Americans, especially young, continue to drive less, report says

[DainBramaged]

Americans, in a worrisome sign for automakers, continue to drive less, with more and more younger people choosing to forgo a driver's license altogether, a major new study released Tuesday found.

According to the report by U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the total miles per capita driven has fallen every year since 2004, marking the end of a "driving boom" dating back to 1964. During the boom, the amount of miles traveled by Americans in vehicles increased each year by an average of 2.5 percent per capita and 3.8 percent total. From 2004 to 2012, the total amount of miles traveled remained stable, while the amount per capita decreased by 1 percent each year, according to the report.

The report was commissioned by the group's Education Fund, the research and education arm of the consumer advocacy group; and the Frontier Group, a nonprofit nonpartisan public policy organization focused on environmental and civic issues.

The study casts doubt on the widely held assumption that the recession, higher gasoline prices and widespread unemployment was the primary reason Americans drove less in recent years. But authors of the study say demographic changes, high costs and shifts in consumer preferences are also behind the ongoing decline in driving.



Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20130514/RETAIL/130519941#ixzz2TTORfGCx
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[KamaAina]

1. Good!

We better make sure the transit infrastructure is in place to support all these riders.

[CreekDog]

7. Absolutely, especially since many cannot drive due to cost, physical issues or other issues

but alternatives to driving should be encouraged and supported. at the moment driving is encouraged and supported far more than other forms of transportation.

[KurtNYC]

2. How Orwellian

Unemployment = "shifts in consumer preferences"
higher gasoline prices = "high costs"

but, as you highlighted, they deny this directly. Makes me wonder if Magritte ("this is not a pipe&quot was the author of this study.

[Enrique]

3. i haven't had a car in 10 years

i just had a dream that I was lying in bed and knew I had to get up to move my car to avoid getting a ticket. I woke up and once i figured what was going on thought "phew, i don't even have a car!"

[Initech]

4. There was an LA Times article a month ago that said...

That more teenagers would choose having a smart phone over having a cheap car. What was that quote from Einstein about how when the advent of technology exceeds human interaction, we will truly be stupid as a race?

[CreekDog]

10. i don't understand why choosing a phone over a car is "stupid"

[Ikonoklast]

5. Within a five-mile radius of my house, I have access to just about everything necessary for

food, my house, personal use, medical, entertainment, etc.

Teh Intrawebs make up the rest of my shopping.

Twenty years ago that radius would have to have been been twenty miles.

I just don't need to drive as much anymore.

[NaturalHigh]

6. My 17-year-old daughter hasn't gotten her license yet.

She doesn't seem to have much interest.

My 15-year-old son is an entirely different story.

[olddots]

8. America is still in love with cars but driving is no fun anymore.

The sky is falling .

[Quantess]

9. Being a teenager today is not like it was.

Hardly any teens have jobs because older people took the fast food jobs and the like. So without a little dough, how are they going to afford to drive? Even if they get a hand-me-down vehicle for free, how will they pay for gas & insurance?

[Yo_Mama]

11. They can't afford to

If you can get a job in a lot of urban areas with public transport, you can forego the car and the insurance and save yourself a LOT of money - which then helps you pay off those student loans more quickly.