Sir – Last Saturday I travelled by X3 bus to Abingdon and back through all that settling snow. The buses themselves coped with the conditions admirably, in spite of the absence of snowploughs and gritters: there were no problems with traction or with braking, and the drivers moderated their speed appropriately and displayed heroic courtesy to all. What prevented buses getting through on their normal routes — and made each leg of my journey take more than an hour — were slithering private cars, inexperienced and ill-prepared drivers, jackknifed lorries and the inevitable accidents they all caused.
On arriving back in Oxford, the Abingdon Road was gridlocked with stationary private cars conspicuously failing to reach their destinations. Had private motorists taken heed of copious public advice to leave the car at home last Saturday and taken the bus instead, I am certain the bus companies could have operated a more or less normal service. Last Saturday's road chaos was as much a monument to narrow-minded motorist self interest as to adverse weather.
Robin Gill, Headington
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