The first phase of a programme to tackle traffic congestion in York has been launched.

Messaging equipment, live traffic information at bus stops and traffic signals which can be altered to ease jams will soon be in place.

City of York Council premiered its £4m Urban Traffic Management Control system in advance of a transport conference held in the city yesterday.

Incorporating a £500,000 Bus Location and Information System which uses mobile phone and satellite technology, the activation of traffic monitors on the A19 at Rawcliffe marks the beginning of a two-year programme.

The system sends information to bus stops and other displays and cuts down delays by altering traffic signals.

Executive member for transport, Tracey Simpson-Laing, said: "Using state-of-the-art technology gives us a fantastic opportunity to help ease the problem of congestion on our road network.

"Council officers have worked intensively on this during the past two years and succeeded in developing a set of world-leading tools that we can now use to manage traffic across the whole city."

Transport planner Dave Caulfield said: "The new tools will give us, for the first time, the potential to reduce our air-quality problems and also to give buses priority without the need for major bus lanes or priority lights."

Yesterday's conference, at St William's College, was sponsored by the Department of Transport and brought together transport professionals and information technology experts from across Britain and Europe who are working to harness new technology to improve traffic movement in urban areas.