Minibuses make sense on rural routes | Letters

Standard-size buses could be replaced with minibuses as a cheaper alternative on many rural routes, argues Mike ParkerYour article (Almost a fifth of England’s rural bus services have vanished in the past five years, 7 June) didn’t cover the costs of operation or the purposes of rural (and suburban) bus services. Different from urban areas, the bulk of their use is by those on low incomes, particularly pensioners, most of whom cannot afford a car or are unable to drive one. Over 20%