11-05-2025
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 SageSkipton, 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 CooperBromley, 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 NorthCrewe, 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 HamiltonBuxton, 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 HastingsCéret, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
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