Oxford has missed a 'golden opportunity' to solve its traffic problems and improve the city's public transport by refusing to participate in a congestion charging pilot.

County transport chiefs have turned their noses up at the chance of a share of more than £200m and the promise of cash to strengthen public transport -- an offer to entice councils to take part in a project to charge motorists who travel at peak times.

Critics of Oxfordshire County Council's refusal to sign up claimed today that congestion charging was the only way to solve perennial traffic headaches like Botley Road, Abingdon Road and the A40.

Cambridgeshire, Greater Manchester, Tyne & Wear and councils surrounding Bristol and Bath are among those authorities committed to developing schemes that could charge motorists more than £1 a mile.

Keith Slater, former president of the Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce, said a London-style levy on motorists in Oxford was "inevitable".

Mr Slater said: "The county council needs to very seriously and carefully consider its position, because we have a very much worse situation here in Oxford than many of the areas taking part in this pilot.

"It would have been great to have been at the forefront of trying to do something about congestion -- like we were with park-and-ride -- and I think this is a golden opportunity missed.

"There are two ways of controlling congestion like we see from 8am along the Botley Road. One is to say nobody comes into the city at all and the other is to control supply and demand by charging."

The Government wants to roll out congestion charging across the country in 10-15 years and has already indicated toll booths could appear on exit and entry roads along a stretch of the A34 near Oxford to deter local traffic using it an extension of the ring road.

Green city and county councillor Sushila Dhall said: "This is yet another opportunity missed, but there are other radical solutions to tackle congestion like replacing the bus system with trams, cutting off certain streets to traffic, refusing to allow highly polluted vehicles in the city and giving incentives to car share."

Confusion reigns over exactly who is in charge of transport policy in Oxford, with 600 on-street spaces becoming available for six months from 6.30pm tomorrow at a time when city centre car parks have increased their charges by 20 per cent.

County councillor David Robertson, cabinet member for transport, said: "We are very much against congestion charging.

"What the Government is trying to do is get local authorities the rap for implementing congestion charging by saying 'here's some money -- we will bribe you' when it should be their initiative.

"The only way you are going to make Botley Road better is by reducing traffic by 50 or 60 per cent, but nobody has established the answer.

"We will not be part of a pilot which simply gets the Government off the hook."