*Young people driving less, embrace other transportation *
Larry Copeland, USA TODAY 10:37 p.m. EDT October 1, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/01/social-media-driving-mi... *Two new studies find that young Americans are changing the nation's transportation landscape. They drive less, want to stay connected as they travel, embrace car-sharing, bike-sharing, ride-sharing.*Young Americans, whose embrace of new technologies and social networking tools enable them to adopt new ways of getting around, are beginning to change the nation's transportation landscape.
They don't drive nearly as much as young people once did: While all Americans are driving less since the recession, the average person ages 16-34 drove 23% less in 2009 than in 2001, the sharpest reduction for any age group.
And some of the nation's youths -- those known as Millennials, born between 1982 and 2003 -- approach travel differently than their parents do. They are "multimodal," meaning they choose the best mode of transportation, such as driving, transit, biking or walking, based on the trip they are planning. They consider public transportation the best option for digital socializing and one of the most likely ways to connect with the communities they live in. They also say that transit allows them to work while they travel.
These are among the findings of two reports released Tuesday at the American Public Transportation Association's meeting in Chicago.
The first http://washpirgfoundation.org/reports/waf/new-way-go ( http://washpirgfoundation.org/reports/waf/new-way-go), from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, found that online and mobile technology have fundamentally changed the way Americans live and work over the past 15 years; during the same period, growth in vehicle travel slowed and then stopped. U.S. PIRG suggests that these two developments are connected.
There has been "an extraordinary shift" in how people travel, said Phineas Baxandall, author of the PIRG report. "For eight years in a row, Americans have been driving less on a per-person basis than the year before," he said. At the same time, the PIRG report notes, there have been increases in the use of the Internet, cellphones and smartphones, with younger Americans more likely to own a smartphone.
Over the same period, participation in tele-work and e-commerce increased sharply.
The advances in Internet and mobile communications are fueling a wave of new transportation services enabled by technology, such as car-sharing, bike-sharing and ride-sharing, the PIRG report finds.
Other researchers, including Robert Foss, director of the Center for the Study of Young Drivers at the University of North Carolina, argue that the drop in driving among young people is primarily a function of the economic downturn and is likely to rebound as the economy recovers.
Michael Melaniphy, president and CEO of APTA, (second report = http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/APTA-Millenni...) said the two studies highlight the need for the nation to enact transportation policies that address the needs of Millennials. "Now is the time to be proactive," he said. "Congress should authorize investment in a long-term transportation bill that includes strong investment in public transportation in a variety of modes." © 2013 USA TODAY under contract with YellowBrix. All rights reserved.
* * * * * ** *New Study Finds Technology Enabling Americans to Drive Less * *Vehicle Sharing Services, Transit Apps and Wi-Fi Contribute to National Driving Decline; Policy Needs to Catch Up by Francisco Enriquez, U.S. PIRG*
Oct. 02‚ 2013 * * http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/New_Study_Finds_Technology_Enabling_Amer...
Boston, MA – In a first-of-its-kind study, U.S. PIRG compiled nation-wide evidence on transportation apps and vehicle sharing programs, and found that these advanced new tools have made it easier for Americans to drive less. Real-time apps and on-board wi-fi for public transit, as well as carsharing, bikesharing and ridesharing have spread rapidly in recent years while driving has declined. The reporthttp://uspirg.org/reports/usp/new-way-goexamines new evidence on how these practices are changing travel behavior.
“Mobility used to be all about driving a personal car” said Phineas Baxandall at U.S. PIRG, which released the report. “For Baby Boomers, driving one’s car represented freedom and spontaneity. Today–especially for younger people–owning a car is likely to represent big expenses and parking hassles. Meanwhile, technology and vehicle-sharing are making it easier not to own a car or for households to drive less. Public transit systems, especially with on-board wi-fi and real-time apps, can be the backbone of this new mobility.”
