RUSH-HOUR on-street parking charges in Oxford are set to rise by 170 per cent and will become some of the most expensive in the country.

Oxfordshire County Council wants to put up the one-hour parking charge in 600 on-street spaces across the city from £1.50 to £4 between 8am and 10am Monday to Saturday.

And in the first review of on-street charges since 1998, the cost of a two-hour stay during the same time period will jump from £2.50 to £5. After 10am motorists will be charged £2 for one hour and £3 for two hours.

The man introducing the charges, county council cabinet member with responsibility for transport David Robertson, said the increased charges were deliberately designed to deter early-morning traffic.

However, Mr Robertson said he was still considering how to structure the charges to accommodate Saturday morning shoppers.

He said: "There has not been an outcry, but commuters don't travel on a Saturday."

A decision had been due to be made this week, but a final decision will be taken on Thursday, July 20.

Former Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce president, Keith Slater, said: "When I spoke about congestion charging some time ago the suggestion was firmly rejected by the county council, who indicated that it would never happen.

"If this isn't a variable congestion charge by any other name then I'll start to believe in the Tooth Fairy.

"David Robertson makes it quite clear from his comments the county council is keen to discourage people from using their cars to commute or to have early morning meetings in the city.

"So let's stop messing about and acknowledge we have a congestion problem, that variable pricing is the answer and do something about alternative provision."

The leader of Oxford City Council, John Goddard, said: "Are they (county council) trying to throttle Oxford by forcing congestion into a narrower time band in the middle of the day?"

Waiving on-street parking charges in the evenings and on Sunday in the pilot project that started in December last year is estimated to cost County Hall £500,000 a year. However, the authority has calculated the new daytime charges could generate £300,000 a year.

Paul Watters, head of roads and transport policy for the AA Motoring Trust, said: "Clearly it's a demand management measure rather than parking charge but this is, in effect, a congestion charge by another name."

The most recent figures show County Hall paid Control Plus £1.3m to patrol on-street parking spaces in 2004/05.

The figures also show the county received £1.6m in pay-and-display income and £1.1m in fines.

Tory county councillor Mr Robertson said: "This is specifically to deter early morning traffic and encourage people to use park-and-ride."