Re: It's so bad, it's funny (Chronicle, June 26) about Horizons' shocking bus delivery. Not only are we paying for this deplorable service, but we face a projected 12 per cent average increase in our rates this year.
The diesel emissions must give greenie regional councillorNicola Patrick nightmares. One morning recently, I saw no less than three empty buses turn from St Hill St into Ridgway St, in convoy. Empty but for drivers, and why such large buses?
It will take more than Bee Cards to get most ratepayers aboard. The service area is hopeless for most of us and in the industrial area of Gonville/Castlecliff where many of us work, there is no service at all. Imagine waiting two hours for a bus, one might as well stay home and go on the dole!
Technology will provide alternative and superior service providing Horizons puts its thinking cap on. Whanganui is a large urban area unsuited to narrow bus corridors. I have been thinking of setting up a local Uber service, if Horizons would provide those residents who qualify for Bee Card subsidies with an Uber account, progress could be quickly made.
Fred Frederikse's article (Chronicle, June 25) says figures coming out of Wuhan suggests smokers are not as susceptible to Covid-19 as non-smokers.
The USA has an opioid epidemic, a doctor-prescribed drug, death from overdoses of the drug are skyrocketing ...
One study of this said there did not appear to be much usage of the drug among smokers - both drugs are used to give a settling effect, as the soldiers from World War II will attest.
Tobacco is blamed for all sorts of sicknesses, maybe it's not the tobacco but the chemicals they put in to keep them burning.
Tobacco certainly does not cause thousands of sudden deaths, a lot of them among young people, who obviously feel they need something to settle them.
Perhaps we should lower the tax on cigarettes to sway them away from heavy drugs.
Cigarettes leave you totally in control of your mind, you drive safely. Which is the lesser evil?
GARTH SCOWN Whanganui
Your letters
Count your blessings
On the TV One sports news [I saw] an item (June 25) about a US golf tournament with two golfers testing positive for Covid-19.
If that happened in New Zealand, it would be an outrage. Don't the naysayers who are complaining about the border hiccough realise just how lucky we are to live in New Zealand?
I would also suggest that those ex-pats returning should stop whingeing about being bussed to Rotorua or having to stay in their hotel rooms.
In Australia nobody in quarantine is allowed outside their room for 14 days. They do not have a key, there is a guard in the hallway and the food is more like army rations. Welcome home, returning Kiwis. We will be kind, but it would be nice if you could be grateful.
