Driving over the life course: The automobility of Canada’s Millennial, Generation X, Baby Boomer and Greatest Generations

Mercado et al. (2010) called for greater recognition of the diversity of Canada’s demographic structure with respect to automobility. For instance, recent anecdotal evidence suggests that Millennials (individuals born following Generation X and between the early 1980s and early 2000s) are less likely to have a driver’s license and less likely to drive than their older counterparts. On the other hand, older generations, including aging baby boomers and those who have already retired, grew up with the automobile, and having a license was a rite of passage into adulthood. Not surprisingly, Canada’s old have some of the highest rates of automobility (Scott et al. 2009).Based on data from Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey (GSS) ‘Time Use’ cycles, this paper evaluates differences in automobility by generational cohort (i.e., Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Greatest Generation). Descriptive statistics are used to measure whether different generations are more (less) likely to hold a driver’s license, and the characteristics of trips (i.e., number of trips, trip mode, and duration). While Millennials are more likely to use public or active transit options, the results suggest that they are ‘catching up’ with other generations, characterized by a growth in the proportion holding a valid driver’s license and increasing trips by car. We conclude that Canadian Millennials will likely share the same automobility profile as older generations.