The figures showing public transport more attractive than the private car mean targets set for 2006 have been achieved three years ahead of schedule.

Centro and Birmingham City Council run the survey every two years to monitor performance against the Local Transport Plan submitted to Government as a basis for funding. Passenger counts are carried out for bus, train and Metro services, while automatic traffic counters are placed across roads around the city.

An average of 44,119 vehicles were measured heading for the city centre during the morning peak. But this was surpassed by 50,529 bus, train and tram passengers making public transport the dominant mode for the first time.

The number of Midland Metro passengers arriving at Snow Hill from Wolverhampton and West Bromwich showed a relatively small, but the most significant increase. It rose by nearly 30 per cent to more than 1200 passengers a day.

West Midlands transport bosses are particularly buoyed by the increase in rail patronage to the level where more than one in five Birmingham commuters now uses the train. The results take on particular significance coming ahead of any changes to emerge from the Government's Rail Review.

The cordon counts take place around nine major centres in the region every two years to determine the importance of public transport for commuter, shopping and leisure trips. Counts are taking place this year in Merry Hill, Walsall, West Bromwich and Dudley. Results have just been released for last year's surveys in Birmingham, Walsall, Solihull, Brierley Hill and Coventry.

In Birmingham, the proportion of public transport users rose by four per cent from 2001 (49% to 53%) above the target of 48% for 2006. Walsall had a three per cent rise (30% to 33%, against a 31 % target) whilst Solihull has seen an increase of two per cent (17% to 19%) though short of its 21% target this figure is expected to be reached in the next two years.

Brierley Hill and Coventry experienced small falls (one per cent and two per cent respectively).

The total number of rush hour trips in Birmingham has seen a decline since 1999 of 11,000 commuters. But while the number of car trips fell by 20 per cent, public transport passengers fared much better. A 2.6 per cent reduction in bus passengers was compensated for by increases in the number of rail and Metro passengers.

"This is good news and shows that public transport can be an attractive and effective alternative to private cars once tried," said Robert Smith, Centro Services Director. "I look forward to seeing more targets reached and exceeded in the next few years."

The change in modal spilt is likely to have been encouraged by the increaing number of successful park and ride schemes in the region. Centro now provides over 5,000 free car parking spaces alongside rail and Metro stations - which are estimated to take more than two million car journeys a year off the region's congested roads.