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Before people say "it's the recession", well-off young Americans are driving less, too.
The average young person (age 16-34) with a job drove 10,700 miles in 2009, compared with 12,800 miles in 2001. From 2001 to 2009, young people (16-34 years old) who lived in households with annual incomes of over $70,000 increased their use of public transit by 100 percent, biking by 122 percent, and walking by 37 percent.
I met a German who said it was rare for a college undergraduate to own a car, though the greater difficulty of getting a license is a factor. Outside of circles such as the urban planning forum, I've never met someone who actually consciously doesn't want to own a car, just some that see no reason to. At this point, most who wants a car has one, it doesn't much status associated with it (maybe poorer, especially minority groups are an exception?) You won't get stuff like this anymore:
The other issue is that cars are still aspirational in Israel, and they aren’t in the US or Europe. Last time I visited, I saw ad posters on the Sherut vans, “Today, you’re in a taxi – tomorrow you’re in a car.” You won’t see these in New York. You won’t even see them in Providence or New Haven, two cities where a fair amount of the population doesn’t own a car, out of poverty.
As an irrelevant aside, I've noticed car ads are common on the LIRR "Ford C-Max — so great to drive you'll miss your train" and uncommon on the NYC subway.
At this point, most who wants a car has one, it doesn't much status associated with it (maybe poorer, especially minority groups are an exception?)
I don't think owning a car in and of itself gives you much status (unless you're in high school). But the type of car you drive can certainly give you a boost (or a perceived boost) in status. If you go to the garages of most new condo buildings in urban, walkable neighborhoods, you'll see plenty of BMWs, Audis and Porsches. And nearly anyone with a good paying job and a solid credit score can afford to lease one. Since Americans have such easy access to luxury cars (a BMW 3-Series in Barbados, for example, would cost you well over $100,000), the goal has become not just to own a car, but to own the right type of car. So I don't see car ownership rates declining that drastically in the years to come.
I don't think owning a car in and of itself gives you much status (unless you're in high school). But the type of car you drive can certainly give you a boost (or a perceived boost) in status. If you go to the garages of most new condo buildings in urban, walkable neighborhoods, you'll see plenty of BMWs, Audis and Porsches. And nearly anyone with a good paying job and a solid credit score can afford to lease one. Since Americans have such easy access to luxury cars (a BMW 3-Series in Barbados, for example, would cost you well over $100,000), the goal has become not just to own a car, but to own the right type of car. So I don't see car ownership rates declining that drastically in the years to come.
My parent's friends who lived in Manhattan switched from having no car to owning an Audi, with the logic if you're going to buy a car (or anything else) it should be high quality.
As for car ownership rates declining, that's a different statistic than car usage rates. For car ownership rates, there's probably a ceiling on how low they could decline sans economic collapse, as the number of places where not car owning is practical is small in the US, but there are more places where car usage can be mostly substituted for transit or biking/walking.
As for car ownership rates declining, that's a different statistic than car usage rates. For car ownership rates, there's probably a ceiling on how low they could decline sans economic collapse, as the number of places where not car owning is practical is small in the US, but there are more places where car usage can be mostly substituted for transit or biking/walking.
But even in very transit-rich, walkable areas, I still think there's a floor for car ownership levels. In DC, nearly all of the condos are built with underground parking. And most garages in those buildings are full. So the demand for cars in walkable neighborhoods appears to be strong even if people don't really need them.
The NYT article was long on anecdotes about single males and short on statistics. Both of my daughters and their SOs were into walking, biking etc (though all own cars) when they lived alone; once they paired up and had to consider the others' needs, none of them can walk or bike to work. One takes transit, the other three drive. I think women may drive more for safety reasons, as well.
The NYT article was long on anecdotes about single males and short on statistics. Both of my daughters and their SOs were into walking, biking etc (though all own cars) when they lived alone; once they paired up and had to consider the others' needs, none of them can walk or bike to work. One takes transit, the other three drive. I think women may drive more for safety reasons, as well.
Good points (especially and very unfortunately the safety issue). I certainly do my share of driving, but I still think that (starting with my parents generation), the "drive everywhere" mentality has been taken to extremes. When even a half mile distance is considered too far for an able-bodied person to walk you are looking more at habit rather then practicality dictating transportation choices.
I don't think owning a car in and of itself gives you much status (unless you're in high school). But the type of car you drive can certainly give you a boost (or a perceived boost) in status.
Yes, otherwise everyone would drive a Toyota or a Ford or their ilk: reliable, but utilitarian.
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