Some 1,000 cities, towns and communities in more than 20 countries across Europe urged commuters to forego their vehicles for more environmentally friendly modes of transport in a bid to raise awareness about pollution.

The initiative -- introduced in France in 1998 -- also provides officials with an opportunity to test alternative mass transit solutions, as traffic is barred in large areas of some of Europe's most clogged cities.

From Amsterdam to Athens, cyclists, rollerbladers and pedestrians replaced endless streams of exhaust-spewing cars on main thoroughfares, with bicycles available for rent -- or for free -- in several capitals.

In Paris, officials barred vehicles from much of the city center and the Montmartre neighborhood from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm (0700 to 1700 GMT), with only taxis, emergency trucks and vehicles powered by "clean" liquid propane gas or electricity allowed on the roads.

Austrian schoolchildren learned a unique lesson about the benefits of car-free cities, taking their classes in parks, city squares and even roads closed to traffic.

Car devotees in Britain were offered a light-hearted phrasebook -- as part of a Car User's Survival Kit -- on bus etiquette, with helpful phrases like "Is that seat free?" and "Is this the correct bus stop for...?"

But the country's junior transport minister Alan Whitehead insisted: "This initiative is not an anti-car one and should not be portrayed as such. We recognize the valuable role the car plays in an integrated transport system."

"Car-free" day came as a welcome respite to Europeans gagging for air after an unusually hot, sunny summer, during which pollution levels in congested cities repeatedly reached all-time highs.

Ozone levels in France this summer -- where a blistering heat wave left at least 11,400 mainly elderly people dead, according to the latest government estimates -- were the most dangerous on record since 1991, officials said.

While many European cities had yet to measure pollution levels, Greek environment ministry spokesman Angelos Niotakis said simply: "The atmosphere is good."

But strikes by Athens taxi drivers and petrol station workers seemed to help reduce traffic more than the observation of "car-free" day, with Niotakis admitting that Greek drivers were "not yet mature enough to give up the wheel."

Not all of Europe latched on to the idea, with Portugal's two largest cities, the capital Lisbon and the northern city of Oporto, refusing to shut their bustling downtown areas to car traffic.

"I'm not going to turn people's lives into hell," Oporto's center-right mayor Rui Rio said to justify his decision. Only a few streets were to be closed in a symbolic show of support for the Europe-wide initiative.

In Rome, officials organized informational seminars, but cars continued to flow through the Italian capital. Only 11 cities across the country including Padua, Palermo and Siena elected to reclaim the streets from cars.

In Asia, the European initiative failed to drum up widespread support, with only Taiwan showing any enthusiasm as thousands of people cycled, walked or skated in clean air marches.

Despite the fanfare, traffic in Taipei -- as through much of the region -- seemed as heavy as usual. In Tokyo, where "car-free" events have been held since 2000, officials said a lack of funding was to blame for this year's hiatus.

Some European cities held their "car-free" days on Sunday including Budapest and Brussels, where balmy late-summer temperatures and free public transport encouraged attendance at a series of street parties and concerts.

Several cities in Canada including Toronto and Ottawa hosted "car-free" events at the weekend, with Montreal due to shut down its main roads during the day on Monday.

TERRA.WIRE