Millennials Lead in Alternate Mobility

It's no secret that Millennials will use alternate modes when they're available and accessible. It's also no secret that adapting streets to those modes—and using them—can be a bargain.

1 minute read

July 6, 2015, 9:00 AM PDT

By Philip Rojc @PhilipRojc


Millennial Bike

Tom Woodward / Flickr

Federal transportation funding is scarce, and localities are making up the difference. "With no long-term solution in place -- or even in sight -- for the sputtering federal Highway Trust Fund, state and local governments are significantly increasing their own transportation spending."

According to a report prepared by Deloitte University Press, "By supporting alternative approaches such as car-, ride- and bike-sharing, jurisdictions can greatly improve mobility for residents without the need to spend billions of dollars on new roads, bridges and tunnels."

Millennials have proven quite open to these changes: "people in the 18-to-34 age group are more likely than those of other generations to choose the most practical transportation mode -- whether it's driving, public transit, biking or walking -- for each trip and that this flexible concept of mobility is spreading." It's also worth noting that out of car-sharing, bike-sharing, walking, and car ownership, "public transportation is ranked among millennials as the best mode to connect to all other modes."

In denser urban areas where it makes more sense, the car-free option is gaining traction as an economical choice. "[Young people] are more likely to cite the need to save money and avoid traffic, as well as environmental considerations, as motivations for their transportation choices and routines."

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