Gen Z is choosing not to drive::Less Gen Z Americans own a driver’s license than previous generations, according to consulting firm McKinsey.

    • Arkaelus@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Hell, I’m a Millennial and it’s a no-brainer… Food or gas, emission taxes, road taxes, maintenance costs, and everything else which comes with owning a car. Including the car itself. And that’s just from an economic standpoint, I’m not even gonna go into the impact it has on the climate and how EVs are mostly just expensive and not-really-efficient pieces of jewellery still.

  • Lemonparty@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    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.

  • Runwaylights@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    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.

    • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      The article mentions hailed mobility, like Uber and Lyft, are the alternative uses. It’s still cars, but not their car.

      • fidodo@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Considering how much cars cost I wonder if ride shares are even more expensive.

        • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Depends on how often you drive.

          there’s a lot of variables, but figure owning a car costs 300-400 a month minimum…

          If you don’t need it everyday for work I can easily see ride apps/taxis being much cheaper.

    • mriormro@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I’m 34 and never had a driver’s license. Never really needed one and I don’t particularly enjoy driving but happy to say that if you live in one of our larger, denser cities you can get along without ever operating a car.

    • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      11 months ago

      My town (germany) of about 10k has 2 major supermarkets (not the kind of walmart sized) in a 15min bicycle time.
      2 or 3 smaller shops within 10-15min walking time.

  • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    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.

  • scrappydoo@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    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!).

    Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67014420

    • erwan@lemmy.ml
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      11 months ago

      Singapour is also a country reduced to a city, so that certainly makes transportation easier. The US is on the opposite of the spectrum.

      • eskimofry@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        But are you really going to claim that a lot of people are commuting from New york to San Francisco daily (or even across one state?)

        • erwan@lemmy.ml
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          11 months ago

          Singapore is just as big as NYC, and almost as dense. Cross border commuters from Malaysia do exist but are not the norm because it’s a big pain.

          Also what’s true is Singapore might be true in NYC but NYC is not the norm in US, it’s the exception.

          • eskimofry@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            It’s still ridiculuous how car industry friendly zoning laws implemented in the U.S.A are hurting the citizens but people genuinely argue that it’s good being stuck in their cars alone for 2 to 3 hours a day.

  • Specal@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    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

    • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I would ride public more but routes are scarce in my area. In rush hour it takes about 25 min to get to the closest stop, and when I get off it’s about a half mile walk to my office and it easily gets to the 100s in the summer.

  • Resol van Lemmy@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    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.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      One of my kids is saying similar. While I respect and support that choice, we’re in the US so that seriously limits the places you can live. I keep saying he really needs to learn how to drive while I’m helping him get started in life, then see if he can figure out a life without a car. Then it would be his choice, not a limitation

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          I’m not quite following this … if you’re saying to make sure they can drive manual transmission, I doubt they’ll ever see one. While I’ve said all my adult life that’s an important skill, the reality is in the US, manual transmissions have been pretty rare. It may have been a decade ago where is saw it was less than 5% of sales and has pretty much disappeared. With the advent of CVT, there’s no longer really a point, and of course EVs have no need for any transmission

          • RubberElectrons@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Yeah… You’re probably right. They’re still quite popular in foreign countries due to mechanical simplicity/robustness. In fact I’ve noted car rentals that are automatic tend to be a bit more expensive then manuals, which the locals use.

            Regardless, do your thing and have fun.

    • trixter313@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Another gen-z here, yeah I have no interest in something that requires me to pay insurance even if I’m not using it when my ebike gets me everywhere I need to go. Not to mention having way less potential to hurt someone else because of a lapse of attention on the roads. Add on the health and environmental benefits and that I don’t pay for electricity in my house so it’s free to fuel.

      Lots of these comments feel out of touch or just in touch with their own ideals a little too much.

      • spader312@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Car insurance is getting super expensive even more so for younger folks. My renewal came in with GEICO and they raised my 6mo premium from $2500 to $3300. So I got a bunch of quotes from different companies all of them were around $3500-$4000 matching the same coverage. It’s insane.

  • Clent@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    All the articles have been written on millennial’s so now they’re going to sub in Gen Z.

  • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Car ownership is more expensive than it used to be + a greater proportion of young people live in cities than they used to.