By strange coincidence, in the late 1980s my family moved from Rougham, a village in Suffolk about five miles from Bury St Edmunds, to Harbottle, a small village in Northumberland around seven miles from the nearest bus stop. I therefore feel moved to respond to Mervyn Ellis and John Pelling (Letters, 4 September). Of course, electric scooters are not a viable transport solution for people living in such circumstances, though adequate public transport will help (my mother took the bus to the market in Bury as she did not drive). However, nearly half the population live in cities or large or medium towns, where it is eminently possible to eliminate car use or reduce it to the level where car club membership or the occasional use of taxis are cheaper than owning a rarely used car.
As a doctor, by necessity I use a lot of single-use plastic. It is false to argue that because there will always be a need for sterile syringes, it is impossible to cut down on plastic use elsewhere. It is similarly false to argue that because some people will always need cars, no one should be encouraged to do without one.
Dr Chris Howell
Newcastle upon Tyne
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.
