JUST imagine in: strolling through crystal clear air in the centre of Oxford, no noise from dirty petrol engines, then hopping onto an almost silent electric double-decker bus and gliding in green serenity to your destination.

For anyone who has been into the centre of Oxford, the idea of a clean, clear and quiet city centre is no great stretch of the imagination.

Now our county council is trying to bring those electric buses into reality in our city as well.

Of course, it will have to happen some time in the next few decades anyway, after the sale of new petrol and disease vehicles is banned in the UK in 2035, but surely Oxford should be the first all-electric bus city in the county?

We are already ahead of many other cities in this field – instituting a zero-emissions zone and pedestrianising parts of town – and we have Oxford University scientists amongst us pioneering sustainable energy generation.

With all our credentials, we really have no excuse.

Even if you don't believe in global warming, surely this is just a basic matter of civic pride.