Letter: Cars of the future

Sir: On one page of The Independent of 5 January we read that the Government is refusing to support a Private Member's Bill to reduce road traffic levels, and on another we read that fare rises above inflation are being applied to a London Underground system which is falling apart.

Tony Blair once said: "We must not demonise the car." So I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that his government is burying its head in the sand over the balance between public and private transport. Regularly we see the PM and senior ministers gliding short distances around central London in big black cars. Would it not be a good idea for Tony Blair to surprise us one day by walking or catching a bus from Downing Street to the Houses of Parliament?

NICHOLAS MURRAY

Presteigne, Powys