Posted on 07/12/2015 12:09:17 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
*If you’ve never heard of ride-sharing, app-based taxi services like Uber and Lyft, you probably don’t get out much.
They are pretty much taking over the world.
And John Zimmer, who co-founded Lyft, even goes as far as saying that in five years, most millennials won’t own a car. They will see no need for it.
“You could actually start seeing the majority of millennials in the next five years or so saying there’s no reason I should get a car,” Zimmer told Mashable recently. “The car used to be the symbol of American freedom. Now it’s like …owning a $9,000 ball and chain, because you have $9,000 in expenses on your car every year.”
Sounds like something someone with a ride-sharing business would say.
But apparently there’s data to support his theory.
An article in Huffington Post states millennials are less likely to get driver’s licenses compared to previous generations; and according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the number of cars purchased by people aged 18 to 34 fell by almost 30 percent from 2007 to 2011.
Of course this could be for a number of reasons. The economy; parents unable to foot the bill for a monthly car note.
And these days, the Generation Y’ers use skateboards, bikes and public transportation more often as a means of travel. So this could also lend itself to the reasons why they are not purchasing cars.
Yet it is true, as Mashable notes, that this millennial shift has contributed greatly to the success of ride-sharing companies like Lyft and Uber, whose worth is at least $2 billion and $40 billion respectively.
Not to mention the contributions of their parents and grandparents; who rely heavily on the service for their own means of regular transportation.
Yet and still, the jury is still out on whether or not cars will soon be obsolete for the Gen Y set. A survey conducted this year found that 43 percent of millennials are actually likely to purchase a car in the next five years.
“Whatever millennials do right now, it’s highly likely that they’ll drive more as they age into their 30s and 40s,” wrote reporter Emily Badger in an op-ed for The Washington Post last year. “The question is whether they’ll continue to drive less than their parents did at each stage of life — and whether future generations will replicate their patterns.”
Maybe they should open a ‘light freight’ division.
Well, so much for cab rides in the '57 Bel Air...
I drove 130 miles R/T in a 18MPG F150 for years. It never cost $750/month average. Never.
Author might be thinking insurance and car payment, too, though.
How about this
Government consumes over 50% of their income!
Add in the expense of ObamaCare and let’s push that to 60%
What’s left over to buy a car? ZIP
I’ve posted on other threads about the lack of cars for young people today; their jobs can’t support the related expenses - even gas. A few years back when I would go out on Saturday nights I was surprised at how many young people didn’t have cars (or full-time jobs - which they coveted) - and also how many had given up any hope of having a family or owning a home.
This is one of the many divisions exploited by Dems to keep their elected offices in their “divide & conquer” strategy (obviously without conceding their own role in hurting young people economically). They have turned women against men, takers against makers, secularists against people of faith, ethnic minorities against whites - and at least in 2008 - young people against older established people.
This certainly explains a lot in terms of how our way of life has been destroyed.
“I seem to remember them spouting that “paperless office” bull**** as far back as the 1970’s.”
At my second engineering job Honeywell started a “paperless” factory for their largest military production contract ever. I read the contract and went to my boss. “It says here we’ll maintain paper copies of these records for fifteen years. There are no records. The assumption is we’ll never see these units again. No provisions have been made to collect and store this data.” They started printing out each computer record. I did a fast calculation and discovered over the contract they’d fill several large warehouses and the implication was these records would be accessible. They were moved off the floor, into boxes and eventually into warehouses. Accessing a particular record was impossible. (Oh, and let me tell you the brass is not happy with anybody who points out the flaw in their thinking.)
“The car used to be the symbol of American freedom. Now it’s like …owning a $9,000 ball and chain, because you have $9,000 in expenses on your car every year.” ........
Providing you can afford to purchase the car in the first place.
Worse, go check the cost of new pickup trucks. Tell me how someone needs a $40,000-$50,000 pickup truck?
Most Millenials will be Hispanic.
If no one has a car, how are Uber and Lyft in business? Who are these Millenials going to buy a ride from?
While I don’t doubt lower rates of car ownership are real, largely for some of the economic reasons discussed in the thread, I see plenty of car usage among my son’s peer group. It’s a big sprawling suburban city, and they’re all over it for various events.
The only real problem I have with UBER is that you have to maintain a 4star out of 5. If one guy rates you a one, for whatever reason, you need the next 20 rides being 5stsrs before you got your 4 star rating back.
UBER will push you out if you cannot maintain a 4 star rating.
“Worse, go check the cost of new pickup trucks.”
I need a pickup. But I won’t buy one at anywhere near that. I suspect that the price is driven partially by the fact that cars have been getting smaller to meet the CAFE standards. Cars are just darned uncomfortable now. I see women driving pickups to the grocery store. Another driver may be that companies get to write off many costs so why not buy a pickup? Another cost is that pickups, which are coming under the CAFE standards are made of more and more aluminum. Aluminum requires different processes and procedures than steel and converting costs money.
Pickups are fashionable. Which probably adds a few bucks also.
Incidentally, my friends with millennial kids say their kids won’t own a car unless it’s tiny, for style. But they want to drive the pickup rather than the car, even to the store.
Those city folks without cars are gonna be soooooooo screwed when the zombie apocalypse hits.
;)
I must admit that thought did cross my mind too.
But apparently there’s data to support his theory.
And it’s pretty damn old too. Back in the ‘80s Newsday added it all up and found calling a cab when you wanted to go anywhere was cheaper than keeping your own car on hand.
* They can't afford it, no jobs, and have to pay for Obamacare after 26.
* The cars have been so federally mandated and safety enhanced to pedal to "Consumer Reports" that their entry price-point is through the moon.
* They are so complicated, you can't buy a junker and work on it.
* No one gives a rat's-patowee about taking auto shop in High School anymore, it used to be a right of passage.
* And don't think the auto companies know about this, witness their experimentation with "Electric Bikes" and discussions of "co-ownership" etc etc etc.
Rush was right about going after the SUV, it wasn't it's fuel consumption, it was the liberation it offered to tow a boat, a trailer etc. and take your whole family with you to the the Rural Areas or Wilderness. They are doing things to divide the family ( these excursion were family time ) and they don't want you in "these lands". So many people were snookered by this.
Wow!
Huh huh, people are still using cars? That is SO old fashioned. I use teleporters, they are much more efficient.
Millennials won’t own a car in five years because they think everything is a free ride waiting for Obama&Co to send limo.
And these days, the Generation Y’ers use skateboards, bikes and public transportation more often as a means of travel. So this could also lend itself to the reasons why they are not purchasing cars.
The reason that they are not purchasing cars is the very fact that you can’t afford to buy one while flipping burgers or while staying home playing games on the game program unit.
Living at home with mom and mom (or dad and dad) and holding a minimal productive job (if any) prevents one from actually entering the real world of work...thus prevention of reaping the rewards of responsibility and money.
That piece of news is great but Hubby should watch his back. Uber is going with driver-less cars in the not-so-distant future. Google also is also planning the same.
If the drought continues at this pace, in 5 years L.A will be a ghost town unless someone comes up with an economical way to make fresh water from the ocean. (I hear desalination plants are very expensive to run and maintain.)
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