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Some millennials choose apps over car ownership

Wednesday - 10/2/2013, 8:10am  ET

Many millennials are ditching cars and turning to their smartphones to hitch rides. (Thinkstock)

WASHINGTON - They're younger than 30 and they're thumbing their noses at owning cars. Instead, millennials are getting around with their smartphones.


"They aren't even feeling the need to purchase a car anymore. Five percent of people who have been using the Capital Bikeshare program have actually sold a vehicle since joining the service," says Jaimie Woo with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.


"Being able to track where the Metro is going, or where the bus is coming from using just their iPhones or their smartphones," is easy, she says.


"For Baby Boomers, driving one's car represented freedom and spontaneity. Today -- especially for younger people -- owning a car is likely to represent big expenses and parking hassles. Meanwhile, technology and vehicle-sharing are making it easier not to own a car or for households to drive less," Baxandall said in a news release.


"People are really taking advantage of them and using personal vehicles a lot less," Woo says.




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