Sir, - May I, as an individual member of the Automobile Association, express my surprise at the comments by Conor Faughnan, public affairs manager of the AA (August 21st). While I agree with his criticism of Dublin public transport, I am sorry to hear that "the AA is part of the `car lobby' and proud of it". His outdated admiration of the car-owner's "freedom of movement" (freedom to block College Green at 5 pm?) suggests that Frank McDonald's "private chariots", etc., are not as wide off the mark as Mr Faughnan would like us to believe.Having thus criticised Mr Faughnan, I have an admission to make. Yes, I do drive to the city centre and contribute to the permanent traffic jam there ("Dublin has fewer cars than almost any other European city of comparable size," says Mr Faughnan). Even worse, I have to confess that my reason for this car misuse is one of those mentioned by him: "pre-school children, being dropped to child-minders."I am not proud of this "freedom of movement". I exercise it only because I have been denied a more important freedom: the Dublin public transport system discriminates against young parents. In Scandinavian cities, buggies and prams are lifted in and out through the middle/rear doors of buses and trams. There is a space without seats just inside the doors for two or three buggies and prams. This is regarded as a normal part of urban life: anything less would be seen as a denial of civil rights.Anybody who has tried to get on a Dublin bus folding a buggy with one hand, trying to stop a toddler from rushing onto the road with the other, and carrying shopping bags in their teeth will know what I mean. Some brave people manage to do this with one child, very few with two or more. As a result, many Dublin parents are handicapped through no fault of their own: getting anywhere beyond walking distance is practically impossible - unless you can afford to join the proud car lobby, of course.The DTI final report recognises the need to improve access to public transport for mobility impaired people "including people with buggies". The report was published in 1994, but I haven't yet seen a single bus built to such standards. - Yours, etc.,From PETRI MIRALA,Dartry Road, Dublin 6.