The thing that really stops people using public transport is the constant anti-social behaviour. As your article hints the general social problems our country is facing are always amplified on a bus or train.

I don't envy the goverment official trying to sell an alternative ot the car. People just won't accept it.

David, Leatherhead,

Everything you write is absolutely true. Why is it that so many people who write for newspapers are able to fully understand the requirements for running a country, and yet those we vote for who have jobs in government are about as useful as a bag of dandruff ?

Phil Evans, Newport, England

A good article Libby. Add to the list of those impacted those of us who cannot afford to live in the cities or the immediate suburbs. 8 miles out of Reading in a 'commuter village' I have access to an erratic bus service that shuts down before I finish work. I cannot access the nearest train station by any form of public transport, and its tiny car park is full by 7.30 am each day. The roads are too dangerous to cycle (narrow, windy lanes populated with dangerously fast lorries). How much worse is it for people in more isolated communities, where the car is an even more essential link with the outside world and public transport non-existent? When an integrated public transport system exists I will be delighted to use it, road taxing will not price me off the roads - I have no option but to drive to work each day.

R Charles, Burghfield Common, Berkshire

An excellent article - I totally agree. Public transport is hopelessly unreliable, expensive, unpunctual, and unsafe for vulnerable people such as children; in the meantime, cars get you from anywhere to anywhere with minimal hassle.

If all the money that's been spent on widening the M25 was instead put into improving mainline rail services and reducing ticket prices, it would be a good first step towards getting people out of their cars.

C Haywood, Cambridge,

Beeching was misguided, but you have to put it into context. The irresponsibility of the rail unions (I speak as someone who commuted for 20 years from the 60s to the 80s) made the railways a hopelessly unattractive investment. Privatisation was flawed but there were hardly any problems with industrial relations after privatisation. (They have now effectively been renationalised.) These things don't work in a vacuum - if Mr Prescott had been less opposed on doctrinaire grounds, and acfually considered the interests of the travelling public and tried to make things work rather than sabotage them, it might be a very different story today. Incidentally, we pay £40 billion in various road taxes but the government only spends £6 billion on building and maintaining the roads.

Mike Fowle, Felixstowe, Suffolk

All said, all true. Why doesnt the goverment, just introduce a no car zone withing a certain radius in the city. Build a couple of high rise car parks on the boundary, and let everyone walk it within that boundary. Or take a bike, or intoroduce some kind of escalating walker, just like at the airports.

Parviz, London,

Can't sing in pubs? But when does singing become talking? If he were still alive, then 'Libby' could not ask Rex Harrison out for a drink, given his "My Fair Lady" performance!

David Vinter, Louth, Lincs., UK

Well done Libby for hinting that "the petition" is much less significant than some would have us believe, because of multi email addresses, motoring group lobbying, the bandwagon effect etc. (I'd never heard of the website until the press drew attention to this particular petition). In any case, as Peter Riddell says in his column, we shouldn't have government by petition. Libby also does well to point out the pampering of motorists by planners in contrast to their contempt for pedestrians, and the stupidity of Beeching ripping up the railways. But the main reason we're sinking under a tide of cars is that, once people have bought a car, it's cheap to travel in it compared to public transport. A sensible approach in cities would be to offer generous incentives to car club membership, to encourage people not to own cars but just use them for the most important and cross-country trips. Congestion charging for those who remain owner-drivers would then be quite fair.

Barry, Wallington, South London

Who are these people who are nervous about government knowing where they go by car and what is their concern?

John Tanner, Bristol,

Private sector: if people want more of something, find a way of providing it and sell it to them.

Public sector: if people want more of something, ration it or make it more awkward and expensive to use. (But make sure that the public sector bosses have good access to it)

What about actually increasing transport capacity instead of restricting access to it? Mr Alexander, why not stop moaning that's it's all the public's fault and start doing your job?

