I WOULD like to respond to the letter "Rough ride" (April 12) and also to the letter quoted in it (April 2).

It would be silly to say that all bus drivers are saints, but that is no good reason to imply that they are all lazy, rude and unpleasant people.

Your correspondent of April 12 mentions that his son gets sworn at on the school bus and whereas I agree that this is unacceptable I must say that I travel regularly on an early service, well used by school students, and some of them would make a parson swear!

Even if a bus driver is rude that doesn't warrant the kind of abuse or indeed assault as described by your correspondent of April 2.

But of course, the ones who are rude don't catch the flak, that gets taken out on the friendly ones that follow in their wake.

Working to provide transport for the fair and the foul citizens of York is not a pleasant task. My best friend is a driver for First and he is sometimes incredibly stressed out by what happens to him during a typical working day.

On one occasion someone spat in his face and he was threatened physically when he ejected a violent passenger from his bus. I'm sure that this is not uncommon.

No one should have to work with this.

Bus drivers are human beings too. They deserve to be treated with respect like everyone else - maybe the rude ones are only a reflection of the fact that "what goes around comes around".

Dr R Greaves,

Morehall Close,

York.

Updated: 10:48 Wednesday, April 14, 2004