PLANS for a car-sharing scheme on the M61 near Bolton have been criticised by a councillor who says it would cause chaos.

Cllr Paul Brierley believes government plans to have a lane of the motorway between Horwich and Kearsley reserved for cars carrying more than the driver would be unworkable.

The pilot scheme was one of four announced this week by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling.

But Cllr Brierley says it is just another way to force motorists off the road.

The Bradshaw Tory councillor, who drives up to 40,000 miles a year in his job, said: "This scheme is ludicrous and unworkable. I cannot see how this is going to benefit drivers and ease congestion.

"It is the motorist who always seems to suffer. We pay a lot of money for petrol and the cost of running a car is astronomical. The scheme will create yet more problems. It's just another way to get motorists off the road.

"In the last decade, it has become commonplace to own two cars and many people who drive to work drive their own car. The stretch of road between the Horwich and Kearsley junctions is one of the quietest on the M61 and I just cannot see the logic behind having a pilot scheme there."

Cllr Brierley believes the the long-term solution to easing motorway congestion is to introduce a ban on lorries using the middle lane during the rush hour.

"One of the main ways to cut down on traffic jams would be to make drivers of heavy goods vehicles drive in the left-hand lane between 7am and 10am during the week," he said. "I feel as a driver that it is these kind of vehicles which cause delays for motorists.

The other pilot car-sharing schemes will be on the M62 from Brighouse to Leeds, the M3 into London at junctions three and two, and the M1 from Milton Keynes South to St Albans.

The Department for Transport will carry out a feasibility study and consult Bolton Council and the Greater Manchester Transport Executive before going ahead with the M61 proposal.