The journey on foot and by bus - Wednesday 20 June

• Distance: 8.23 miles
• Journey time: 1 hr 00 mins 36 secs
• Cost: £2.60 (Indigo bus ticket)

On what would have been another glorious, sunny morning for cycling to work, I set out on foot for today's journey, headed for the bus stop outside the Manor pub in Toton, a 15-minute walk away.

I use buses very infrequently, mainly because the tram station is nearer to where I live than the nearest stop for the Nottingham-bound bus service. In fact, it must be several years since I last boarded the Nottingham to Derby service run by Trent-Barton called Indigo. It was called the number 5 bus in days gone by.

The bus journey wasn't as pleasant as yesterday's tram ride, mainly because the bus doesn't run on the road surface as smoothly as a tram glides on rails. I was almost being unseated by the vibrations of the vehicle as it passed over potholes, sunken manhole covers and sections of tarmac repairs to the road surface, and also when it went round tight bends in the road.

The almost constant accompaniment of rattling and squeaking noises from the fixtures and fittings of the bus was very noticeable but, still, putting these things aside, being a passenger and not having driving responsibilities provided an opportunity for me to read up on the day's news and do some early communicating with work colleagues and friends. Another plus is that the bus had arrived on time, based on the forecast arrival time showing on the digital screen at the bus stop.

Thereafter, two things came as a big surprise.

Firstly, when the bus reached the point of the route where it shares the carriageway with the tram, suddenly it travelled much more smoothly. I looked through the window at the road surface and was struck by how unblemished and free of defects it was, presumably because the tram rails have to be absolutely secured and, therefore, the road surface material in which they sit has to be robust and intact. If only all road surfaces were so smooth, I thought...with my cycling helmet on, figuratively speaking.

Secondly, although the overall journey, including my walks to the bus stop and to my office, was a couple of minutes longer than the walk-tram combination of yesterday, today's trip was longer in distance so, per mile, the bus journey turned out to be slightly quicker. I was surprised by this because there was some moderate traffic congestion heading towards the Dunkirk roundabout on University Boulevard today and, unlike the tram, the bus doesn't have priority on this stretch of road. Thus, we moved very slowly for a couple of minutes.

So, what the bus lacked in relative comfort, it made up for in the pace at which it travelled into the city centre - on normally busy roads during the rush hour.

As I alighted the bus, I commended the driver for turning off the bus's engine as he waited at Beeston bus station for a few minutes en route to Nottingham. I'd noticed that the driver of the stationary bus in front, from the same bus operator, hadn't done likewise.

I'm part of an air pollution action group and one of the actions we're pushing for is for bus drivers to switch off their engines when the vehicle is 'idling' at bus stops or bus stations as they wait for their scheduled departure time. I saw today how easily and effortlessly drivers can do this and, in doing so, limit the volume of diesel emissions in these hot-spot areas.

Tomorrow is national Clean Air Day and the day I shall finally get to ride my bike to work as part of this week's experiment. I can't wait. You watch, it'll probably be raining!