Young Americans are driving less, using public transit more

Young people are driving less now than they were just a few years ago. The cost of gasoline and social media are two of the factors according to a study released today. KJZZ’s Al Macias reports.

 AL MACIAS: For the first time since World War II, all Americans are driving less. And the trend among young drivers is more pronounced. Serena Unrein is with Public Interest Research Group which conducted the survey. She says there are a growing number of young people who don’t have driver’s licenses.  

SERENA UNREIN:  From 2001 to 2009 the number of miles traveled by 16- to 34-year-olds on public transit increased by 40 percent. They want to spend their time on their cell phones and they want to get around easily without being stuck in traffic.

 MACIAS: Here in Arizona, all drivers decreased the miles driven by 9 percent from 2004 to 2007 which is an even bigger drop than the national average. 

Read the report Transportation and the New Generation.

Listen:

Pledge Now
Give Monthly
Facebook logo
Twitter logo

Please read our Contributor Confidentiality Policy and the KJZZ Ethics and Practices guidelines. KJZZ supports Equal Employment Opportunities and works against discrimination in employment. For more information, please see KJZZ's Employment and EEO Information page.
For questions or comments about this website, please contact the KJZZ webmaster. For general comments or questions see the Contact KJZZ page for a listing of contacts by topic. Please note: Station policy mandates that listeners who win on-air giveaways on this station are not eligible to win again for 30 days.
Email regarding NPR's coverage, ethics, and funding can be sent to the NPR Ombudsman, who maintains an informative web page. For comments or concerns regarding NPR programs, listeners with a general inquiry may send an email to nprhelp@npr.org

KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College, and Maricopa Community Colleges.
Copyright© 2013 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD