A project to get people out of their cars in favour of more environmentally friendly transport has been deemed a success by the Town Hall.

Motorists who regularly experience congestion around Watford’s roads and think it is only getting worse may be surprised to learn that car use in the town has gone down by 12 per cent over the last four years, according to Watford Borough Council figures.

More than 11,500 households in Watford were contacted by the TravelSmart team in the first two stages of the project. They were offered advice on how to make simple changes to the way they travelled, to use their cars less often, and walk, cycle or take public transport more.

Kathlyn Evans and her family were among the households contacted.

They used their car for most daily trips and requested an information pack and a home visit from the team's cycling advisor Stephen Lawrence.

Kathlyn said: “My two younger daughters had been out on their bikes three or four times before TravelSmart but now every time the sun shines they're asking: ‘Can we go out on the bikes?'.

“They feel a lot healthier and are pleased to be doing something for the environment.

“We used to jump in the car to do the weekly shop but now we walk with the girls.

“Unless we really have to use the car we don’t - it just sits on the driveway."

The drop in car use was accompanied by a 36 per cent increase in cycling trips, a 14 per cent increase in walking trips and a nine per cent increase in public transport journeys, the council said.

The third and final stage of the TravelSmart project in Watford has just been completed by Sustrans and Socialdata, in partnership Watford Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council.

It has also received funding from Big Lottery Fund's Wellbeing Programme as part of a wider £19.9 million grant awarded by BIG to the Active Travel Consortium.

Dorothy Thornhill, mayor of Watford, said: "These initial results from the report given to us by Sustrans at the Town Hall are exciting.

“It looks as if the door-to-door personalised TravelSmart scheme so far is making a significant impact in encouraging people to occasionally think of making journeys other than by car.

“A small reduction in car use can make a big reduction in congestion. The 12 per cent reduction in car use in Watford between 2005 and 2009, makes Watford one of the best out of all the towns that Sustrans have worked in so far – and this includes in the USA and Australia, as well as England.

“In many cases, this is down to people choosing to get out and cycle or walk more, so also getting the health benefits of doing so.”