You know if you are of a certain age, you can probably recall the pent-up emotion and elation you had on your 16^th or 17^th birthday.  Back when it was my turnfor this, it wasn’t perfect-  impossible to get a drink until you were 18.  (Nowadays, we think making folks wait- that’s really read as purchase illegally- until their 21st birthday is reachedto sit at a bar.)

But, depending upon where you lived, you could get your driver’s license when you turned 16 or 17.  Had I lived in Suffolk County (New York), the legal age was 16.  But, in the more populous Nassau (as well as the boroughs of New York City), you had to wait until you were 17 to get that new tri-fold approval.  And, I knew my driver’s license by heart.  (It’s defunct- so I can list it here:  A03383-28184-405858 was my license to drive in the Empire State.)

(I admit that I drove way before I was of age.  From my parent’s house to Brightwaters (Suffolk County) to see my cousins (Lee and Roger) and my Aunt Edna and Uncle Erwin.  And, I knew that I had to refill the tank to match what was there before I left.  Stopping at one of the four dirt cheap places on Hempstead Turnpike just outside of Bethpage.  17.9 cents a gallon.   Yes, those were the days.)

When my stepdaughter reached 16, I began taking her out for spins.  So she could get her license.  And, my eldest was desperate for her laminated card.  (Of course, she had no desire to take the car on the highways; the plain old streets were all she wanted for her travels.)  My stepson was chomping at the bit for his turn.  My middle daughter- she waited until she was nearly 21 to obtain her driving privileges.  And, my youngest- counted the minutes until he could take his test.

But, that’s ancient history now.  Not because my kids range in age from 25 up to 40.  Nope.  It’s because kids today are less interested in driving.  Since the turn of the century (boy, does it sound funny to say that), kids under the age of 25 are far less inclined to drive around town.   These are among the findings to be published soon by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle (University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute).   (Here’s their findings.)  This non-driving trend is carrying forward to folks of my generation, who are letting their licenses lapse.

These changes are pretty pronounced.  Way back when my daughter was born, 92% of folks between the ages of 20 and 24 were licensed drivers.  That number dropped way down to 77% in 2014.  And, the youngest drivers?  That census has dropped from 80% to less than 25% in the same time period.

My son is typical of many millennials.  Living in New York, he sees no value to owning a car.  (OK.  That really is nothing new.  When I was younger, about ½ of the City residents didn’t drive.  Because parking was so expensive and the ability to “gas up” so difficult in the city.)  But, that attitude applies in DC, San Francisco, and a slew of other cities.  Washington DC is not even requiring each new apartment dwelling to have enough parking to match the number of units in their new buildings!

Now, the auto industry just had its best year ever.   (Some 17.5 million cars were sold last year.) But, you can bet they are truly worried about this trend.  There’s $ 7.7 trillion at risk in the automotive sales and transportation services sectors of our economy.

This is clearly why GM is investing in a slew of non-traditional entities.  They include ride-sharing ventures ($ 500 million dumped into Lyft), autonomous technology, and the like.  Or, acquiring the assets of Sidecar Technologies, the defunct ride-sharing firm.   It’s not just GM that’s so involved.  Tesla, Ford, Mercedes are all seeking to add these technologies to their portfolios.

Maybe it’s also time for our governments to fix our achy-breaky passenger rail and public transportation systems.  Before it’s too late.  Oh, wait.  It’s already too late.

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