Chapter 3 Generational Mobilities, Transitions for the millennial generation
DOI: 10.23912/978-1-910158-64-7-3282 | ISBN: 978-1-910158-64-7 |
Published: November 2016 | Component type: chapter |
Published in: Low Carbon Mobility Transitions | Parent DOI: 10.23912/978-1-910158-64-7-2847 |
Abstract
Mobility and accessibility plays a fundamental role throughout the life course. In most of the developed world, the majority of this mobility is provided directly or indirectly through the private car, yet our relationship with car travel varies significantly through the life course. Household car ownership follows a ‘life cycle effect’, increasing as young households form and peaking when the head of household reaches their mid-40’s.
Recently there is growing evidence that the millennial generation is approaching auto-mobility transitions differently to previous generations. Licensing rates among young adults have declined in much of the developed world and even where declines have not taken place, millennials are more multi-modal and less car-dependent than previous generations. Yet there is evidence that rather than forgoing a driving license, millennials may in fact simply be delaying key life stages (such as full-time work and child-rearing) that lend themselves to auto-mobility. There is a risk that any shift toward more sustainable mobility may be only temporary. This chapter uses a case study of millennials in Australian cities to illustrate these trends. The chapter concludes by discussing ways in which sustainable mobility can be encouraged and supported even as millennials transition into traditionally auto-dependent life stages.
Sample content
Contributors
- Alexa Delbosc, Institute of Transport Studies, Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Australia (Author) http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8744-3469
For the source title:
- Debbie Hopkins, Transport Studies Unit, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK (Editor) http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7778-8989
- James Higham, Department of Tourism, University of Otago, NZ and University of Stavanger, Norway (Editor) http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1405-7035
Cite as
Delbosc, 2016
Delbosc, A. (2016) "Chapter 3 Generational Mobilities, Transitions for the millennial generation" In: Hopkins, D. & Higham, J. (ed) . Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers http://dx.doi.org/10.23912/978-1-910158-64-7-3282
Save, bookmark or recommend
 Save on Mendeley |  Share on Twitter |  Share on LinkedIn |  Share on Facebook |
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011a). Census Community Profiles. Available from: http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/communityprofiles
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011b). Census table builder. Available from: http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/tablebuilder
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012). Australian social trends 2012: Commonwealth of Australia. Report 4102.0. Available from: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features30March+Quarter+2012
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2015a). Australian Demographic Statistics. Report 3101.0.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2015b). Education and Work, Australia. Report 6227.0.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2015c). Labour Force, Australia. Report 6202.0.
Baslington, H. (2008). Travel socialization: A social theory of travel mode behaviour. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 2(2): 91-114. https://doi.org/10.1080/15568310601187193
Belden Russonello & Stewart (2011). The 2011 Community Preference Survey: What Americans are looking for when deciding where to live. Washington DC, National Association of Realtors.
Bell, D. & Currie, G. (2007). Travel & Lifestyle Impacts of New Bus Services in Outer Suburban Melbourne, 30th Australasian Transport Research Forum.
Bergstad, C. J., Gamble, A., Hagman, O., Polk, M., Garling, T., Ettema, D., Friman, M. and Olsson, L. E. (2012). Influences of affect associated with routine out-of-home activities on subjective well-being. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 7(1), 49-62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-011-9143-9
Blumenberg, E., Wander, M., Taylor, B. D. & Smart, M. (2013). The times, are they a-changin'? Youth, travel mode and the journey to work. Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting. Washington, DC.
Cervero, R., Sandoval, O. & Landis, J. (2002). Transportation as a stimulus of welfare-to-work private versus public mobility. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 22(1), 50-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X0202200105
Currie, G. (2007). Young Australians: No way to go. In No Way to Go: Transport and social disadvantage in Australian communities. G. Currie, J. Stanley and J. Stanley. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: Monash University ePress.
Dargay, J. M. & Vythoulkas, P. C. (1999). Estimation of a dynamic car ownership model: A pseudo-panel approach. Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, 33(3), 287-302.
Davis, B., Dutzik, T. & Baxandall, P. (2012). Transportation and the new generation: why young people are driving less and what it means for transportation policy, Frontier Group: USA.
Delbosc, A. (2012). The role of well-being in transport policy. Transport Policy, 23(0),25-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2012.06.005
Delbosc, A. (2016). Delay or forgo? A closer look at youth driver licensing trends in the United States and Australia. Transportation, 1-8. DOI:10.1007/s11116-016-9685-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-016-9685-7
Delbosc, A. & Currie, G. (2011a). Exploring the relative influences of transport disadvantage and social exclusion on well-being. Transport Policy, 18(4), 555-562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2011.01.011
Delbosc, A. & Currie, G. (2011b). Transport problems that matter – Social and psychological links to transport disadvantage. Journal of Transport Geography, 16(1), 170-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2010.01.003
Delbosc, A. & Currie, G. (2013). Causes of youth licensing decline: a synthesis of evidence. Transport Reviews, 33(3), 271-290. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2013.801929
Delbosc, A. & Currie, G. (2014a). Changing demographics and young adult driver license decline in Melbourne, Australia (1994-2009). Transportation, 41(3), 529-542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-013-9496-z
Delbosc, A. & Currie, G. (2014b). Impact of attitudes and life stage on decline in rates of driver's license acquisition by young people in Melbourne, Australia. Transportation Research Record, 2452, 62-70. https://doi.org/10.3141/2452-08
Delbosc, A. & Currie, G. (2014c). Using discussion forums to explore attitudes toward cars and licensing among young Australians. Transport Policy, 31C, 27-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2013.11.005
Department for Transport (2007). Transport Trends 2007. London.
Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (2015). State of Australian cities 2014-2015: progress in Australian regions.
