AS a car owner and user, I was very interested to read John Blunt's comments (LET, May 19).

My wife and I have three young children so find our car invaluable in many ways. The gleaming Rover in the drive (in our case, slightly dirty Cavalier) is now more than a means of transport - it is a statement of our social standing, our independence; a mobile extension of our living room.

Most of us are prepared to invest an average of about £2,000 a year buying, maintaining and taxing our car, so we expect to be able to use it with minimum restriction or additional costs.

However, like other things, our individual freedom of choice imposes a price on others. With cars this includes congestion, accidents and air pollution.

Even parking is seldom 'free' in the strictest sense as initial provision and ongoing maintenance costs can run to thousands of pounds per space.

Yet free parking is seen as an inalienable right - we will drive many extra miles to find it, not counting the other costs involved. As someone who comes into frequent contact with the impacts of car use, I have chosen to use public transport, cycle and walk more. There are good and bad buses, trains and cyclists.

What has been most interesting, however, has been people's responses to me. Many acquaintances cannot comprehend why I would choose to wait at a bus stop or catch the train from Burnley to Accrington when I could drive.

On the bike, I have been mocked from the pavement and had people shout from passing cars to make me jump.

One car passenger even threw an egg for the fun of it!

Please, then, let us be tolerant of one another as we travel. The car has and will continue to have an important role. Other forms of travel also have a place, one which I personally hope will increase.

In all of this, let us remember, however, that there is no such thing as a 'free' parking space, or bus lane for that matter.

ADRIAN SMITH, Red Lees Avenue, Cliviger, Burnley.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.