Sir, - Rest assured that Dublin is not the only city in Ireland locked in an "irrational love affair with the car" (Frank McDonald, The Irish Times, January 5th). A visit to Galway will soon reveal the depth of this city's attachment. Total gridlock cannot be too far away.
That the car has been crowned king of our streets is underlined with a flourish by the number of multi-storey car-parks being constructed in the city centre and the almost total absence of any bicycle-parking facilities. For instance, a cyclist cannot safely park outside the GPO, the ESB offices, banks, etc. Interestingly enough there is no bicycle park outside City Hall either, which tells us all we need to know about where its inhabitants' loyalties lie.
I believe that the only way to encourage cycling and public transport is to make it financially attractive. This could be done, for example, as follows: Issue every commuter with a swipe-card. Every time a bus is used in preference to the private car a credit could be recorded by computer, which would be offset against that person's motor tax. In this way the motor tax could be paid painlessly. The benefits to the environment go without saying and there would also be less wear and tear on the roads. There would also be no real loss of revenue to the State.
A similar system could operate in relation to cycling.
All of this is of course dependent upon the provision of high-quality public transport systems, cycleways, etc. - Yours, etc.,
From Sean Gibbons
Tirellan Heights, Headford Road, Galway.