Department of Transport (2009). Victorian integrated survey of travel and activity, 2007.
Driller, B. K. & Handy, S. L. (2013). Exploring the Influence of Parents on Children's Bicycling in Davis, California. Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting.
Ettema, D., Gärling, T., Olsson, L. E. & Friman, M. (2010). Out-of-home activities, daily travel, and subjective well-being. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 44(9), 723-732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2010.07.005
Fonda, S. J., Wallace, R. B. & Herzog, A. R. (2001). Changes in driving patterns and worsening depressive symptoms among older adults, Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. 56(6), S343-S351. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/56.6.S343
Fotel, T. & Thomsen, T. U. (2002). The surveillance of children's mobility. Surveillance & Society, 1(4), 535-554.
Frank, L. D., Sallis, J. F., Conway, T. L., Chapman, J. E., Saelens, B. E. & Bachman, W. (2006). Many pathways from land use to health: associations between neighborhood walkability and active transportation, body mass index, and air quality. Journal of the American Planning Association, 72(1), 75-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944360608976725
Gärling, T. & Axhausen, K. W. (2003). Introduction: Habitual travel choice. Transportation, 30(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021230223001
Gray, M., Qu, L. & Weston, R. (2008). Fertility and family policy in Australia, Australian Institue of Family Studies.
Hofferth, S. L. & Sandberg, J. F. (2001). Changes in American children's time, 1981–1997. Advances in Life Course Research, 6, 193-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-2608(01)80011-3
Jones, A. P., Haynes, R., Sauerzapf, V., Crawford, S. M., Zhao, H. & Forman, D. (2008). Travel times to health care and survival from cancers in Northern England. European Journal of Cancer, 44(2), 269-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2007.07.028
Kenworthy, J. R., Laube, F. B., Newman, P., Barter, P., Raad, T., Poboon, C. & Guia Jr, B. (1999). An International Sourcebook of Automobile Dependence in Cities 1960-1990, University Press of Colourado: Boulder, USA.
Klein, N. J. & Smart, M. J. (2016). Millennials and Car Ownership: Fewer Cars, Less Money. Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Washington DC.
Kuhnimhof, T., Buehler, R., Wirtz, M. & Kalinowska, D. (2012). Travel trends among young adults in Germany: Increasing multimodality and declining car use for men. Journal of Transport Geography, 24, 443-450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.04.018
Lachman, M. L. & Brett, D. L. (2011). Generation Y: America's new housing wave. Washington, DC, Urban Land Institute.
Lucas, K. & Jones, P. (2009). The Car in British society, RAC Foundation: UK. McDonald, N. C. (2007). Active Transportation to school: Trends among U.S. Schoolchildren, 1969–2001. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(6), 509-516.
McDonald, N. C. (2015). Are millennials really the 'go-nowhere' generation? Journal of the American Planning Association, 81(2), 90-103. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2015.1057196
Metz, D. H. (2000). Mobility of older people and their quality of life. Transport Policy, 7(2), 149-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-070X(00)00004-4
Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (2014). Not car-less, but car-later, Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis.
Nakanishi, H. & Black, J. A. (2015). Travel habit creation of the elderly and the transition to sustainable transport: An exploratory research based on a retrospective survey. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 10(7), 604-616. https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2015.1059526
NZ Transport Agency (2015). Supporting senior drivers: how family and friends can help.
Office for National Statistics (2011). Young people in the labour market - 2011. ONS: London.
Rayle, L., Dai, D., Chan, N., Cervero, R. & Shaheen, S. (2016). Just a better taxi? A survey-based comparison of taxis, transit, and ridesourcing services in San Francisco. Transport Policy, 45, 168-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2015.10.004
Reardon, L. & Abdallah, S. (2013). Well-being and transport: Taking stock and looking forward. Transport Reviews, 33(6), 634-657. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2013.837117
Rive, G., Thomas, J., Jones, C., Frith, B. & Chang, J. (2015). Public Transport and the Next Generation. Wellington, NZ Transport Agency. Report 569.
Schoenduwe, R., Mueller, M. G., Peters, A. & Lanzendorf, M. (2015). Analysing mobility biographies with the life course calendar: a retrospective survey methodology for longitudinal data collection. Journal of Transport Geography 42(0), 98-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2014.12.001
Social Exclusion Unit (2003). Making the Connections: Final Report on Transport and Social Exclusion, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (UK): London, UK.
Stanley, J. K., Hensher, D. A., Stanley, J. R. & Vella-Brodrick, D. (2011). Mobility, social exclusion and well-being: Exploring the links. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 45(8), 789-801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2011.06.007
Steg, L. (2005). Car use: lust and must. Instrumental, symbolic and affective motives for car use. Transportation Research Part A, 39, 147-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2004.07.001
Tal, G. & Handy, S. (2010). Travel behaviour of immigrants: An analysis of the 2001 National Household Transportation Survey. Transport Policy, 17(2), 85-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2009.11.003
Taylor, P., Parker, K., Kochhar, R., Fry, R., Funk, C., Patten, E. & Motel, S. (2012). Young, underemployed and optimistic: Coming of age, slowly, in a tough economy, Pew Research Center.
Thigpen, C. & Handy, S. (2016). Driver's Licensing Delay: A retrospective study of the impact of attitudes, parental and social influences, and intergenerational differences. Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting: Washington, DC.
Transport Research Centre (2001). Victorian Activity and Travel Survey user manual. Melbourne: Transport Research Centre.
Verplanken, B. & Orbell, S. (2003). Reflections on past behaviour: A self-report index of habit strength. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(6), 1313-1330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2003.tb01951.x
VicRoads (2015). VicRoads license breakdown by age, 2001-2015.
WHO (2012). Global status report on road safety: time for action. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organisation Department of Violence and Injury Prevention.