We are employees, not the owners and we do as our bosses command.

I would like to outline the following:

1 — our licences are ours and we needed to pass a specialised test to gain it. We also need to qualify for other certificates to keep our licences.

2 — National Express are a privately-owned company who are responsible to their shareholders.

3 — drivers are, by law, responsible for every passenger who boards their bus, and are therefore in charge of said vehicle and have the ultimate say as to what happens on-board.

4 — the days of stopping between recognised bus stops are well and truly gone.

5 — do not expect a bus to stop for you if you are not prepared to make it known to the driver that you wish him to stop. Put down your phones and concentrate on looking for the bus!

6 — be a parent and watch your kids on-board. Do not allow them to treat the bus as if it were a playground.

7 — passengers have a duty of care too. No eating, drinking, swearing etc.

8 — from a personal point-of-view, swear at me and you do not travel on my bus.

I hope this letter makes a small difference to the way bus drivers are treated by the public. —

Fed-Up Driver.

Surely if we’re all in such desperate financial straits, we should be tightening our belts rather than buying more? — Reader, Broughty Ferry.

Fast-forward to the same day on 2011 and we barely needed to put the heating on in the house and the only thing treacherous about the pavements were the usual cracks and divots! — Not So Chilly.

And let us not forget the time and money she has spent over the years supporting Dundee United — surely anyone subjecting themselves to that level of torture for so long is deserving of a visit to Buckingham Palace!

In all seriousness, well done, Lorraine — Dundee is proud of you! — Jimmy Fintry.

With the economy still in a bleak way, wars and terror campaigns continuing to rage in pockets of the globe and whole countries suffering the misery of famine and drought, why do people insist on expending so much time and energy on the apparent plight of their pooches, mogs, stick insects and so on?

The so-called compassion of animal lovers would be easier to swallow (pardon the pun) were practically the whole nation not meat-eaters who cannot see the hypocrisy of tucking into a steak or a piece of lamb before firing off an angry letter to the Tele about prejudice against Staffies or some other such inconsequential nonsense.

We are even seeing Edinburgh Zoo spend hundreds of thousands of pounds annually all to look after a couple of exotic bundles of fur.

Until the day comes that all people across the world have access to basics such as food, water and shelter, I am afraid I cannot see the justification for such an expense. — Humanist.