With a revolutionary new bus set to appear on the streets of York, STEVE CARROLL asks is this going to help rid our roads of cars?

The StreetCar was launched as if it had provided the answer to life, the universe and everything.

It may not be all that, but the £200,000 bus that thinks it's a tram, a train and a bus, could be a possible saviour to York's congestion.

The city will get the innovative vehicle first, thanks to the millions that have been spent on public transport in York over the last few years.

On the service four - where the revolutionary motor will take on its first passengers - ambitious targets have been set to get cars off the road.

It's hoped the "f t r" concept - short for future - will take ten per cent of car journeys off the roads on the corridor between the University of York and Acomb.

If successful, this would mean an increase of public transport of 30 per cent on those streets, something environment chiefs at City of York Council are drooling about.

Will it work? Can you really force car owners to sacrifice comfort for a bus? You can when it's the StreetCar, said Peter Edwards, commercial director, at bus company First, which will be bringing in ten of the buses in January.

"The key thing is we are offering something that's more attractive than what we can currently offer," he said. "And, ultimately, something that we feel is more attractive than a car journey.

"Payment options, with swipe cards and even mobile phones, will mean you won't have to wait for the bus driver.

"The way the vehicle is designed means there is no bottleneck when people want to leave the bus. People have got more space. There is real time information on screens. We could even beam in BBC TV.

"It's about making the journey as quick, reliable and comfortable as we can. I am extremely confident that it is going to work.

"This is forcing us to address the future of public transport in a different way."

If the StreetCar is to get one in ten car users to switch to public transport, it will have to. But council bosses, who support First's efforts to bring the bus to York first, are supremely confident as well. Coun Ann Reid, the council's transport chief, said speed and frequency would be the keys. "If people get on a bus, and they can only get to town at the same speed as their car, then they won't make the change. But if they can get there more quickly than in their car, they will," she said.

"We are really confident it will work, and we will make it work. Everyone is very excited about this vehicle. More people are already using the buses (patronage is up 25 per cent) and we see no reason why that would diminish.

"I think we will be improving routing to ensure the StreetCar can make the journey as speedily as possible, as well as other things that will help speed the journey."

When the StreetCar arrives, it will also free up another 12 buses to run on city streets.

That's something that has pleased Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, Labour transport spokeswoman. "I hope these buses will encourage even greater bus use," she said. "I also hope they will not be replacing any buses we currently have in York, but that they will be in addition to them, leading to expanded services on under-served routes."

The StreetCar has been given a big welcome, and has been hyped as one of the biggest transport innovations of the last 20 years.

Only time will tell if it can help diminish York's love affair with the motor car.

Updated: 09:05 Monday, March 14, 2005