• AS a regular traveller on routes 38 and 56, I note with interest the letter from JE Kirby (Idling buses, August 31).

When Transport for London instigated Countdown it probably thought it could, in some way, guarantee that a bus would be at a particular stop at a particular time whatever the prevailing traffic situation.

Yes, Countdown has its uses, as in “wait or walk”, but evening out of the service has led, it seems, to situations such as the increased number of “Not in service” buses, running empty to the end of the route and turning round.

Also, the practice of turning traffic lights red whenever a bus comes along. (Not paranoia – we know they do it, hence the cameras at major junctions such as Islington Green and Essex Road station.)

This, coupled with lights at pedestrian crossings turning red when no one wants to cross the road and thoughtless parking merely add to the mess. Don’t expect driver-less buses any time soon.

T PHILLIPS
E10