IS it downtown Hong Kong? Rush hour in Peking? No. It's the mayor and mayoress on their travels in the borough.

The mayor swapped his official limo for a rickshaw and brought traffic to a crawl on Saturday (Sep 21).

Councillor John Smith and his mayoress wife Coun Stella Smith are pictured being given a leisurely ride by driver Lee Eckersley.

The borough joined cities across the continent to mark European Car Free Day, with an event in Market Place, Bury, titled In Town Without My Car.

Coun Smith arrived by rickshaw to get proceedings under way and launch a prize balloon race.

Nearby roads were closed for a time to accommodate the event, which aimed to promote the environmental benefits of alternative travel and show how space taken up by cars could be better used.

Coun Stella Smith, executive member for environment and transport, said: "Through the bus and Metrolink services, and the growing cycle network, our borough is extremely well provided with alternatives to the car.

"We hope this will continue to improve, but we need to convince more people to give them a try."

The mayor's rickshaw, or cycle taxi, driven by Lee from Pedal Power of Irlam, has a top speed of nine miles per hour, weighs 70kg and has a range of 45 miles.