02/15/2023

‘I’ll Call an Uber or 911’

Why Gen Z doesn’t want to drive

When Madison Corr was 18 years old and in her first year of college, she started the process of getting a driver's license. Corr, who was living in New York at the time, got an adult learner's permit, did drug and alcohol training, completing 10 to 15 hours behind the wheel and attending driver's ed classes. But when it came time to schedule a road test to get her license, she simply... didn't "I just felt like I didn't need it," she said.

Now 24, she lives in Philadelphia and still does not have a license. "My parents put a lot of pressure on me to get one," she said. "But I haven't needed one to this point. If there's an emergency, I'll call an Uber or 911."

Gabe Balog, 23, waited to get his license until he was 20 and didn't get a car until two years later. "I didn't want my parents teaching me," he said. But he also felt ambivalence toward America's car-centric culture, only getting a car because his job as a peer mental health worker required one. "It would be so much better for everyone if public transport were just more accessible."

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.