Mayor of London Sadiq Khan

• TYPICAL Tory tactics, attacking the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan over attempts to make neighbourhoods safer and cleaner for all by controlling car use, (Tories on the attack over controversial traffic plan, October 3).

Cars are dangerous, especially in the hands of the average idiot driver: 102 people were killed and 3,859 were seriously injured and another 23,246 slightly injured, according to Transport for London data, in 2022.

Cars also pollute the air we all breathe and, especially in London, are unnecessary for most journeys. And I am not sure how convenient their use is either.

There are traffic jams on almost every road in the city, day and night, so journeys are long and boring.

As TfL says: buses are “Faster than a Ferrari”, thanks to bus lanes (often blocked by parked cars).

But the recent set of car-free events were chaotic. The one in Hampstead was cancelled at the last moment, and they took a lot of faff to arrange.

Next time why don’t we have a free-bus day, where all travel is free of charge on London buses?

That might show a few of the car drivers how much easier and simpler their routine journeys can be. Most properties are within a few minutes of a bus stop and the walk would do you good too!

Also, it’s half a century since Which? consumer magazine showed people that unless you actually had to use a car every day – for whatever reason including personal mobility issues – it was financially much more sensible to not own one that’s sitting outside 95 per cent of the time going nowhere. And more sensible to hire cars for the odd weekends or for holidays as desired.

Oh, did I forget to mention the massive environmental impact cars have, and that includes the generation of electricity for those heavy electric cars overloading our bridges and car parks, as well as causing international issues as they require exotic materials in their batteries?

Get on the bus Gus. At least you can read a book, play with your phone, or doze, without endangering anyone, unless your books are very heavy hardbacks.

DAVID REED, NW3