Sir – It appears that city and county are now in full flight from the idea of reducing bus numbers along the High Street, frightened by the understandable public reaction against even larger buses operating from hubs near the centre. It will not be long before people also realise that present plans to relocate bus stops from Queen Street merely move the chaos elsewhere.

Oxford depends upon tens of thousands travelling in from suburbs and satellite towns such as Abingdon, Bicester and Witney each day.

The state of the city centre will not be improved until all their transport problems, with their slow journeys, pollution, and poor connections in the city centre, are seriously addressed. Setting up local rail services using existing and recently abandoned lines has the potential, together with key light rail lines that have priority over other road users, such as in Manchester, Nottingham and most large continental cities, to revolutionise the situation.

Where they have been introduced, tramways have usually doubled the numbers of those using public transport, and the same can be expected in Oxford.

The transport system needs to be designed to make maximum use of such fast transit lines, with good bus connections and park-and-ride sites at stops along them.

Many travel times could be halved, with huge savings, while at the same time providing a more restful journey, free of jolts at each pothole, traffic calming measure and roadside drain.

There would be one ticketing system using machines at stops with attractive shelters and level transfer into the trams, benefiting the disabled and those with baby buggies.

The exclusive use of lines running through the city centre, like today’s park-and-ride services 300 and 400, would eliminate the need for the bus parks that disfigure so many of the city’s streets.

Dr Andrew M. Pritchard North Hinksey