger French, Managing Director, Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company