Americans Are Driving Less

Stephen Miller, writing for Streetsblog, on Americans driving less:

The only exception was the most recent recession, which lasted from December 2007 to June 2009. Before the recession, driving per person was dropping. After the recession, driving continued to fall. In other words, Cortright says, the recession has little to do with what is actually a long-term trend.

People are driving less and it isn’t just the economy. There is a shift happening. A fundamental, structural shift in market preferences. As further proof:

In neighborhoods within three miles of a central business district, the population of college-educated 25–34 year olds grew 26 percent since 2000 — twice as fast as in the rest of the metropolitan area, according to a report Cortright authored for CEOs for Cities. Many people who might otherwise live in the suburbs are choosing instead to live in places where they can get around by walking, biking, and taking transit.

The educated Millenials are pushing this shift but they aren’t the only ones. For a wide variety of reasons people are choosing options other than driving. Whether it is choosing to walk or bike of just choosing to live differently, people are going away from cars.