Men Shape a Downward Trend in Car Use among Young Adults—Evidence from Six Industrialized Countries

Tobias Kuhnimhof, Jimmy Armoogum, Ralph Buehler, Joyce Dargay, Jon Martin Denstadli and Toshiyuki Yamamoto

Transport Reviews, 2012, vol. 32, issue 6, 761-779

Abstract: This paper investigates trends in the travel behaviour of young adults in Germany, France, Great Britain, Japan, Norway, and the USA over the past few decades with a focus on car availability and car travel. The trend analysis relies on micro-data from over 20 National Travel Surveys from the study countries dating back to the mid-1970s. The analysis of the survey data is supplemented by official statistics on licence holding. On this basis, this paper compiles a body of evidence for changes in mobility patterns among young adults in industrialized countries over the past few decades. The findings indicate that since the turn of the millennium, access to cars, measured in terms of drivers' licences and household car ownership, has decreased in most study countries—especially for men. Moreover, average daily car travel distance has decreased in most study countries, again especially for men. In France, Japan, and most significantly in the USA, the decrease in car travel has led to a reduction in total everyday travel by young travellers. In Great Britain, the decline in car travel was partly, and in Germany fully, compensated by an increased use of alternative modes of transport.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2012.736426

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