In a time when you can be anything, teens are choosing to be passengers. Today’s youth are less interested in the freedom of the open road and more comfortable letting someone else drive. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the percentage of 19-year-olds with driver’s licenses dropped from 87.3% in 1983 to just 68.7% in 2022. This shift points to a growing preference for public transportation, ride-sharing, and the good old-fashioned method of walking.

• High costs are a major reason behind this trend. Car prices have jumped 32.2% since 2019, and 30% of 18 to 24-year-olds have seen their auto insurance increase by $300 or more over the past year.
• Unlike previous generations, who saw a 1% annual rise in car purchases by age 27, Gen Z’s share of new and used car sales fell by 0.1% from 2022 and Sept. 2024.

We’re so back: While teens may be trading driving tests for transit passes, the rest of the country is making up for the lost miles. Nearly four years after the pandemic threw our driving habits off course, 95% of Americans are back behind the wheel, taking an average of 2.5 trips per day, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). The primary destinations? The usual suspects — work and errands. With more people returning to hybrid work models that blend office and remote days, the demand for mobility is rising again.