Erica Smith accuses me of misusing my position to further my agenda (Letters, September 25).

We remain resolutely non-political in our stance but the ability of Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company to offer the standards it does, and to continue to invest for the future, depends upon an effective partnership between the company and the local authority.

It is our belief that the proposal for an elected city mayor offers the best chance to maintain and develop that partnership and continue the process of improving the city's bus services, which have seen an unprecedented 33 per cent increase in passengers over the past seven years.

So far as we are concerned, the forthcoming referendum is a structural, not a political, issue and one on which we have a legitimate right to state our view.

We have carried material promoting the Yes campaign in the same way as a number of leading hotels, shops and restaurants have.

In 1997, we supported bringing Hove and Brighton together as one authority and, in 2000, we carried material promoting the campaign for city status.

The Yes For City Mayor campaign is a natural progression of this.

My remit is to manage the business in such a way as to maximise the benefit to customers, members of staff and shareholders, within the normal rules of conduct for any responsible private-sector company.

We are certainly not supporters of the alternative of dragging the city administration back to the tired old days of committees.

-Roger French, Managing Director, Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company