Frank Upton, Solihull,

We should all ride Goats to work. They are carbon neutral as they can produce milk and cheese, meaning you get a calcium rich lunch without the trappings of modern packaging. We would need less car parks as they could graze in nearby parks, or in high rise office window boxes could be installed to provide them with cud to chew. They do not need to be scrapped, as they can be eaten (i have a great recipie for goat jerk curry if anyone wants it) and will also produce offspring, i.e. the next generation of vehicles. They also make great pets.

Mr G. Oats, Southampton,

My car broke down a few months back, so I had to get the train to work for 2 days. On the first day on my return journey the train was cancelled and someone in a car had to fetch me, on the second day, the train was delayed by over an hour. Why would I want to give up my car to be subject to the whimsical nature of our appalling public transport system. If it worked, people would use it. It doesnt, so they dont - its that simple

David Filmer, Lytham, UK

I signed that petition. Not because I don't want drivers to be charged more, but because I just can't see why it needs a very expensive technical solution rather than simply increasing fuel duty.

Considering the police can't stop motorists from using their mobile phones while driving, how will they stop them from disabling the tracking devices?

The whole plan just seems like total idiocy. Not because I'm a technophobe, but because I design computer systems and have an idea of the cost, complexity & flaws of what they're proposing.

Richard, London, UK

In the 70s, France checked how many people were travelling by car as opposed to rail. . It was 80% -20%. Must address this problem they said to relieve congestion on the roads. They invested zillions in the rail network to produce their marvellous hi-speed trains - the envy of the world. They re-checked again in the 90s. You guessed it....still 80% by car, 20% by rail! Nice trains though.....
Here, they should bite the bullet and start building more roads. Traffic moving pollutes less than that traffic sat there going nowhere...and offer zero Road Tax for electric vehicles.

Phil, Preston,

A very pertinent , apt and to the point write up , tackling an issue which affects and bothers us all, directly or indirectly.
I'm reminded of a witty and quip catch-phrase , which later turned into a one-liner gag..." Wanna take someone for a ride, give him a drive and tax him on the road " In plain and simple terms 'road pricing' or 'toll tax' is curbing or to put a crack down on one's freedom to use motorways, paths and alleys , and hampering free mobility. The decision is rather ham-fisted and gauche, and how far will it work in decongesting the roads , by reducing the vehicular traffic is anyone's guess? As a pilot project done in one of the upcoming sub-urban townships in India , city planners decided to do away or reduce the Car and four wheelers movements. They laid out termacs and bike-lanes to encourage people to switch to bicycles . The fad rather faded away soon, as no alternate public transport was readily available. Alternately car-pooling work , to ease out road clogs

Sandy, New Delhi, India

Roads, rail and buses are all examples of systems in which ever increasing numbers of people are attempting to use resources of fixed size. The certain result of this is gridlock / overload. Improvements in efficiency (E.g. the York scheme) or greater capacity (more roads / more trains) can only briefly delay the onset of gridlock / overload.

In the end, the only solution is to reduce the number of users. The government's current solution appears to be to price people off the roads, though this seems to be having little effect. The alternative, a permit or ration based scheme, is a political and admin nightmare: too many special cases, too many exceptions, too open to fraud.

As a non-driver, I'm glad to be free of the problems of road pollution, congestion, excessive taxation, etc. Life is cartainly harder without a car - even in cities - but is is still possible. More people should make the effort!

Duncan, Crawley,

The background issue of why we run our country so appallingly badly unfortunately comes down to a lack of social consensus. 'The common good' is hard to define and of little interest to vociferous minorities looking after their selfish interests. Such minorities swing elections. For 3 of the 5 decades since WWII Britain was very poor and lacked the resources to invest in infrastructure. Now we have the money but it may take many years to catch up. Panic measures such as road pricing result, though for most people there is no alternative, so pricing will just increase tax. How much better to adopt a mix of smaller measures to alleviate congestion, while recognising that population x prosperity = high consumption.

colin, Shrewsbury, UK

Congratulations Libby!

