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And it is the first practical bus to have zero carbon emissions.

Cross Gates's own Optare, the UK's second largest bus maker, launched the Solo EV at the Royal Armouries.

The bus, which has to be charged up like a mobile phone, has taken nine months to develop, but has been an ambition of the company for a decade.

The outside looks like an ordinary bus, but inside is a futuristic battery instead of an engine.

Glenn Saint, commercial director of Octare, told Cross Gates Today: "We believe this to be the first full-size, practical electric bus in the UK. It has practically zero emissions and is extremely green, and cost-effective."

The bus takes five hours to charge overnight in the depot and runs much more cheaply than ordinary diesel.

So what do the passengers think of the greenest way to get around town?

Launch attendee Helen Armstrong said: "It was a really smooth ride, it didn't feel any different than in an ordinary bus."

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