The Maryland Public Interest Research Group (Maryland PIRG) and Frontier Group released a study that reports the Millennial generation’s dramatic shift away from driving is more than temporary. According to the study, the 2000s saw a marked decrease in the average number of miles traveled by young Americans. Those trends appear likely to continue even as the economy improves, according to the report’s findings.
“Millennials are different from their parents, and those differences aren’t going away,” said Maryland PIRG Director Emily Scarr.
The report found that the share of 16 to 24 year-olds traveling to work by car declined by 1.5 percentage points between 2006 and 2013, with the share of young people walking, biking or taking public transportation to work had increased.
Maryland PIRG also reported that Millennials are more attracted to urban living, residence in walkable communities, and more open to using non-driving modes of transportation than older generations.
This study also cited a AAA Foundation for Highway Safety statistic that shows the percentage of high school seniors with driver’s licenses declined from 85% to 73% between 1996 and 2010.
The report called for increased investment in public transit and biking infrastructure, and for funds to be used to repair existing roads instead of building new ones.
