Civic trips abroad are taking a bit longer than normal for Oxford’s Green Lord Mayor as she sticks to her principles and shuns aeroplanes.
Mayor Elise Benjamin has always refused to travel by plane for environmental reasons, and a recent civic trip to Oxford’s twin city was no different.
Ms Benjamin did the trip to Bonn in Germany by bus and train, and the overland journey took a total of 12 hours. She had to take one bus and then three trains to reach her destination.
The Lord Mayor was representing Oxford at a civic celebration in the city and had to set off at 5am to get there in time. The event was part of Bonn Week, a celebration of the city’s culture, heritage and international links that takes place every four years.
She said: “It is primarily an environmental decision. It probably saves half of the CO2 emissions by travelling this way.”
Ms Benjamin, who is married to former Green city councillor Craig Simmons, said her family has always managed to travel without flying. She added: “We have travelled all over Europe as far as the Med, all the way through Italy, Spain, Turkey and Greece.
“It is very relaxing. The term is slow travel but it is just very pleasant as the time pressure is not the same.
“We have met people from across the world who travel like this and prefer it.”
The Lord Mayor has also promised to make all her civic trips around Oxford by bike rather than car.