Abstract
Since the turn of the millennium, daily travel per person in the U.S. has been declining. Leading up to the pandemic, travel by older teens and young adults declined even more steeply than among older adults. After collapsing early in the pandemic, per capita travel by all ages has rebounded, but remains below pre-pandemic levels. To explore changes in personal travel, particularly among younger travelers, we examine National Household Travel Survey data from 2001, 2009, 2017, and 2022 to compare measures of everyday travel by youth (aged 15 to 29) with middle-aged adults (aged 30 to 59). The data presented in this report point to even lower levels of youth travel compared to pre-pandemic levels. Trips for all purposes have declined in absolute terms, especially for shopping/errands and, for youth in particular, social/recreational purposes. In relative terms, private vehicle use has increased, and travel by public transit and active modes has decreased. These shifts in personal travel – down overall and toward cars – suggest that pandemic-prompted travel shifts toward fewer out-of-home activities and increased use of information and communications technologies for shopping and other trips may be having enduring effects on personal travel, particularly among younger travelers.
