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/

[NJCher]

1. as a teacher of these students in the NY/NJ area

Interesting.

I would like to say that since Occupy, I've noticed this group is getting very savvy.

Yesterday in my advertising class, students presented market research questionnaires they had done with their peers as respondents. Among the findings:

--radio has very little credibility
--TV doesn't have much more

Among the "not so good:"

--many of them are completely uninterested in the news

Many are, however. I had many students who demonstrated with OWS and also many who wrote papers and speeches about it.


Cher