Traffic could be cut by 10%

Measures to reduce road traffic by 10 per cent - the amount called for in a Private Member's Bill before Parliament - are both "practical and feasible" according to a former Labour transport advisor.

Professor John Whitelegg, of Liverpool's John Moores University, advocates both road pricing and increasing car parking charges in order to meet the traffic target. In a report, he suggests the Stockholm system of congestion charging would be a "model for UK local authorities".

In Stockholm, motorists are charged up to 36p every time they pass one of the 90 fee stations situated in 10 zones across the city. Lorries get charged up to pounds 1. The Swedish scheme raises more than pounds 90m a year - of which 13 per cent is used to cover the running costs, seven per cent used for noise reduction and public transport and nearly 80 per cent is refunded to residents.

An adviser to John Prescott - now the Deputy Prime Minister - between 1990 and 1991, Professor Whitelegg says that other countries have managed to cut traffic in cities by "sensible" traffic management, innovative parking policies and considering public transport when taking planning decisions.

The report, which is backed by Friends of the Earth and the Green Party, says that Aachen in Germany has seen traffic into the centre cut by 85 per cent in a decade by introducing car-free areas.

Although the solutions are almost universally regarded as the only way to reduce congestion and pollution, ministers are wary of setting national targets.

The Road Traffic Reduction Bill seeks to reduce road traffic levels by 5 per cent by 2005 and 10 per cent by 2010 and is backed by many MPs. A recent poll showed that two-thirds of MPs supported the Bill. But ministerial support is said to be ebbing away.

Environmentalists are prepared to embarrass the Government if it fails to back the Bill - which has been introduced by the Plaid Cymru MP Cynog Dafis. The measure is likely to fail if it does not receive the endorsement of the Government at the critical second reading at the end of this month. The Bill's backers point out that the transport ministers Glenda Jackson and Gavin Strang supported an identical Bill when in opposition.