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Decreasing popularity of the car? Changes in driving licence and access to a car among young adults over a 25-year period in Norway

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  • Hjorthol, Randi

Abstract

The general impression that car-use has reached a peak or the orientation to have a car has stagnated in several Western countries has been associated with young people being less interested in obtaining a driving licence and getting a car. Examination of public statistics and of data from Norwegian National Travel Surveys indicates that the percentage of young people acquiring a driving licence fell during the 1990s and has been stagnating since the start of the year 2000. Over a 25-year period, we find that young people living outside large cities have a car(s) in the household; they are in paid work and are married/cohabiting. They have a driving licence to a much greater degree than those who live in cities and have good access to public transport; they are students and not married/cohabiting. In the same 25-year period we have seen a higher percentage of young people living in the larger cities, spending longer on education and delaying establishing a family. Our cohort analyses indicate that young cohorts/generations defer from obtaining a driving licence. At age 30years the proportion of licence holders has been around 90%, but analysis of young cohorts from 2001 to 2009 shows that this figure is declining.

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  • Hjorthol, Randi, 2016. "Decreasing popularity of the car? Changes in driving licence and access to a car among young adults over a 25-year period in Norway," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 140-146.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:51:y:2016:i:c:p:140-146
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2015.12.006
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    9. Wang, Kailai & Wang, Xize, 2021. "Generational Differences in Automobility: Comparing America's Millennials and Gen Xers Using Gradient Boosting Decision Trees," SocArXiv n3a9e, Center for Open Science.
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    13. Thigpen, Calvin, 2017. "The Reciprocal Relationship between Children and Young Adults' Travel Behavior and Their Travel Attitudes, Skills, and Norms," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt383679dd, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    14. Rico Krueger & Taha H. Rashidi & Akshay Vij, 2020. "X vs. Y: an analysis of intergenerational differences in transport mode use among young adults," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(5), pages 2203-2231, October.
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    17. Haseeb, Attiya & Mitra, Raktim, 2024. "Travel behaviour changes among young adults and associated implications for social sustainability," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    18. Kailai Wang, 2023. "Are Generation Z Less Car-centric Than Millennials? A Nationwide Analysis Through the Lens of Youth Licensing," Papers 2310.04906, arXiv.org.
    19. Krueger, Rico & Rashidi, Taha H. & Vij, Akshay, 2018. "X vs. Y: An Analysis of Intergenerational Differences in Transport Mode Use Among Young Adults," SocArXiv unezy, Center for Open Science.
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    21. Shaila Jamal & K. Bruce Newbold, 2020. "Factors Associated with Travel Behavior of Millennials and Older Adults: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-27, October.
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