The report, “A New Way to Go: The Apps, Maps, and New Technologies that are Giving More Americans Freedom to Drive Lesshttp://uspirg.org/reports/usp/new-way-go” sheds additional light on how Americans have been driving less per-person for eight years in a row and total miles remain below 2005 levels (Federal highway datahttp://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/travel_monitoring/13jultvt/figure1.cfm ).
Among the findings cited in the report:
• *Public transit enhancements*—A majority of U.S. transit systems make scheduling publicly available for developers to produce smartphone apps to help riders navigate systems. Smartphone-based tools enable riders to find the best route and track the progress of trains and buses in real time. • *Bikesharing* – More than 30 cities now have programs where subscribers can access bikes by the minute or by subscription at kiosks located on city streets. Approximately 40 percent of bikeshare members report reducing their driving, according to a survey of members of four bikeshare services. • *Carsharing*– Roundtrip carsharing services, such as Zipcar as well as newer one-way services such as car2go enable subscribers to access cars located in their neighborhoods, providing the mobility benefits of access to a car without having to bear the burden of owning one. As of 2012, more than 800,000 Americans were members of carsharing services. Each carsharing vehicle replaces nine to 13 privately-owned vehicles. The average carsharing participant reduces his or her driving by 27 to 56 percent while increasing ridership on transit and biking. [Like Peg City Car Co-ophttp://www.pegcitycarcoop.cahere in Winnipeg!] • *Ridesharing* and taxi-like services—New peer-to-peer carsharing networks enable individuals to rent out their own unused vehicles to people looking for a car. Drivers with open seats in their cars can pair with other individuals who need a ride. Companies such as Lyft allow ordinary drivers to provide web-based taxi-like services during their spare time. • *Young Americans* have consistently been the first to adopt and test these new technologies and practices. As of September 2012, young adults were six times more likely to have a smartphone than their grandparents’ generation, and twice as likely as Americans 50 to 64 years of age.
In a statement about the report from U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), “As more Americans are searching for ways reduce driving and incorporate physical activity into their lives, they need information on how to get out of their cars and onto the sidewalks, bike lanes, and rail tracks. This report outlines ways they can do that. I recommend that anybody across the country who’s making decisions about transportation read these recommendations and hop on board with those of us who already know that the cheapest gallon of gasoline is the one you don’t have to buy.”
Findings from a separate report released today by the American Public Transit Association (APTA) reinforce those from U.S.PIRG. APTA’s study, called “Millennials & Mobilityhttp://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/Surveys.aspx” revealed that 70 percent of adults under 35 use multiple alternatives instead of the car several times or more per week. Millennials view public transit as the superior mode for digital multitasking, and a majority view transit-based wi-fi and mobile broadband as well as real-time information about bus and train locations as important.
“Now is the time to be pro-active in creating this multi-modal transportation system to address the Millennial generation’s demands and lifestyles. This generation wants the pragmatic benefits of having multiple ways to get around,” said Michael Melaniphy, President and CEO of the American Public Transit Association.”
“In the past, people often saw little choice but to depend on personal automobiles. And once you’ve already paid for a car and insurance, then it’s harder to consider other choices,” said Baxandall. “The new tools make it easier not to own a car or to own fewer cars. New apps make it easy to catch a bus and ride unfamiliar routes. Bikeshare or rideshare can be the perfect complement when public transit doesn’t reach nearby your destination, when weather changes, or unexpected errands arise.”
The report provides policy makers with a number of recommendations such as to install more wi-fi on public transit and to integrate bike and car sharing into traffic management plans and locate near transit stations. Highway expansion projects should be reconsidered and canceled if no longer justified.
“These technological tools and practices are still in their infancy but spreading fast. Government leaders should focus less on expanding highway capacity and more on public transit, biking, walking and other alternatives to personal cars,” said Baxandall.
Download “A New Way to Go: The Apps, Maps, and New Technologies that are Giving More Americans Freedom to Drive Lesshttp://uspirg.org/reports/usp/new-way-go .”
See other recent reports on state-by-state declines in driving, the Millennial generation’s leading role in this trend, and policy implications at: http://uspirg.org/topics/transportation