Younger US generations drive 23% fewer miles from 2001 to 2009
"People born between 1983 and 2000 (now the largest generation in U.S. history) are more likely to choose to live in urban, walkable neighborhoods. They're also more open to transportation options like cycling, car shares, and public transit. As a result, they drive less - a lot less. They've reversed a 60-year run of increases in per-capita driving in the United States. According to a study released this year by U.S. Public Interest Research Groups, U.S. per-capita vehicle miles traveled have decreased to 1996 levels. That decline is led by young people ages 16 to 34, who drove 23 percent fewer miles on average in 2009 than the same cohort did in 2001" (page 4).
Michael Brune, "Generation Cool: Optimists, Activists, Leaders," Sierra Magazine, 98, no. 5 (2013), 4.