In an interview about 15 years ago, I heard an MP say that he and the govt. knew there was a BIG problem with cars and that they knew that it had to be dealt with, but, he said quietly - no one is prepared to step forward and take it on, because it means instant noteriety - it would cost too much.
I agree with everything Libby says, having 'watched this space' for many years of change, but here on an island we must act now or gind to a halt.

Derek Paul, Ayr,

"Who will come to a harassed 12-year-old girl’s aid in the distant back half of a speeding bendy-bus..." asks Libby Purves? Well, as a Glasgow bus-driver, I went to the aid of four young girls who were sitting upstairs on my one-man operated bus when an aggressive adult male began behaving in a threatening manner towards them. For my pains I got several stitches in my hand and one in my face when I was not quite fast enough to completely ward off a craft-knife wielded by a man about twenty years younger than myself. Blood was everywhere. Unfortunately, it was all mine. The knife man left. The four girls were unable to await the arrival of the police due to difficulties of an ASBO nature. Who knows? They might have been able to identify brave Sir Slasher - who remains uncaught to this day. Tough on crime? Tough on the causes of crime? I think not.

Brian D Finch, Glasgow, Scotland

"Who will come to a harassed 12-year-old girl’s aid in the distant back half of a speeding bendy-bus..." asks Libby Purves? Well, as a Glasgow bus-driver, I went to the aid of four young girls who were sitting upstairs on my one-man operated bus when an aggressive adult male began behaving in a threatening manner towards them. For my pains I got several stitches in my hand and one in my face when I was not quite fast enough to completely ward off a craft-knife wielded by a man about twenty years younger than myself. Blood was everywhere. Unfortunately, it was all mine. The knife man left. The four girls were unable to await the arrival of the police due to difficulties of an ASBO nature. Who knows? They might have been able to identify brave Sir Slasher - who remains uncaught to this day. Tough on crime? Tough on the causes of crime? I think not.

Brian D Finch, Glasgow, Scotland

Add local waste disposal sites (tip) to the list of places that require a car to visit.

tony windmill, Reading,

Yes Libby. Far better to use your column inches to talk about what could have been done and how you would have given up your car rather than discussing measures that have been taken and how you could use your car less if you really tried. City centres are well served by public transport and many have Park and Rides, you could cycle if you wanted to make the effort and there are cycle racks all over the place. You could even walk to some places.

Stop making excuses and start making some effort before we all have to pay the price for motorists excesses.

Ian Murdey, Leicester, UK

The casual stupidity, expense and just plain nastiness of the spy-in-the-car aspect dooms this plan. But additionally, why has the govt reached for such a blunt instrument to deal with traffic. Ten years ago, York's traffic was disastrous. Ten years later, there are no new roads (medieval town etc), the place is more prosperous, so we must assume there are more cars. Yet the traffic is better. The reason is that the local council set York University's maths department to study and model the city's traffic. Thousands of sensors later, the algorythms guide computers which control all traffic lights etc on a massive packet-switching "need to respond" basis. And everyone's happy - no need for congestion charging in York.
So the question is: has the govt noticed what technology & maths can do? If not, why not. And if it has, why isn't York Uni's maths department busy dealing with this problem for other cities.
Answer: because it's elegant and difficult, but govt likes ugly and stupid.

Michael Taylor, York,

I totally agree with Libby Purves; there is no such thing as good public transport.
a) I am against road pricing, the poor motorist pays enough taxes as it is.
b) I do not wish big brother to spy on my vehicle and personal movements; the more the government protests that this will not happen, you know in your heart of hearts that it will happen.
c) finally, if road pricing is brought in, which I doubt very much as such a scheme will loose MP's their seats! Will MP's put up there claims for motor mileage claims
from unaccounted figures of £22.000p per annum to lets say £44.000p. per annum? ( the quote of £22.000p. came from this week's Sunday Times.

Michael leigh, Nottingham, uk

I've had the same experience as Bob Doney, also on two occasions, on two separate days. Several days have passed and I've yet to receive the authenticating link. I wonder how many people have tried to sign and failed.

I would suggest that if this is not an uncommon problem, the number of people who hav tried to sign and failed may be much higher than the goverment website actually shows.

