Sir – There is a simple and effective way to regulate the use of the park-and-ride car parks; charge for parking and make the buses free. Not only would this encourage families and groups to use the buses rather than drive into town, it would remove the subsidy to London commuters and redress the balance with rail travellers who must pay a high price to park at stations. It might even reduce the number of buses adding to congestion on the capital’s roads.

The present illogical arrangement is a hangover from local government reorganisation in the 1970s that left ownership and profits from car parks with the district councils such as Oxford city, but gave on-street parking, bus subsidies and transport policy to the new counties.

Not surprisingly, this was a recipe for disagreement and infighting especially as the city council strove to recapture the powers exercised by the old county borough. The new city council developed car parks outside the city limits with contributions from developers, whilst the county council passed on central Government loans and grants to them and the bus services ran independently and profitably. The recognition by Parliament that the larger county councils are more suited to running comprehensive services for their areas has been frustrated for too long. Surely the time has come for the anomaly that has subsidised London bus commuters to be corrected.

Technology now exists for the weight of passengers and luggage on a bus to be recorded automatically for which the company could be paid from the parking receipts. As an interim measure, a tear-off slip for up to five passengers for the journey to the city could be issued with the parking ticket, to be presented to the bus driver in the same way as any other bus pass.

James Fletcher, Wootton, nr Woodstock