Attitude problem

Author: Daily Times

Sir: This is with reference to Mariam Rathore’s letter “Reducing traffic” (Daily Times, February 1). As an environmentally conscious mother of two school-going children, I have attempted several times to organise a carpool for children within our neighbourhood that go to the same school. I have also prompted my children’s school to initiate a bus-service for the children, only for my several letters and phone-calls to fall on deaf ears. The worst aspect of my failed attempts was that the parents concerned had no valid reason not to opt for the carpool; many openly stated that they considered sharing a car beneath themselves. As is the case on the macro-level, the most affluent are the heaviest consumers and also the heaviest polluters on the city level. I do not intend to generalise an entire socio-economic class, but the snobbish attitudes of many affluent parents to the idea of carpooling or school buses must change if any such proposals are to bear fruit.

IRAJ ZAFAR
Islamabad