Gen Z is choosing not to drive

“Choosing” is doing some heavy lifting here when gen-z ain’t got no money.

Now hopefully they start voting in their local elections for politicians who will build transit, bike lanes, and support walkability.

Because it's expensive and sucks if you live in a city. Also, most can't afford a house out in the suburbs anyways.

I and my brother did some math about cars.

We both work and have money for car but just insurance, technical and emissions control... is more expensive than public transport ticket (for one year in our city). And we didn't count in petrol and parking.

In short for us it just doesn't make economical sense to own one.

according to McKinsey. "And for those Gen Zers who decide that driving just isn't for them, they can keep themselves busy with TikTok in the passenger seat—or get behind the wheel in the metaverse."

Be a good consumer and accept our thought control.

I'm 31 and if I could never drive a fucking car again that'd be great 👍

You could say Gen Z "chooses" a lot of things. Gen Z "chooses" not to buy houses (we can't afford them) Gen Z "chooses" to be mentally ill (not even 10 years ago, "autism" was just "the weird kid") Gen Z "chooses" to rent Gen Z "chooses" not to buy food Gen Z "chooses" to let climate change fuck the earth Gen Z "chooses" to not have kids (although here we actually don't want them, but also couldn't afford them) and so on.

If you're working from home then ubering everywhere is cheaper than insurance for a new driver and once you put gas plus the cost of the car into the equation I totally understand this.

I'm right there with them. I spent 7-8 years in a larger city and enjoyed not having a car the entire time. No renting a parking spot or fighting over who gets to block in who with the upstairs or downstairs neighbors. No snow shoveling or scrambling to park on one side for street sweeping.

I'm now temporarily in a place where buses are at an hour interval and only go to 1 place so I took one of the family cars. Despite the car being "free" I'm paying more than an unlimited transit pass on insurance alone, and I have a great rate at the expense of having to let my insurance track my accelerating / braking through GPS/accelerometer (at least for a few weeks before I can uninstall the app and enjoy the lower rate). I've had to pay for an inspections, tags, fixing a tint that was legal at home but illegal where I am now (over $100 even if I just had them remove it), and I'm still needing to spend on extras like oil to top up in between oil changes, new wipers, coolant, and it's looking like it's almost due for tire rotations, brake and transmission flush, and other regular maintenance which is just another expense.

The car was free and it's so expensive still. I miss being able to hop on a bus and zone out too.

Who wants to pay 9%+ interest on a car .

My wife purchased a Subaru Legacy Premium new in 2018 with a MSRP of $23,000 and we looked at the exact same model but in 2024 because they added some safety features. The exact trim Premium for 2024 has a MSRP of $31,000k. That's a 39% increase in 6 years. Same motor, looks nearly identical, just has collision detection and a better center console screen. We could have got those in the top trim in 2018 for $5k more.

We're getting shafted at all industries.

I mean, I get it. I hate the damned things. I can't deny their utility, but they're just not worth it

Good on them. I fucking love Zoomers.

The key thing here is cost. Employers don't want to pay, and everything is so damn expensive.

My dad in a conversation with other parents:

"When I was their age, a car meant freedom. It meant you could take yourself to a place your friends were and your parents weren't, anytime you wanted. To them, the Internet means freedom, and they don't really see the point."

Nah we're just broke

Imagine that! I wonder why.

I miss living in a city where I didn't have to drive. Maybe one day I will have that chance again.

Is that because the costs of cars has vastly exceeded inflation while wages have mostly stagnated until mid 2021? (please note: beating inflation by a bit for 2 years in no way makes up for the prior 40+)

This is the way

Here in Australia, it's because they can't afford anything more than an apartment or to rent one, so have nowhere to park for free

Horses.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

"Maybe they don't want to drive because they're looking for a sustainable option, such as public transportation, ride-sharing, or e-scooters," McKinsey analysts wrote.

"It's also possible that a sputtering economy and inflation tinged their entry into adulthood, discouraging spending on big-ticket items such as cars," McKinsey said.

But McKinsey analysts point out that previous generations of Americans had also appeared less interested in driving but went behind the wheel of cars eventually.

"It's too early to tell whether the no-driving trend will hold with Gen Z, especially given the changes happening in the mobility and automotive markets," McKinsey analysts pointed out.

The automotive industry is changing with the mainstreaming of the so-called shared mobility market, which includes car ride-sharing, scooters, and in the future, self-driving automobiles.

"And for those Gen Zers who decide that driving just isn't for them, they can keep themselves busy with TikTok in the passenger seat—or get behind the wheel in the metaverse."

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My cheap Honda Start goes brrrrrr

I wasn't driving before it was cool and that was decades ago in the middle of nowhere North Dakota.

Gen Z is lazy and will die really quickly, along with social media digital economy and the trendy movements they popularised in this post millenial era.

The problem is not cars specifically, but the explosion of capitalism and people's incomes being unable to keep up with artificial price rises on products and commodities.