Social trends of importance for car use

In the project ”social trends affecting car use” we have studied changes in the car use over the last two decades and discussed trends that may influence car use in the future. Mobility in general – and travelling by car in particular – has increased significantly. Thus car availability is no longer the main explanation for variations in car use. Among high salary commuters the share of the car mode is inversely related to the level of education. No one uses the car less than young women in large cities. And no one uses the car more than suburban families living around the large cities. While youth to a lesser extent than before appear interested in owning and driving cars, children, paradoxically, seem to become more socialised to car dependency. With the coming ‘elderly boom’ in the population there is reason to expect that much higher shares of elderly women will become car users. Reurbanisation and a preoccupation with the environmental and health aspects of mobility are trends that might reduce car use in the future.