In a previous Web Insight, we showed that some car owners (20% overall) would consider relying on services such as Zipcar, Car2Go, Getaround, Uber and Lyft, as well as public transportation, to get around, rather than having and using their own vehicle.
In the Center’s Future of Transportation study, we also asked a follow-up question on why they would consider using these alternatives instead of owning a car. One of the reasons was “to protect that environment.”
Overall, 38% of those who said that they would consider relying on ride-sharing or public transportation to get around, rather than having and using their own car, said that they would do so in order to protect the environment.
Let us explore this response in greater detail. What type of person was most likely to give this answer?
Age
The young were more likely than the old. Forty-seven percent of Millennials (aged 19-35) who said that they would consider giving up their car said that they would do so for the sake of the environment, compared to 34% of those aged 36 and older.
Services like Zipcar, Car2Go, Getaround, Uber and Lyft give people options other than having cars. Why would you consider using these services instead of owning a car?
Education
Those with more education were somewhat more likely. Forty-three percent of those with a college education or more cited protection of the environment as a reason, versus 34% of those with some college education or less.
Political perspective
Political orientation had a small impact. Those most likely to cite protection of the environment as a reason for giving up their car and going with ride-sharing services or public transportation were those who were in the middle of the road (40%), followed by the somewhat or very liberal (39%), and, lastly, those who were somewhat or very conservative (35%).
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February 11, 2019