MSchwiebert wrote:Annnd here's why the driving for the younger generation is down compared to the rest of us...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/0 ... 90870.html
Once they cut the cord - things will change...
The article you cite makes absolutely no mention of car ownership as being related to living at home. And what's weirder is I know plenty of recent grads who live at home and...still have a car.
For something a little better related:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Ge ... on-to-cars
Meanwhile...America's recovery from the Great Recession has been touch-and-go, hampered largely by economic troubles in Europe (though China has begun slipping, too). As a result, young people -- even college grads -- are having a tough time getting their financial footing, which puts a damper on their ability to buy big-ticket items like automobiles.
As more people move to urban areas, car ownership becomes increasingly unnecessary. After all, why would anyone shell out for an automobile -- and a place to park it -- when there's decent mass transit available, as there is in many cities?
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-a ... town/6406/
To wrangle this somewhat back on topic:Nationwide, demand for walkable, urban living is on the rise—in a way that it wasn't in past decades, when high urban crime rates kept professionals in the suburbs. Leinberger believes demand will continue to rise as millennials and Gen-Yers focus on paying off student loans rather buying cars and houses, and baby boomers downsize to apartments
http://suncoastnews.com/the-green-colum ... a-20130712
A regional authority of the Federal Railroad Administration released its business plan in late June, one of 150 U.S. high-speed rail projects in some stage of development going on today.
The Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association is laying the groundwork for an 11-city passenger rail corridor between Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago through Fort Wayne and Warsaw, Ind.
...
Over the 30-year life of the project, benefits of over $6 billion are expected, with a positive benefit-cost ratio of $1.70 in direct benefits for each dollar invested.
The analysis indicates private operation of the system would be possible without annual government subsidies.
Regional economic benefits over the life of the project are forecast to include creation of 26,800 new full-time jobs, $700 million per year in additional household income and $2.6 billion in joint development opportunities for the corridor communities.
Columbus, with its 1.9 million metropolitan area population, is the largest city in the U.S. not served by any type of passenger rail.
Fort Wayne, midway between Columbus and Chicago, represents the largest city in Indiana without any form of passenger rail service.