“From 1980 to 2005, driving grew at about 2 percent per year. But it grew even faster than that before 1980, and many people think that the market for driving is nearly saturated as 75 percent of households with workers have two or more cars and only about 4 percent have no cars at all. (For all households, including those with no workers, 57 percent have two or more cars and only 9 percent have no cars.)
However, 2014’s 1.7 percent gain over 2013 may signal a return to previous growth rates. There are several reasons to think that the market isn’t completely saturated. While most workers have access to cars, many non-workers don’t, and commuting accounts for only about 20 percent of all driving. Vehicle ownership rates among blacks and Latinos remain well below those for whites. In the long run, self-driving cars will make automobility accessible to the 33 percent of Americans who don’t have drivers licenses.
(H/T: Anti-Planner)
