NEW park-and-ride sites in Witney, Bicester and Abingdon are being examined as part of a multi-million pound investment in Oxfordshire's public transport.

Car use and traffic jams on the county's main roads are becoming such a problem that Oxfordshire County Council has commissioned a study to look at the possibility of building three new satellite park-and-rides to ferry people in and out of Oxford.

Although no sites have yet been identified, the idea is to have a countywide public transport infrastructure the envy of the UK in place by 2010 the time Oxford's Westgate project is due to open. And with proposed increases in patrolled on-street car parking, additional park-and-ride capacity is seen as vital.

There are currently five park-and-ride sites around Oxford. Thornhill and Water Eaton are run by the county council while Seacourt, Redbridge and Pear Tree are run by Oxford City Council.

In a report to county councillors the authority's sustainable transport manager, Noel Newson, said: "Use of the Thornhill and Water Eaton car parks has been growing steadily, with the former often operating close to capacity for much of the week.

"Use of Pear Tree and Seacourt has been fairly stable, but they are close to capacity at time of high demand.

"There has been a fall in use of the Redbridge car park, which in part reflects the growth in use of local bus services between Abingdon and Oxford."

Park-and-ride was first introduced to Oxford in 1973, when the Redbridge site opened. Around 2,000 people used the service in its first week.

The county council's figures for usage across all five sites between 1992 and last year show that the average weekly use has increased from 22,990 people to 28,055.

And with the Highways Agency stating the clogged-up A34 will receive no new investment until 2016 at the earliest, there is a realisation that something needs to be done.

County councillor and Witney resident David Robertson, cabinet member for transport, said: "Certainly Bicester and Witney are being looked at. Witney is getting to the stage where a local park-and-ride would benefit people travelling to Oxford instead of driving miles to use one. We have got to make things useable for people and encourage them to leave their car.

"You will never force people out of cars simply because they have the comfort, but park-and-ride has been fantastic for Oxford and now we are moving on to look at a different strategy."

Although £8m has been earmarked for park-and-ride expansion, money would also be gained from developer contributions and on-street parking surpluses.

Barry Norton, the leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said: "There is no doubt an edge-of-town site would tick a lot of boxes. It would really help with persuading those who drive in to Oxford to leave their cars and catch a bus. Anything that helps relieve congestion on the A40 we would welcome with open arms."

The county council has waived the cost of parking at its park-and-ride sites while the city council continues to charge motorists 60p.

Graham Jones, of Oxford transport pressure group Rescue Oxford, added: "It makes sense to look at something that keeps vehicles from clogging up the A34 and A40, but there needs to be strategic thinking about what is best for Oxford and the surrounding area.

"Oxford has a difficult network and we must recognise there are problems because of that, but I think there are some partial solutions. A lot of congestion could be resolved by making life easier at some junctions, like redesigning Wolvercote Roundabout and Frideswide Square."