Here’s a good look at “peak car,” the point where growth in automobiles … uh, stalls.
Looks like research confirms my hunch that the Internet is to blame.
A University of Michigan survey of 15 countries found that in areas where a lot of young people use the internet, fewer than normal have driving licences. A global survey of teen attitudes by TNS, a consultancy, found that young people increasingly view cars as appliances not aspirations, and say that social media give them the access to their world that would once have been associated with cars. KCR, a research firm, has found that in America far more 18- to 34-year-olds than any other age group say socialising online is a substitute for some car trips.
via The future of driving: Seeing the back of the car | The Economist.