[gjd]

Hello

Can't speak for Paris, but I'm in London as I type. The bus fleet is impressive, with hybrids, hydrogen power and gas buses everywhere.

I'm in the East End, and there's a lot of construction traffic here. Big, four axle tippers for a well known building company, mostly 65reg. I suspect that these new Scanias are as clean as they can be, but I doubt there's cleaner way to lug tons of spoil away from the latest of Boris's vanity projects.

To my mind, the bus and lorry traffic can't be banned, but the LT fleet shows the way forward. It's the trad London Black Cab that's the nasty, with what looks like an ageing fleet of old-school weapons grade diesels belching away. The newest black cabs are Vitos and Peugeot E7s, so compliant with whatever the latest emissions legislation says. I haven't seen a hybrid taxi.

Minicabs, though, are more progressive. I'm sat in a street parking bay, and in front of me is a Toyota mini cab - 65reg hybrid.

I was in the Congestion Charge zone yesterday. The number of private cars in resident bays staggered me. What's the point of owning a car when you live just off Russell Square? Surely it would be cheaper to use public transport, or even a taxi?