AMBITIOUS plans to decongest bunged-up roads by encouraging commuters onto public transport have been demonstrated to a city improvement group.

The plans include eight more park-and-ride sites, a car pool scheme, and urging businesses to offer varied commuter opportunities their workforces.

The ideas were put forward to a meeting of the Worcester Alliance - a multi-agency group to improve economic and lifestyle prosperity for Worcester - on Monday.

Heather Mead, the employer travel plan co-ordinator at Worcestershire County Council said a main cause of congestion was commuters clogging up roads as they travelled to and from work.

Ms Mead revealed plans to develop park-and-ride facilities, the car pool pilot scheme, and proposals to encourage private sector workers out of their cars, with a series of internal work place surveys in private companies.

Earlier this month, the Worcester News first announced plans to introduce car-sharing scheme in the city.

It aims to wean two-car households into one by offering them the chance to hire a car by the hour for short journeys. If successful, it will expand across the whole of the city.

In the regeneration proposals for Worcester Royal Porcelain factory there are plans for a similar car pool for residents.

She said another effective way to reduce car commutes was for the council to help private organisations identify how they could encourage their employees to forgo their cars with so-called travel plans. Ms Mead wants to recruit 70 city businesses to start travel plans by 2008. There are also grants available to help businesses wishing to implement the changes.

The Worcester Alliance wholeheartedly endorsed her aims.

"I'm absolutely delighted with their support. There is a very clear link with what our project is trying to achieve, and what the alliance wants. There are certain people we will never change, but we have we can target where there is most potential to have an impact," said Ms Mead.

Research of city commuters' travel habits found nearly 40 per cent of people make a single occupancy car journey to work that was less than 5kms.

In 2004, Worcester was awarded £3.52m as part of the Government funded Sustainable Travel Development Town scheme, which aims to find out how the city can be best adapted to solves transport issues.

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