It will also be responsible for promoting river transport. The population of London has grown slowly over the last ten years, having exceeded 7 million in 1995 for the first time since the 1970s. In 1998, 1.1 million people were estimated to enter central London on an average weekday between 7am and 10am. This represents a 3 per cent increase on the previous year and continues an upward trend established in 1994, following a period of steady decline between 1988 and 1993. Around 83 per cent used public transport in 1998 similar to the proportion ten years earlier, but 3 per cent higher than in 1993.
Car accounts for around two-thirds of the average distance travelled by London residents.
The average travel time to work in 1998 for those working in central London was 55 minutes, more than twice as high as the Great Britain average of 25 minutes. This represented an average of about 4,400 trips per vehicle. In central London, average traffic speeds are similar in peak and daytime off-peak periods, at about 10 mph. Daytime off-peak speeds in outer London are nearly 23 mph on average. The average daily total vehicle flow on major roads in Greater London increased by less than 2 per cent between 1991 and 1998 to 29.1 thousand vehicles a day.