COUNCILLOR Bob Price (February 25) would like to have trams in Oxford again.

I was relieved to read that he was not proposing overhead wires or tracks in the road. Air quality in Oxford is not as good as it should be and any form of transport that reduces pollution has to be investigated.

It is odd, therefore, that Cllr Price is maintaining that the east-west rail project, fully electrified, connecting Oxford with Milton Keynes and Bedford as well as with Bicester and Aylesbury, should not be supported by the city council in any practical way.

This project, due to be in place thanks to Government investment by December 2017, will remove hundreds of lorries from the A34 and provide a fast passenger route for commuters and shoppers into and out of Oxford.

Cllr Price said at council (February 19) that we should not invest in rail when there were potholes in the roads. But there was no money for potholes in the Labour budget.

The outvoted Lib-Dem amendment included, for a modest outlay, funds to provide Oxford’s share of the east-west project costs to be found locally, agreed by the Consortium of which Oxford is a member along with the county council and other councils along the route, from which Oxford stands to benefit.

The best way to reduce congestion and pollution in Oxford is to provide good alternatives to driving in. Buses help – the new electrified rail services will help even more and should be supported.

JEAN FOOKS leader, Liberal Democrat Group, Oxford City Council county councillor, Summertown and Wolvercote St Bernard’s Road Oxford