Derrick Baker (‘You Say, March 14) does a disservice to his GMB Bus Drivers Union Members and the National Pensioners Convention in his letter trying to spin the blame for Labour's free bus service costs explosion onto local Lib/Dem and Conservative councillors.

The bus scheme costs ARE negotiated at county level.

The way those costs have to be paid for is by way of a flawed Government formula that local councillors have no power to vary.

Yes, councillors, officers and the local Labour MP have asked the government to change the formula.

All of them have been ignored and now the local Labour MP says, ‘It would all be OK if the councils who have had too much money gave it to councils that had too little’.

I suspect their chief finance officers would find themselves in prison if they did.

However, this all misses the point that an ill-thought-out scheme intended to provide free off peak bus travel for minimal extra public cash has gone the way of all Socialist inspired ‘free’ services. The estimated cost, for next year, of the free bus concession for the 14,000 Weymouth & Portland over-60s who take it up is £1,900,000.

That’s £135 per bus pass and £270 for a pensioner couple. While pensioners are delighted to receive free travel on the buses I suspect they would happily swap this for a council tax reduction of £270 per year for each two-pensioner household.

Ian Bruce, Preston Road, Weymouth.