Thousands of shoppers are leaving their cars at home when coming into Wolverhampton as high fuel prices force people to tighten their belts, new figures revealed today.

While shopping centres are enjoying a surge in visitors, car park revenue is plummeting as drivers use public transport instead. Around 14,800 vehicles used Wolverhampton’s nine city centre car parks between April and June – a 12 per cent fall in three months. The Mander Centre saw 6,000 fewer vehicles in its car park in June, a 15 per cent drop on the same period last year.

The previous month had seen a reduction of 3,000.

The centre has, however, reported a 34 per cent rise in “footfall” figures last month, when almost two million people were electronically counted going there in June compared with around 1.45 million over the same period last year.

Operations manager Brian Walker said today: “We are delighted by this significant increase, especially since it has happened during difficult times for retailers. Hopefully it will be reflected in retail sales figures.

“Wolverhampton has always been a city with a strong public transport system and people who are happy to use the bus, tram or train. The current conditions emphasise this even more.”

Lucy Bickley, project officer for Wolverhampton City Centre Company, added: “The price of petrol is making major changes to the way people live.”

Councillor Paddy Bradley, Wolverhampton City Council member for regeneration and enterprise who has responsibility for transport, said it was good news for shops and public transport. “We keep banging on about the problems of congestion on the roads and perhaps expensive fuel is sorting that out,” she added.

National Express, which runs buses and trams in the region, is expected to reveal bumper passenger numbers next week. A recent national survey by Populus showed nearly a third of motorists had stopped driving to the local shops.