Congestion charging will have little effect on the number of public transport users in the short term, Transport for London has concluded.

In a report to mayor Ken Livingstone, the organisation claims that, while traffic will reduce by between 10 and 15 per cent, and congestion could fall by as much as a third, only 20,000 more commuters will use public transport during the morning peak time, representing a one per cent increase on current figures.

"An extensive public transport network already exists in central London. TfL is implementing a wide range of capacity and operational enhancements to ensure that public transport capacity is sufficient to accommodate new customers as a result of central London congestion charging," the report said.

Of the 20,000 new public transport users, only a quarter are expected to use the tube, representing an extra person per carriage, while 70 per cent will travel by bus, of which 7,000 will travel during the morning.

As a result, the authors recommend no change to the planned start date of 17 February 2003 for the congestion charges, using existing improvements to the public transport system.