Fears are growing that London is heading for complete gridlock, with ever-increasing congestion bringing misery to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

Radical strategies are being devised to stem the amount of cars on the roads, with the Greater London Authority (GLA) proposing to free up traffic in central London by introducing a £5 congestion charge by 2003, for private and commercial vehicles.

Revenue raised would be pumped back into public transport, which the GLA expects to be a satisfactory alternative to private cars by the time the congestion charge is introduced.

For the many south west London residents who commute into the city centre, the zone would start at Vauxhall Bridge or Elephant and Castle.

The effects of the scheme will not be completely clear until it is in place. But there are concerns that the traffic flow would re-route outside the centre, adding to the congestion in outer London.

Rebecca Rees, representative for the AA in south London, said: Its unfair. It will push congestion further out. Parts of Surrey are already heavily congested and the roads wont be able to cope.

But the GLA does not see a problem. Spokesman Peter Fitch said: The scheme is designed principally to cut congestion in central London.

He said all detailed traffic modelling so far showed that congestion charges would not have any impact as far out as Kingston, Richmond and Sutton.

Mr Fitch predicted the fall in traffic within the zone would be the same as we see in the school holidays, but said: There may be an element of displacement in the immediate area.

Courier companies would be included in the charging scheme, leaving small local businesses facing higher overheads.

Bill Millett, of Active Express GB, in Kingston, said of the predicted 10 per cent to 15 per cent drop in traffic: I doubt whether theyll even get 2.5 per cent. It wont make any difference whatsoever. Every time the Government wants to make money the first person it turns to is the motorist.

But on the positive side, the GLA estimates that the scheme will raise £130 million a year, which will be put back into improving existing public transport.

This will allegedly create a 40 per cent improvement in bus and land-rail provision over the next 10 years.

Kingston councillor, Andy Hall said: The congestion charge will get people out of their cars and into public transport, which is what London needs.

Public opinion is divided over the issue. Tom Scerri, 23, a student from Worcester Park said: I think it is a good idea. I use the train every day and would prefer more people to use public transport. Its the same price as a travel card so they arent losing out really.

But Mrs Miles, 65, practice nurse from Longfellow Road, in Worcester Park, said: I dont think it is the solution.

A better solution is more frequent public transport at a flat rate. You could do a park-and-ride and even have free public transport in London.

Tony Adams, of the Kingston Area Travel Association, said that for the scheme to work the proposed congestion charging zone should be expanded.

Mr Adams said there were already too many cars coming into Kingston and he would like to see more pedestrianisation in the town. He added that the congestion charge proposed by the GLA was unlikely to affect Kingston.

Likely charges would be £25 for a weekly pass, £110 for a month or £1,250 a year. Passes would be available by post, on the phone, online or in shops. One possibility is that the registration numbers of those paying would be entered into a database, and fixed or mobile cameras would be able to tell if those entering London had paid or not.

At least two other countries already employ congestion charging to business centres. In Singapore drivers pay money into an account from which a toll fee is deducted automatically.

And Oslo has installed automated booths to collect tolls, though Norwegian drivers are also encouraged to pay by smartcards.

By.Oliver Stallwood