The mayor's Transport for London authority said the drop in daily car travel had taken place over four years and was in stark contrast to cities elsewhere in Europe, where public transport use is typically either static or falling.

[So, unless you use car hating Red Ken's methods to force people into cattle trucks, people are free to use the best option:

Cars!]

It revealed the figure days ahead of Tuesday's first anniversary of the congestion charge, which continues to provoke huge disagreement. Labour and Conservative groups on the London assembly yesterday both refused to endorse an all-party scrutiny report on the scheme's impact.

The charge is part of a package of measures introduced by Mr Livingstone in an attempt to revolutionise travel in London, alongside bus lanes, slower traffic lights and electronic ticketing.

[Well, that's revolutionary, halve the roads.

And don't let cars move on the half that's left for them.

And that proves that buses are the poular choice!

Or even that they are the preffered choice?!]

According to TfL, an extra 1.1 million people are taking the bus each day, taking the total number of journeys to 4.7m. During the morning peak, bus journeys into the centre of the capital have rocketed by 47% to 103,000 a day.

[400,000 people have abandoned their cars since 1999.

And there are 1.1 million people/4.7 million journeys/47% (32% actually) of 106,000 journeys into the centre.

So, which is it, and how does that work then?

And, what odds, as the 400,000 fall in trips since 1999 is only a 4% fall in the total, and over four years.] 

The capital's notoriously overcrowded trains and tubes have also accommodated an increase, with passenger numbers up by between 5% and 10% since 1999.

[Again, over four years, not one!]

Professor David Begg, chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport, said the findings proved that it was possible to break the British love affair with the car: "A lot of sceptics say that you can't get people out of their cars and on to the buses. This proves them wrong.

[Proved?

He'll be telling us next he's a professor!]

"No other city in the world is achieving anything like the shift that London has got."

[Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

So London must have the right idea then?!]

According to a study by the European commission, only six out of 17 European cities have persuaded people to forsake cars in favour of public transport since 1991.

London's Olympic rivals have fared poorly - in Paris, public transport's share of travel is declining by 0.3% annually. Madrid has achieved only a 0.2% shift on to buses and trains, compared with London's 4% annual switch.

Despite the findings, the congestion charge has yet to win a political consensus. A London assembly report published yesterday said the "full impact on our city remains unknown", arguing that there was little evidence that businesses were gaining from any extra productivity from faster journey times.

[And that's from Red Ken's own people!]

The study, by the assembly's transport committee, has provoked a bitter row. Labour members have refused to endorse it for being too harsh about the charge, while the Conservatives have rejected it for being insufficiently critical.

Angie Bray, the Conservative spokeswoman on congestion charging, said administration of the charge by the management firm Capita had been "beset by problems". She said the scheme had cost too much and was raising insufficient money: "Did anyone voting for Ken Livingstone in 2000 really believe they would be boosting the share price of Capita?"

Enforcement of the scheme has come in for particular criticism. The AA yesterday accused TfL of adopting a "zero tolerance" approach during the final seconds of daily charging hours in a desperate attempt to generate more cash.

Paul Watters, the AA's head of transport policy, cited a motorist who was fined for entering the zone just 23 seconds before the charge's 6.30pm finishing time: "They've started doing this since they changed their contract with Capita.

"Natural justice would seem to suggest that it's pretty unfair to apply it to the absolute second."

Senior sources at Capita have suggested to TfL that the scheme should be amended to allow motorists to pay the day after they enter the zone, to avoid stiff fines for "forgetfulness". The mayor is believed to be considering adjustments including a simplified appeals procedure.

Many Londoners are exploring new ways to get into town. Piaggio, the moped manufacturer, said the congestion charge had reversed a two-year decline in the scooter market. It said that in some moped shops, four out of five customers had cited the charge as a reason for switching to two wheels. The charge will be a key issue in May's mayoral election. Conservative candidate Steve Norris has pledged to scrap it, while the Liberal Democrat, Simon Hughes, yesterday proposed a series of changes including five "free goes" for every motorist before the charge kicks in.

Fewer and faster

· Car travel in London has fallen by 4%, or 400,000 trips daily, since 1999.

· Some 50,000 fewer vehicles have entered the central zone each day since congestion charging began.

· The charge is expected to raise £68m in its first year, compared with an initial forecast of £200m.

· Bikes, motorcycles and mopeds have risen by a fifth in London as motorists abandon their cars.

· London ambulance service says the charge has cost it £245,000 in getting its staff to work.

· Traffic speeds on key London routes have risen from 2.9mph to 7.4mph, according to the RAC.

[Amazing what changing traffic lights from red to green can achieve!

I wonder which council transport "planning" genius figured that one out?!]