Norman, Glasgow, UK

I've tried twice today to "sign" the petition. On both occasions I've been told that an email has been sent to me, and that I have to click on a link to confirm my signature. Still waiting to receive it/them....

Bob Doney, Camberley, UK

Road congestion is not a problem as such, but a symptom of a deeper problem, that our public transport falls woefully short - in quality, price, and availability - of what a first-world country needs. After ten years of delay and bungling it is no surprise that this government still reaches for the false solution, but it is deeply disappointing.

Steve Roberts, Leicester,

The problem with road pricing is that it is blatantly unfair. It would discriminate against the poor and middle income earners while leaving the roads nice and empty for the wealthy. Many families are already finding it hard to make ends meet as they fall victim to this governments insatiable desire to tax its citizens. Where will they find the extra money to pay to get to work, to visit their relatives or to take that well earned family holiday in the summer? Public transport is often not an alternative due to either its cost, unreliabilty or the lack of security .

Andy Brown, Derby, UK

To "gm, london, london": why should "move on" mean "accept that the state of the nation is worse than it used to be, and is getting worse still" In many countries, the idea of "moving on" conveys a positive message of improvement and development.

Marco, bhm, uk

Jon Snow on C4 news last night claimed that the e-petition method is flawed as it is the result of chain emails with false claims such as, that car tracking will eventually result in them being used to nick us for speeding. What ignorance from an experienced newsman! The vast vast majority of us are against road PRICING, not tracking. Comments on articles here and elsewhere indicate overwhelmingly that while we dont like the idea of car tracking, it is the pay-as-you-go driving that puts us off.

Unlike Jon Snow and Londoners, we have no tube and no bus that runs the same route every 3 mins. I have to drive on the motorwaty for 60 miles each day. There is no train option either (its overpriced anyway). I need to drive to Tesco to buy groceries. The only driving I can afford to stop is trips to the cinema, 3 miles away, twice a month, and when roads are LEAST congested!

The motoring public have spoken. We are the ones affected by congestion, and we have said NO to road pricing

Pete, Cov,

this depicts scenes from a 50s black and white movie. Move on.

gm, london, london

It’s an irony that the publicity you have given to the downing street website is encouraging joined-up feedback from the people whose wishes and needs theoretically should be its focus, although it may have originally been set up further to consolidate presidential-style power of the incumbent.

If enough citizens make use of it in constructive ways, it will become more difficult for it to be quietly forgotten or buried, as people take more responsibility for their own lives, and those they put in charge of the regulations try and proliferate them beyond mandate.

You have also pointed out the increasing importance of parallel or alternative systems, and the day could come when through street knowhow and networks making innovative use of mobiles and internet groups, people get on pretty much with running their own lives, and paying less attention to the endless jawboning palaver at Westminster.

dr venables preller, Warminster, UK

Excellent, however as the press have failed to control their excesses over the years, they too have joined the ranks of the disenfranchised. Any common sense is swamped by spin and counter spin. Does anyone even believe in what is being said and or written these days?

Gareth Davies, Munich, Germany

I think that we should recruit the persons who thought, designed and implemented the transport infrastructures in Scandinavia-or Germany-or Holland or any bloody where! It's got to be better than this fiasco that successive governments has saddled us with.

Peter Day, Doncaster, uk

"...my pet cause (the one against small pubs having to ask the chief constable a fortnight in advance if anyone plans to sing a song)...": how does the chief constable know whether anyone plans to sing a song in a small pub two weeks ahead (unless he or she is planning on doing the singing)?

Chie, Tokyo, Japan

If you want an example of this in action Libby, I suggest you log onto the public transport website www.rail.co.uk. I did so yesterday, to find out what time I could get a train from Manchester to Gatley (which is the nearest commuter station to my home). It amused me and my colleagues to discover that one of the main options it suggested was to forget the train and go by car! You couldn't make it up! We figured what with all the congestion between the inner and outer city, they must have being suggesting we drive on the rail lines in front of the train!

Ian , Manchester, UK