Doing nothing about the level of air pollution in our cities is not on the list of options. Glasgow's Renfield, Hope and Union streets now compete for the unenviable title of the most polluted thoroughfares in Britain, largely due to the number of buses that continue to clog them from dawn until after dusk. Though theoretically forbidden from idling, some operators appear to use bus stops like hackney ranks. Under certain weather conditions, the combination of poorly phased traffic lights and sheer volume of traffic competing for custom on the most profitable routes is a recipe for almost unbreathable air.

Doing nothing about the level of air pollution in our cities is not on the list of options. Glasgow's Renfield, Hope and Union streets now compete for the unenviable title of the most polluted thoroughfares in Britain, largely due to the number of buses that continue to clog them from dawn until after dusk. Though theoretically forbidden from idling, some operators appear to use bus stops like hackney ranks. Under certain weather conditions, the combination of poorly phased traffic lights and sheer volume of traffic competing for custom on the most profitable routes is a recipe for almost unbreathable air.

The 1995 Environment Act obliges councils to take action to bring eight different pollutants down to target levels. The city is already paying the price for pollution with high levels of asthma and other breathing-related conditions. Like getting one's house in order prior to the arrival of an important guest, the prospect of placing the city in the global spotlight for the 2014 Commonwealth Games is a useful spur to action. This week the city council launches the public consultation on an Air Quality Action Plan. It needs to be bold because the gap between where we are and where we need to be on this issue requires a fundamental shift in lifestyles. The challenge is to apply the right mix of sticks and carrots to entice commuters, shoppers and visitors out of their vehicles and simultaneously markedly decrease emissions from buses without threatening Glasgow as a city in which to work, shop and relax.

Schemes in Darlington, Peterborough, Worcester and Oxford show that measures such as better cycle routes, cycle loan schemes, improved and subsidised public transport, car- sharing initiatives and expanded pedestrian-only zones make a marked difference. The Scottish Government is offering £15m of matching funding to create several "sustainable travel demonstration communities". Among the options for Glasgow are low-emission zones (LEZs), based on the London model, where vehicles failing to meet emission standards will be penalised, a move welcomed by Asthma UK as "a significant step forward" for London's 60,000 asthma sufferers. The underlying agenda is to get the most polluting lorries and buses off the roads.

This is only a start. The real enemy is congestion. Stationary traffic is bad for people's health and bad for the economy. The current public mood is against congestion charging, rejected emphatically by the people of Edinburgh in 2005. That mood could change if public transport were to be dramatically improved, offering travellers a cheap, clean, frequent, comfortable, reliable service. There has been a significant improvement in some of Glasgow's bus fleet recently, but the bottom line is that deregulation has left too many operators competing on price rather than quality. If LEZs fail to produce a measure of rationalisation, reregulation may be the only solution. The city needs a plan that is more than a lot of hot (and dirty) air.