About 38 per cent of working men drove their own car into the city, compared to almost 30 per cent of working women who instead were more likely to use "sustainable modes of transport". Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle is at a loss to explain why more men would see it fit to contribute to traffic congestion. Cr Doyle is a regular user of the city's tram network, including from his home in South Melbourne. But he also has his own driver and car for official duties. "It seems to reinforce the gender stereotypes doesn't it? That we climb into our suits, put our hat on, put the pipe in the overcoat pocket and jump into a car," he said. Women were more likely than men to take a train, tram, bus or walk to work in the city, according to the Census findings.

Though they were over-represented as car passengers (5.7 per cent versus 1.9 per cent), which goes some way to explain the gender imbalance in driving to work. In recent years Melbourne City Council has adopted a deliberate policy of discouraging cars from coming into the CBD. It benefits those modes of transport that take up less space and a better for the environment, such as walking or cycling. In a number of instances the city is ripping up existing roads, including in a plan to close down half of Southbank Boulevard and convert it into a Melbourne's largest linear park. The council's reasoning is that it would be impossible to build enough new roads to cater for Melbourne's swelling inner-city population.

Another 13,480 high-rise residential apartments are expected to be completed within the next five years. By 2022, its forecast there will be one million people visiting the city everyday, compared to 854,000 in 2014. The Lord Mayor says reduced car use and the planned Melbourne Metro rail project is essential to managing this growing demand on the city. "We worry now about congestion, we see that the trams are absolutely crowded. You're not going to get a million people coming into the centre of the city by car and neither will they be walking from the outer suburbs," Cr Doyle said. Already the council has estimated that one third of traffic circulating in the CBD at any one time is made up of people looking for a parking spot. And cars have been well and truly regulated when it comes to getting around the city.

More than 65 per cent of people were get around on foot, almost 20 per cent take a tram and about 5 per cent hopping on a train, according to the Central Melbourne Travel 2014 Intercept survey. Do you drive to work in the CBD? Tell us why in the comment section below.