COUNCIL chiefs today hailed the first stage of their congestion-busting York transport strategy as a "major success" which protects the environment and keeps the city's economy healthy.

Traffic volume dropped by more than four per cent across the city between 1999 and 2001, while huge rises were reported in bus passenger numbers and pedestrian journeys, according to the first annual progress report on the city's £50 million Local Transport Plan.

York's economy was also boosted as planners found more people actually travelling to the city centre despite the reduction in traffic.

Colin Knight, City of York Council's head of transport planning, said the figures represented a reversal in years of increasing congestion.

He said: "Since the start of York's award- winning Local Transport Plan, weekday traffic has fallen by 4.6 per cent, bucking the national trend. The data comes from the council's 41 automatic traffic counters which operate 365 days of the year.

"We attribute the success to an increase in Park & Ride use, the new Metro bus service and more people walking and leaving their cars behind.

"We originally aimed to handle one million cars a year at Park & Ride sites by 2006, but this target has already been met. A new target of 1.4 million has now been set.

"York's new Metro bus service has also made major inroads into traffic levels, with passenger levels up by 14 per cent on last September."

Mr Knight said the council's "healthy lifestyle message" was hitting home, with a record 36 per cent increase in people walking to the city centre over the last two years. York is also sustaining high levels of cycling despite a national decline, with 6.6 per cent of all journeys into the city centre being made by bike.

Mr Knight added: "We've shown that it's possible to protect the environment whilst also helping the York economy grow by enabling more people to reach the city centre."

Council leader Dave Merrett, one of the scheme's pioneers, said: "I'm very pleased with these results. It's the product of a lot of hard work and big investment by First York in the local bus network. We're moving in the right direction, but there is a lot more to do."

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said: "I'm not totally surprised by the figures, because we've been trying to promote Park & Ride in our tourist guides.

"It's good news that more people are coming into the city centre because retailers are concerned about other shopping destinations."

Len Cruddas, chief executive of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said it was "very good news" for retailers.

Mr Knight said a range of schemes were in the pipeline to further improve the situation, including two new Park & Ride sites, new cycle routes and real-time passenger information for bus users.

Updated: 11:24 Tuesday, August 13, 2002