Sir – We hear many, often expensive, ideas for improving transport in and around Oxford. I have a suggestion which I’ve not seen before (apologies if I’ve missed it) and which might help at relatively modest cost.

This is to provide orbital buses running on the ring road and linking park-and-rides. Two routes – clock(wise) and anti.

The present ‘approved’ system means that someone in Kennington, wanting to travel to London by bus, must first take a bus into central Oxford, and then come out again; or drive to the park-and-ride at Thornhill, near Headington.

They might even – not approved – drive into town.

With orbital buses, they could drive, cycle or walk to Redbridge park-and-ride, take the anti-orbital bus to Thornhill, whence a bus to London.

Covered cycle racks could encourage the cycling option. From Summertown to Thornhill: bus to Peartree, clockwise-orbital bus to Thornhill.

Coaches or buses going out of town in any direction (or some of them at least) could call at a park-and-ride, exchanging passengers with orbital buses.

Some local journeys should be quicker, going round the ring road rather than into town and out again.

Orbital buses could make some journeys quicker, each bus could replace several cars on the ring road, and they would take pressure off the city’s busy radial roads and centre.

Maybe there is a good reason why city buses are shy of the ring road; maybe there would not be the demand to make orbital buses viable; present bus sizes might need review if enough people used orbital buses instead.

Orbital buses certainly wouldn’t solve all Oxford’s traffic problems (that would be asking too much) but they might help.

Dr Peter Rawcliffe, South Hinksey