Millennials leading shift in Arizona transportation
Jul 22, 2014, 4:52 PM | Updated: 8:37 pm
PHOENIX — Biking and public transportation are on the rise in Arizona, thanks primarily to millennials, a study said.
According to new research by the Arizona Public Interest Research Group, the state has seen a 10.5 percent decline in the number of miles driven each year.
“Arizonans also drive fewer miles today than we did seven years ago, and fewer per person than did in 1994,” Diane E. Brown, executive director of the Arizona PIRG Education Fund, said.
Even though Arizona’s total population has been increasing, Brown said its driving population is dramatically decreasing.
“Fewer vehicles are on Arizona’s roads,” she said. “The percent of households with no vehicle has increased 1.9 percent for the Phoenix area.”
The decrease in driving statewide is led by the millennial generation, who are driving less than any other generation in an effort to save the environment, according to Brown. They are leaving their cars at home and getting around Arizona other ways.
“Young people are more likely than the rest of the population to use public transportation and walk and bike to get around,” she said.
Within a few years, Brown said she expects to see an even bigger number of Arizonans primarily using alternate forms of transportation.
