The following infographic demonstrates how the current 15 to 33 year olds really are different when it comes to transportation (thanks to George Bradley with Ohio University for sharing).
View the whole infographic here:
http://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/millennials-cars-and-the-future-of-transportation/
My daughter Maria is on the young edge of this generation and I’m seeing the difference being played out first hand. To my father-in-law’s chagrin, Maria refuses to get her driver’s permit. She says she’ll probably get around to driving when she becomes a Mom (she’s 15 ½ – we hope there are several interim steps for her before parenthood). Most of her friends also don’t have their permit. This was nearly unheard of when I was 15. We all got our permit and license as soon as possible. I should note I went to the same urban high school Maria does and it still has the same demographics, so this is a reasonable comparison.
Skeptics believe Millennials attitudes will change once they start having kids. Maybe they will, but the data summarized in the infographic should at least make us transportation planners pause and think about a range of future transportation related outcomes.
We’re lucky to have a stimulating/challenging future to plan for. I would have found it boring to be a planner forty years ago when planners just kept drawing more lanes on their transportation plans.
