The "Sans Auto" Generation

[marmar]

(New York, NY — Kristen Meinzer, The Takeaway) A typical story on The Takeaway morning radio program receives up to a dozen listener comments. Stories that strike a particular cord receive closer to two or three dozen responses. But a story we covered this month received nearly seventy five comments from more than twenty states across the country.

The story was about young people driving less. According to a new study, co-authored by Tony Dutzik and Benjamin Davis of the Frontier Group, 16- to 34-year-olds without driver’s licenses rose to 26 percent in 2010 from 21 percent a decade earlier. Younger drivers are driving almost a quarter fewer miles than they used to. At the same time, biking, walking, and other driving alternatives rose among young people in the past decade.

We asked our younger listeners to tell us if they’re driving less and, if so, why.

The top reason was the cost of the gas, as well as the cost of cars.

And a listener from Evans, Georgia texted:

It’s all about the cost. Jobs are scarce or poorly paying and cars, gas, and insurance are expensive.

..............................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://transportationnation.org/2012/04/30/young-people-are-driving-less-and-explaining-why/

[hunter]

1. The eight dollar an hour jobs I used to get as a kid still pay eight dollars.

Today these jobs are held by older people, often older people with kids. I used to load and unload trucks or work as a construction laborer.

High school and college kids don't get jobs that pay enough to support a car.

Gasoline was sixty-five cents a gallon. For less than an hour's work, I could fill the tank.

My car didn't need to pass any smog tests, I could fix it myself, and parts were cheap.

But it was all at tremendous cost to the environment. I want to be part of the "sans auto" generation. I won't be sad when the age of the automobile is over.

My wife and I used to be Los Angeles commuters. We quit that lifestyle in the late 'eighties and I hope we never have to do it again.