A new fund is to be created which could pave the way to reduced congestion and better public transport in the city. The Government has published a discussion paper prior to the launch of its planned ‘Urban Challenge Fund', a fund designed to deliver a host of benefits from reduced carbon emissions and better air quality to increased journey time reliability.

Labour's transport spokesperson Coun. Ruth Potter welcomed the development and the lessons learned from the Fund's predecessor, the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF). She said:

"The potential benefits of combining the work previously falling under the TIF and the Sustainable Travel Towns programme could have major implications for York. The new Fund will very much be geared towards realising significant shifts in transport choices from the car to public transport and walking and cycling.

"Cycling City money is already helping York to move in that direction, but much more can be done. Through the Fund, towns and cities should be able to deliver improvements in local bus services and city-wide traffic management through central investment. It acknowledges that modal shifts in transport choices will come through a range of measures, and not simply through congestion charging, which on its own is very unpalatable to the public.

"But demand management measures do form part of future plans for better traffic management and it is naive to think otherwise. There will be both hard and soft measures that will contribute to making York a safer and more pleasant city to get around. I believe that is what people want and this Fund offers an incentive to local decision-makers to engage now and do the best they can for York".

Coun. Potter added that future investment through the Fund should be welcomed as a boost to the local economy, due to less money lost through traffic congestion, as well as delivering better health for many residents, and concluded:

"Labour is committed to improving people's transport choices at both the national and local levels. We want to improve neighbourhoods by increasing walking and cycling, improving bus services through Quality Contracts and to improve health as a result. None of the other parties is committed to doing what's needed as Labour is".