Coach and lorry park for visitors

Andrea Needham has pointed out that the real cost of motoring has fallen and the real cost of public transport has risen for at least 20 years (Hastings Observer, April 19).

According to my diary, a day rider bus ticket, which is now called a local day rider, cost £3.40 in July 2012 and now costs £4.50 if bought on the bus – a 32 per cent increase in seven years when inflation was low.

In 1999, I paid £1.50 each for five hour residents’ visitors’ parking permits and the ones I use now cost £2 each – a 33 per cent increase in 20 years. I bought them in 2017.

Bus fares rise a lot partly because there is more and more congestion, which makes journey times longer.

For many people, it is cheaper to buy and run a car than use public transport.

Fares in London are subsidised and bus fares in London have been frozen to reduce pollution, and I think we should have subsidised fares here too.

Last August, I went to Canterbury by bus and the last part of my journey was very quick because of park and ride, and I hope we will have it here. If we do, we could have a coach and lorry park instead of a car park and we could have cheap parking for coaches to attract coach visitors and encourage motorists to come by coach.