How These Two Groups of People are Tipping the Scale on Transportation

Transportation is changing.  In a city like Portland, it will change quickly.  It changes for a variety of reasons.  City planners, gentrification, our PREFERENCES--to name a few--will challenge the design of a city and therefore, reorient our thinking on how we move about the city.

Transportation will impact your church.  Count on it. In fact, it has already happened.  It is especially noticeable in the winter time around our fair city.  As the darkness looms around 4:00-4:30 for our NW long winter nights, older people are choosing not to drive after 4 p.m.  If you are in the suburbs and your Sunday night crowd is the driving elderly, chances are your Sunday night services are dwindling or being cancelled.  Why?  Because of a transportation issue.

In Portland,  two groups of people are influencing how transportation is being designed: Boomers and Millennials.  They are the largest population group in the city. Here is what we are learning:

The American Assocation of Retired Persons recently reported that as baby boomers move into retirement age and older, driving will continue to steadily decline as an option for getting around. And more and more seniors will increasingly depend on a variety of public transportation options. On the other end of the age spectrum, fewer teens, 20-somethings and early 30-somethigs are falling in love with the car culture. Fewer young people are getting their driver’s license. Researchers and various media report that between half and two-thirds of 18-year olds had their driving licenses in 2008; in 1983, more than 80 percent had their licenses. And they’re buying fewer cars. Millenials also don’t mind getting around by transit, walking or biking. Carpooling and even car-sharing is an acceptable alternative. Owning a car is not out of the question, so long as they do not have to spend so much of their income on a monthly payment. Millenials also prefer — even demand — a more urban lifestyle. They tend to want something different from the suburban way of life of their parents’ generation. Most young workers today want to live in a more urban setting.  

And more and more, too, Millenials are choosing to live alone (or with a dog). Thus, the trend is towards smaller and smaller households that demand less space. 

Want to learn more about this issue read here:
How Baby-Boomers and Millennials Might Be Tipping the Scale Toward Even More Active Transportation Use

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