Following your article on potholes (Oxford Mail, July 6), Stowford Road and other roads in Barton were built using concrete. Over the last three decades the road surface of Stowford Road and other roads in residential areas have been dressed with layer upon layer of cheap, thin coverings that have simply failed.

With a bus now using Stowford Road every five minutes each day it is no wonder that this once residential street surface and road bed has failed.

The same is now happening all over Oxford where roads were laid 50 years ago and are now unsuitably used as bus routes. They are breaking up under the constant pounding of competing bus companies flooding these weak roads.

Perhaps our weak councils should be asking the bus companies who are making money out of this service to help with the cost of upgrading and resurfacing work along these busy bus routes and give the poor hard-pressed council taxpayer a break.

RICHARD ANDERSON Woodfarm Road Headington Oxford