Car Free Day proved a damp squib in Bradford even though 10,000 free bus journeys were on offer.

Hundreds of motorists snubbed the free travel vouchers offered by Bradford Traveller, preferring to stay in their cars.

Bradford Urban Traffic Unit also recorded no change in the district's traffic levels - although there were no hold-ups.

But the one bright spot in the day was that mail order giant Grattan said there were fewer vehicles in their Listerhill car park, indicating that people had come to work in different ways.

The company, which campaigned to persuade its workers to use the vouchers, will go all-out to get them to share cars. A spokesman for the company said they already provided cycle lockers and wanted to encourage their workers to protect the environment and reduce pollution.

Grattan held a survey of its 5,000 workforce and about 60 per cent of the 3,100 workers who responded said they brought their cars to work.

But motorists packing into city centre car parks said it was inconvenient for them to use other methods of transport. Some said they had also forgotten it was Car Free Day.

Seventeen-year-old Oliver Taylor, who tried to use his free voucher on a Bradford bus, said he was amazed the driver did not know what it was for. He said the number of passengers using the bus was about the same as other days.

The chairman of the Council's transportation, planning and design committee, Councillor Latif Darr, said people appeared to be using the vouchers in single numbers per bus, when they had expected more.

"I am a bit disappointed that this is happening."

A spokesman for Bradford Traveller - which admits it has lost money on the promotion - said it was too early to give figures. But he added that the day had been to raise public awareness as well as increase passengers.

"If we just get several vehicles off the road we will judge it a success."

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