Colin Smith (Oxford Mail letters, May 20) complains about road traffic but offers no solutions.

Colin claims operators run as many buses off-peak as in peak hours. They do not.

Oxford’s Bus Quality Partnership is developing joint timetables to minimise the running of competing buses close together.

On main routes on Banbury, Cowley, Iffley and London Roads smaller numbers of double-deckers will replace single-deckers.

All new buses will reduce noxious emissions and Stagecoach’s hybrids will emit much less CO2.

Colin dismisses trams but offers no evidence. Trams get millions of people out of cars. A third of Nottingham Express Transit (NET) tram passengers use park & rides.

Trams serving Manchester, Sheffield, Croydon, Birmingham and Wolverhampton have cut car journeys by 10-12 million per year. Trams save millions of litres of fuel imports and thousands of tonnes of air pollution each year.

Trams and buses together attract more passengers than buses alone.

When NET opened, it drew passengers from buses, but within five years Nottingham’s total bus use recovered to pre-tram levels and total public transport trips per year on NET’s route corridor rose from six to 10 million.

A recession is no reason to delay building new tramways. Trams last twice as long as buses so they are better value.

Our new coalition promises to “reform the way decisions are made on which transport projects to prioritise, so that the benefits of low carbon proposals (including light rail schemes) are fully recognised”. Let us hold both coalition parties to that.

Hugh Jaeger, Oxford Chairman, Bus Users UK