‘Nevertheless change in private car use is needed, and the sooner the better for us all’

• I WAS a little surprised to see the muted reactions to my suggestion that we must get rid of all private cars as soon as possible, (Letters, August 17).

I sympathise with Marcia MacLeod, who has an allotment far from her home, and can only suggest she finds one that’s closer if possible, (Anti-car? Join me on the allotment).

Or I see bicycles fitted with large carrying baskets or trailers which would help her transport things. It won’t be easy but air pollution from cars is truly a matter of life and death for us all.

As for Richard Walker’s comment (Check the government figures on road casualties) on my use of imprecise car deaths and injuries data, he is correct: I just gave the headline number of road deaths and injuries, and private cars are only responsible for about 81 per cent of that number.

But that is still 1,216 deaths caused by people moving around in their cars, almost four people killed every day. I

Big changes will be needed for people living in many areas of London, especially in the suburbs where homes occupy more land, so shops and other communal facility are often quite distant making shoppers face a major trek not a 10-minute walk with a trolley.

But delivery services are now relatively cheap and available in much of the metropolis, so that is a viable option. And perhaps there is a positive benefit: maybe some parts of the sprawling suburbs will become mini-shopping centres, even community hubs?

And London mayor Sadiq Khan has just announced Transport for London’s Superloop network: buses offering quicker and cheaper connections between suburban areas, although cars will still be clogging the routes so the initial benefits will be limited. But it’s a step in the right direction.

Nevertheless change in private car use is needed, and the sooner the better for us all.

DAVID REED, NW3