A bit of a housekeeping to let you know that our office will be open throughout the holidays except for December 25th, 26th and January 1st & 2nd.
Continuing into the New Year, our office will be open Tues-Sat and closed Sun-Mon. But we are, of course, always on call – so please don’t hesitate to give us a ring!
Happy Holidays from Peg City Car Co-op!
There have been a series of articles addressing an emerging trend in personal transportation. In transportation planning, it has always been assumed that the demand for vehicles and road space would continue to grow, but research seems to show that personal vehicle travel (as measured in vehicle miles traveled) is either growing at a decreasing rate or even stabilizing. Have we reached peak driving?
As for reasons for why this might be happening, The New Republic writes, “Researchers think there’s quite a few reasons–slowing demographic shifts, like women entering the workforce; rising levels of ecommerce; sustained jumps in real gas prices–but another alternative is that younger generations simply aren’t driving as much as their forbearers. Is that just a change in the economic climate, or does the upcoming generation really value driving less? We’ll have to wait and see if they sustain these attitudes as more enter the workforce.”
This last point also supports Zipcars findings, which we posted on earlier this month: https://www.pegcitycarcoop.ca/2011/12/18-34-year-olds-value-access-over-ownership/
Of course, we’d like to think it also means that people are adopting a more flexible approach to getting around, and choosing the best, most convenient means to get where they need to go depending on the situation. Be it bike, walk, bus…or drive.
Hey…ever think about how there are some things you own, but only use rarely? Like your car for example (which likely sits idle for 23 hours a day)? Collaborative consumption, like carsharing, gives you all the access without all the burden of ownership (like cost). Doesn’t it seem smarter to spread out the cost burden? It seems like more and more people are starting to think so. Zipcar has released some interesting new data about changing attitudes toward ownership that we think is real cool:
“The study, conducted in October 2011 by KRC Research, reveals that 55 percent of Millennials surveyed have actively made an effort to drive less, up 10 percentage points from 45 percent in 2010, highlighting the growing trend of consciously reducing road time.
Some of the factors that Millennials cite for driving less frequently include environmental concerns, total cost of vehicle ownership and an increased use of social media. More than half of Millennials surveyed stated “protecting the environment” as one key reason for driving less, also up 10 percentage points from 45 percent last year. The study also reveals that more than three quarters (78 percent) of 18-34-year-old respondents who are licensed drivers say car ownership is difficult due to high costs of gas, parking and maintenance. In contrast to other age cohorts, social media is increasingly another factor for Millennials driving less. Sixty-eight percent of 18-34-year-olds, up 14 percentage points from 54 percent in 2010, agree that they sometimes choose to use social media rather than go out to see friends and family.”
