PROVIDING Britain with a modern congestion-free transport system will be 'a long haul' with no fast lane to success, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott admitted on the first anniversary of his much-heralded integrated transport policy white paper.

After two years of 'getting the long-term framework in place', Prescott claimed improvements were beginning to be delivered and, as the 21st century approached, travel choices were being increased for the benefit of motorists and the country.

He claimed when the Conservative Party came to power in 1979, there were 70 cars per mile of road and, when the Labour Party seized power in the 1997 general election, there were 100 cars per mile of road, despite more than £70 billion being spent on roads.

'If we do nothing, there will be six million more cars on our roads in 20 years' time. It has been estimated that we would need a 50-lane motorway stretching from London to Edinburgh - just to park them. Traffic jams cost money - £20 billion a year according to the Confederation of British Industry,' said Prescott.

'We want a transport system which is safe, clean, efficient and fair. The keys to achieving this are more choice, better management and partnership. The more car owners choose to travel by bus, by train, by cycle or on foot, the better it will be for those who need to use their car.'