The bar chart gives information about the number of car journeys into the city centre made by residents and non-residents. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

This

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bar chart illustrates the average daily number of car

journeys

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made into the city centre by residents and non-residents between 1996 and 2005.

Overall

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, resident

journeys

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began at a very high level and declined steadily throughout the period,

while

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non-resident

journeys

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started comparatively low, increased until the early 2000s, and

then

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fell back towards their initial figure. In 1996, residents made almost 10,000 trips per day, roughly double the figure for non-residents. Resident travel remained close to

this

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level until 1999, after which it dropped sharply, reaching around 4,000

journeys

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by 2005.

By contrast

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, non-resident

journeys

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rose from about 5,000 in 1996 to over 8,000 in 1999.

This

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figure remained broadly stable until 2002, before experiencing a steep decline to 3,000 in 2003 and recovering slightly to just below 5,000 by 2005. Two major policy changes influenced these trends. The introduction of parking meters in 2000 coincided with a dramatic fall in resident car use,

whereas

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non-resident

journeys

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were largely unaffected at that stage.

However

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, when Westgate Street and Park Lane were closed in 2003, non-resident travel dropped significantly, leaving both groups at relatively low levels by the end of the period.