The plans would see mini-buses ferrying shoppers around the streets after they have arrived in the city on the train.

Malcolm McVicar, chairman of the Preston Vision Board, believes the congestion problems clogging up the major road arteries in and out of the city can be eased by massive development.

He anticipates more than £2bn of investment will be pumped into the city through major projects such as the Tithebarn and Central Business District scheme, freeing up cash to ease the traffic nightmare.

Dr McVicar, who is also vice-chancellor at the University of Central Lancashire, said: "I think the transport problem can be solved by these developments.

"You have a rail station within five minutes walk of the university, five minutes walk from the main shopping centre and five minutes from the proposed Central Business District.

"The number of people coming into Preston on the train has gone up and I think the potential there is tremendous with the station, and obviously we are going to have to look at buses as well.

"The future of Preston is clearly not a car-based one. You look at the City of London, which is one of the world's biggest financial centres, and there is absolutely nowhere to park. You look at central Manchester and you dare not take your car there.

"In Preston, when we develop the city, we have to make sure that rail, buses and public transport in general are at the centre of what we are doing."

Vision Board vice-chairman Jeremy Gorick, the managing director at Ribbleton-based manufacturer Liquid Plastics, said that the idea of mini-buses ferrying shoppers from the train station had been "keenly discussed" by the think-tank.

Dr McVicar's comments come as the Vision Board prepares to step up its massive regeneration plans with the appointment of a new 'tsar-like' figure. He said he hoped the position could be advertised in "the next few months" and revealed that even more full-time staff could soon join the board.

Hugh Evans, of the Preston-based North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said: "If we want more people to use public transport we must give them a better service."