They're choosing not to drive for the same reason they're choosing to be more thrifty, choosing not to go to college, choosing to live with their parents longer, and choosing not to buy homes. See if you can find the common denominator.
Quite interesting to see them trying to live without a car in a society where cars are such a necessity. I live in the Netherlands and many of my friends don't have a license or own a car, but over here the infrastructure is build around accessibility for people without a car. For example, I live in a small town and I can hop on my bike and reach 5 supermarkets within 15 minutes. But it's interesting to see people trying out different modes of transportation where it's not so easy.
I mean I owned a car from the ages of 18 to 25, never had a claim.
I'm 27 now and looked at getting a car for the odd time I need one and and insurance premiums are an average of £1100 to £1700. Why bother? I'll just continue to get the train
My family keeps pressuring me to learn how to drive. I still say no, and will keep doing so for the rest of my life basically. I seriously do not wanna contribute to pollution and congestion.
In my country you're expected to know how to drive as early as 15, way before you even get your permit. I say fuck that.
Because these days there's a dialogue about whether driving is economically worthwhile, moral, or even fun. There used to be no talk about that, and so the only question was whether you could afford a beater or a status symbol.
Try living in Singapore, where it now costs SGD146,000 (USD106,000) just to have the right to own a car for ten years (a Certificate of Entitlement).
To be clear, that fee doesn’t actually buy you a car, it’s simply the cost of being allowed to own a car. For ten whole years, then you need to buy another one.
“A new standard Toyota Camry Hybrid costs around S$250,000 [~USD186,500] in Singapore, which includes the cost of a COE and taxes. That is about six times more expensive than in the US.”
It’s certainly one way to encourage the public to use mass transit (which is pretty good, luckily!).
In some states getting a license is how you get registered to vote. I wouldn’t be surprised if registration programs were being defunded to prevent younger voters.
I'm in my 40's and only got my license 5 years ago. As well as environmental and economic reasons a big part of my refusal was power. A drivers license is the main way the state exerts power over the people. You should see a cops face when you tell them you don't have a drivers license, they lose their biggest threat against you. In the end I had to drive for work and I try to avoid doing so at all costs.
"Maybe they don't want to drive because they're looking for a sustainable option, such as public transportation, ride-sharing, or e-scooters," McKinsey analysts wrote.
"It's also possible that a sputtering economy and inflation tinged their entry into adulthood, discouraging spending on big-ticket items such as cars," McKinsey said.
But McKinsey analysts point out that previous generations of Americans had also appeared less interested in driving but went behind the wheel of cars eventually.
"It's too early to tell whether the no-driving trend will hold with Gen Z, especially given the changes happening in the mobility and automotive markets," McKinsey analysts pointed out.
The automotive industry is changing with the mainstreaming of the so-called shared mobility market, which includes car ride-sharing, scooters, and in the future, self-driving automobiles.
"And for those Gen Zers who decide that driving just isn't for them, they can keep themselves busy with TikTok in the passenger seat—or get behind the wheel in the metaverse."
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Eye I have two really nice cars and I only ever take them out on tracks or going around the county side. Otherwise I to am taking the bike everywhere. Even if it means going through a hard ass mountain range. I honestly get it. Cars are expensive and if the only place you get to drive it on are highways and cities yea cars are pretty boring and frustrating. You really need a good mountain range or track to appreciate cars, and sadly those are becoming rarer and rarer for people and especially young folks. So thanks car sentric infrastructure for making cars boring and infuriating.
My first car cost $900 in the 90's. It was a '91 bronco 2 that had the driver's-side door replaced and spray painted the approximate colors of the rest of the car. Bought it from some dude selling it along the road. My theory is that gen z'ers are just too picky to live like we did "back in the day" so they say they can't afford things like cars when the real problem is that they can't afford the cars they WANT