Local councils will get the chance to bid for extra cash from a government fund of up to £2bn if they introduce congestion charging schemes, under an attempt to kick-start road charging outside London.
The transport secretary, Alistair Darling, yesterday heaped praise on the capital's £5-a-day charge and urged local authorities to accelerate work on copycat projects.
Transport experts have been disappointed by a lack of enthusiasm towards charging in cities outside London, although Edinburgh, Cardiff and Southampton have expressed interest.
Addressing a Local Government Association conference, Mr Darling warned that "doing nothing is not an option", with cities running the risk of becoming as clogged as urban areas in China or America.
"Just look what has happened in other parts of the world," said Mr Darling. "Go to the west coast of the United States - 10-lane highways, clogged with cars and lorries, at huge cost to the environment and quality of life of those who live there."
A new transport innovation fund is to be established in next year's budget, beginning at about £200m and rising to £2bn within a decade. The money will be distributed to councils which adopt "imaginative solutions" and can be spent on buses, light rail and traffic management.
"There are many towns and conurbations where congestion is rapidly becoming a real problem, a nettle which will have to be grasped," said Mr Darling. "If we do nothing, congestion will only get worse."
Proposals set out in the government's transport white paper in July allow councils with congestion charges to take greater control of bus services, which are deregulated outside London.
So far, take-up has been limited. Edinburgh residents will vote in February on a £2-a-day congestion charge which could be introduced in 2006. But Bristol, which was also considering a scheme, has stepped back following a change in political control. Cardiff and Southampton have discussed road charges, but both say they are many years away. Durham has a tiny £2 scheme, covering just one road.
David Begg, chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport, said other big cities were struggling because of the small geographical area covered by urban councils.
He said Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds ought to be obvious candidates, but the local authorities only control a small proportion of the "travel to work" area, which means shoppers could merely be displaced elsewhere.
Whitehall sources say other cities are quietly exploring schemes but are reluctant to go public. Activity has increased since June, when London's mayor, Ken Livingstone, won re-election despite the charge.
Mr Darling told local authority leaders that London's scheme was so successful it was "difficult to remember the huge amount of speculation and predictions of dire consequences which were circulating before its introduction".
Before last year's launch of the London charge, Mr Darling himself was a sceptic, suggesting that the technology was unproven, the charging zone could be the wrong size and Mr Livingstone had failed to "take people with him".
