A TAXI boss has said he would back a zero emissions zone in Oxford that allowed hybrid vehicles.

Zero emission zones only permit vehicles that create no pollutants such as bicycles and electric cars and buses.

But Mark Green, owner of 001 Taxis, said at present electric vehicles were too expensive and do not offer enough mileage without lengthy charge periods.

He has just spent £4m buying 180 hybrid cars for his firm, many of which run on electric power at speeds below 30mph.

And because of speed limits in the centre of Oxford – all 20mph or 30mph – he said this meant they were effectively already running at ‘zero emissions’.

He said: “You would be running at 30mph or below throughout most of the city, so if you allowed these hybrid vehicles you could already have a zero emission zone.

“We have all got to do our bit to help with reducing pollution, but the current problem with electric vehicles is that there are currently no models on the road with the right mileage or cost.

“There’s no point doing 20 miles and then charging for four hours, because that is time a driver can’t work.”

Mr Green said taxi drivers at his firm tended to travel between 100 and 120 miles a day, but ideally a vehicle would need a mileage of about 150 miles.

“It would also need to have a maximum charge time of about 30 minutes,” he added.

He said rules on a zero emission zone should be changed to include hybrid vehicles such as those in his fleet.

The idea of a zero emission zone in Oxford is part of Oxfordshire County Council’s Local Transport Plan, which runs from 2015 to 2031.

County council spokesman Paul Smith said there would be a public consultation on the zero emissions zone, which would be “pragmatic and practical”.

He said: “We’d welcome input both then and now from local organisations, including this taxi company.

“It is important to stress that it would only be as vehicle technology and infrastructure develops, and is both widely available and affordable, that we would start to introduce zero emissions streets across any wide area of the city.

“Clearly it would be impossible to impose a large zero emission zone as we enter the 2020s if technology has not moved on from where it currently stands.”

The council would not impose blanket bans on motorists that were “out of step with the reality of the transport environment, in any year between now and 2030,” Mr Smith added.