MOTORISTS will get a free journey into York's city centre for at least two years, despite the Government pressing ahead with plans to make them pay.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott today revealed more details of his plans to "break the logjam" of cars and other vehicles clogging up city centres.

In a consultation document, he says that local authorities should be allowed to charge motorists a toll to go into inner urban areas.

All the money raised must be used by local councils for improving transport in their area, and the government will not be allowed to appropriate it for its own transport plans.

But apart from in London, city centre tolls are not expected to come in before 2001 at the earliest.

The Queen's Speech included plans to introduce them in the capital as part of special legislation for London. But for the rest of the country, the government is now only at the consultation stage.

Mr Prescott today published details of the plans in "Cutting Congestion - Improving the Environment".

It will set out what the Government sees as the economic, social and environmental benefits of a new charging regime to ease inner-city congestion.

Charges for workplace parking are also in the document.

City of York councillors will consider the paper in the New Year and discuss their response.

The AA said that politicians would have to work very hard to convince the public that money raised from charges was not going to be "stolen for other things".

The Road Haulage Association said the pricing mechanism had to distinguish between those using the road for essential social and commercial purposes and those using if for private journeys.

The Treasury reckons that as much as £1 billion a year could be raised by the new charges by the year 2006. The AA's estimate is around the £2 billion a year mark.

see COMMENT 'Traffic dream is city's nightmare'

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