Generational surprises.

[rubato]

I had thought it was just a statistical fluke that several friends and relatives have teens to 20-something kids who don't want to learn to drive. It's not. But will this change in expectations help to transition us to more public transport?


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http://news.yahoo.com/americas-generati ... ector.html

America's Generation Y not driven to drive
ReutersBy Deborah Zabarenko | Reuters – 21 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To Shoshana Gurian-Sherman, driving seemed like a huge hassle.

"Part of it was laziness," the 23-year-old Minneapolis resident recalled. "I didn't really want to put in the effort to learn how to drive ... I knew how to ride the buses, so it was not necessary.

"And the other thing was, it was just scary, the idea of being in charge of a vehicle that potentially could kill me or other people," Gurian-Sherman said.

She eventually got her license at 18, two years later than she could have, after her parents threatened not to pay for college if she did not learn to drive, a skill they considered to be important.

In her reluctance to drive or own a car, Gurian-Sherman is typical of a certain segment of Generation Y, the coveted marketing demographic encompassing the 80 million U.S. residents between the ages of 16 and 34.

Bigger than the post-World War Two baby-boom generation but without the middle-class expansion that drove the earlier group's consumer habits, Generation Y includes an increasing number of people for whom driving is less an American rite of passage than an unnecessary chore.

"That moment of realizing that you're a grown-up - for my generation, that was when you got your driver's license or car," said Tony Dudzik, a senior policy analyst of the Frontier Group, a California-based think tank that has studied this phenomenon. "For young people now, that moment comes when you get your first cellphone."

U.S. residents started driving less around the turn of the 21st century, and young people have propelled this trend, according to the federal government's National Household Travel Survey.

From 2001 to 2009, the average annual number of vehicle-miles traveled by people ages 16-34 dropped 23 percent, from 10,300 to 7,900, the survey found. Gen Y-ers, also known as Millennials, tend to ride bicycles, take public transit and rely on virtual media.

More than a quarter of Millennials - 26 percent - lacked a driver's license in 2010, up 5 percentage points from 2000, the Federal Highway Administration reported.

THE HIGH COST OF DRIVING

At the same time, older people are driving more, researchers at the University of Michigan found. In 2008, those age 70 and older made up the largest group of drivers on the road, more than 10 percent, which was slightly higher than those in their 40s or 50s.

The Michigan researchers offered a few reasons why some younger drivers hesitate to get behind the wheel: the high cost of owning, fueling and maintaining a car and the convenience of electronic communication.

The Frontier Group's Dudzik suggested a related cause: computer and smartphone applications that make taking public transportation easier, with minute-by-minute tracking of buses and trains and simple online maps and travel directions.

Whether Gen Y-ers will eventually drive more than they do now will affect transportation infrastructure costs, Dudzik said.

Bikes and car-sharing services make it easier to avoid the expense of owning a fossil-fueled vehicle. Environmental concerns are another reason, said David Jacobs of the Tombras Group, a marketing firm based in Knoxville, Tennessee.

"It's not the main reason, but it is a compelling reason," Jacobs said.

More central is the group's general anxiety over finances and the economy, he said.

"They're shouldering higher mortgage costs, rent; their insurance costs are higher than previous generation's," Jacobs said. "And all that's happening after a couple of recessions, so they've really never, as young adults, seen a very healthy, stable economy. They're worried about a lot of things."

To sell cars or anything else to Generation Y, he said, "you have to talk to them at their level and make them interested and show them you are a valuable, reputable company with a quality product and you do care about the environment, the economy."

That fits with Gurian-Sherman's thoughts on the environment in her decision not to own a car: "I don't know if I consider myself an environmentalist, but I care about the impact that I have." (Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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yrs,
rubato

[dgs49]

Great topic.

I WISH that I lived somewhere that I could get by without driving. To me, the worst thing about suburbia is that you can't go anywhere or do anything without getting into your car. I think the kids of suburbia are much worse for it, as they end up tethered to their parents for their first 16 years.

And as for teenagers in suburbia, I didn't want to spoil my kid by getting him a car, but the alternative is him riding around with his no-good friends in their cars, which I deemed the worse of two options.

