No smartphone means no cheap bus fares for teens

No smartphone means no cheap bus fares for teens

I am delighted about the campaign to reduce smartphone usage among under-14s (‘The crux of all evil’: what happened to the first city that tried to ban smartphones for under-14s?, 7 May) but in West Yorkshire, where I work, we have run up against structural issues that make this impossible. The cheapest young person’s bus fares are only available via an app, which requires a smartphone. You can buy a monthly bus pass on a smartcard, but only in person and at limited locations. If your child needs a smartphone to get the bus to school, any hopes of not buying them one fall at the first hurdle. Phil Sage Skipton, North Yorkshire • Regarding children’s appetites increasing after watching junk food ads (11 May), I wonder if there is a similar effect when Saturday Guardian readers look at the Feast supplement. Martin Cooper Bromley, London • Many Germans in their 40s would be distraught that people think they were named after a film character and not in honour of the star English striker Kevin Keegan, who had three successful years at Hamburger SV (Letters, 7 May). Leo North Crewe, Cheshire • An even better solution for an eco-friendly lawn (Letters, 8 May): on honeymoon in India, we saw an ox pull a mechanical mower, eat the grass in its breaks and naturally fertilise the soil. The lawns were luscious and no pollution. Jeanette Hamilton Buxton, Derbyshire • Re cold callers (Letters, 8 May), I use Eric Morecambe’s method: “I am sorry, you must have the wrong number – I don’t have a telephone.” Gerard Hastings Céret, Pyrénées-Orientales, France • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.