[The Hen]

I didn't bother learning to drive til I was 26. Back then, the public transport system met my needs.

These days the system isn't as good as it used to be. Hence the Hatch is almost ready to sit her final driving test.

[dales]

I used to be a STATE OF CALIFORNIA LICENSED BEHIND THE WHEEL DRIVING INSTRUCTOR.

I can attest to this fact.

Kids now days (unlike the 1960's) are in no hurry to to become licensed drivers.

I was driving at 15-16 and was astonished to learn from the HS kids that driving was not that important.

On a more personal note:

Both my girls didn't get licensed to drive until their twenties.

(both are attractive and had no trouble snagging rides from more than willing boys)

[Lord Jim]

In Virginia when I was growing up, you could get your learners permit when you were 15 and eight months....

I got it that very day....

Took the road test on my 16th birthday....

That was SOP at the time.

[dales]

Jim....you neglected to mentioned if you passed the behind the wheel test.

[Lord Jim]

Okay...

Now you can go over and sit in Smart Ass Corner with Strop....

[Gob]

Similar theme to this discussion here from April.

[BoSoxGal]

I'm sure young folks are also less motivated to drive given the cost of insurance and $4/gal gasoline, in a time when youth unemployment rates are skyrocketing.

[The Hen]

The Hatch possibly wouldn't be so keen to get her license, but every second week she stays with her dad who lives an hour and fifteen minutes away. It would be much easier for college if she herself was licensed.

[Sue U]

My son at 16 has been very eager to drive and has scheduled his licensing road test for the first day that the test center is open after his 17th birthday (17 being the licensing age in this state). His friends who are already 17 all have their licenses. There doesn't seem to be any lack of desire/motivation around here. And frankly, I'll be happy when he can start driving himself and his little sisters to their various activities and relieve me of the burden.

For my part, I had wanted to drive as a teenager, but now I can't stand it. I can't wait til the kids are out of the house so we can move back into the city and get rid of the cars altogether. I agree with dgs49: the worst thing about suburbia is that you can't go anywhere or do anything without getting into your car.

[Crackpot]

There is a vast difference between driving for need and driving for pleasure. If it weren't for the afternoon commute I'd still enjoy driving.

[Beer Sponge]

I grew up in a small town, and was one of the oldest of my peers. I got my license as soon as I could, as there was nothing to do in my town. In an instant, I went from most girls ignoring me, to getting asked on dates. Driving was essential!!!

[Sean]

I have spent most of my adult life as a city dweller in the UK where public transport is cheap and plentiful. That is why I didn't get my licence until I moved to Oz and at the age of 32.

[rubato]

My SIL and several colleagues who emigrated from Russia and the Peoples Republic of China didn't learn to drive until after they were 30.

You can tell.

yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yeah that happens when you have to share one car per 7 million other people

[BoSoxGal]

I was excited to get licensed as a teenager because I hated ending a visit to the library with my mother's unwelcoming scowl - pissed at having to get off the couch to pick me up. What parent is pissed about having a nerdy bookworm for a kid, I ask you?

I still love a good roadtrip. I've been cross country five times in my current vehicle and can't contemplate getting rid of it, though I'll soon be making plenty enough to finance a newer car. We've made lots of memories together.

I agree with CP & Sue, though - daily commutes suck. I've loved living in Montana because each little city I've lived in has been pedestrian friendly. This country is going to have to do some serious reconfiguring to deal with the car centered suburban communities we've built post-WW II, and the incredibly unhealthy lifestyle they encourage.

[rubato]

One way or another, the kind of individual freedom we had with cars is probably going to go away. I don't see anything on the horizon technically which will greatly increase the range or decrease the charging time of electrics or make fuel cells efficient enough so the idea of a 'road trip' where you drove 900 miles a day won't be possible.

yrs,
rubato

[Sean]

I think you need to expand your horizons Rubato...

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2 ... econd.html

[Crackpot]

hat Rubato knows about automobiles and the auto industry could fit in a thimble.