Teenage Mobility in the United States: Issues and Opportunities for Promoting Public Transit

A Taste for Transit? Analyzing Public Transit Use Trends among Youth

“…Improving transit service frequency and reliability are common barriers to transit use among riders of all ages and are important to rider satisfaction (Beirão and Cabral 2007;Cain 2006;Yoh et al 2011). Targeted transit investments that increase transit reliability and accessibility could make transit more adaptable to a wide variety of travelers and trips and, thus, be more amenable to life cycle changes such as increased trip chaining with the presence of children.…”

Engaging Youth to Increase their Transportation System Support, Understanding, and Use

“…Promoting support for and use of a planned transportation system (e.g., transit, bike paths) among youth helps contribute to a safe, healthy, and sustainable transportation system and fosters livable communities by providing secure mobility to a segment of the public typically restricted in their transportation choices (i.e., may not be old enough to drive or can't afford a car). Increasing noncar mobility among youth is also strategic to help grow and sustain long-term use of non-car transportation options because the transportation system-related beliefs and behaviors of youth are likely to influence their willingness to access transportation services, such as transit, as adults (Cain, 2006). Encouraging youth to understand and engage with non-car transportation options may also increase their interest in transportation systems, which could translate into future transportation-system support through voting, citizen engagement, and interest in a transportation-related career (Cain, 2006).…”

“…Increasing noncar mobility among youth is also strategic to help grow and sustain long-term use of non-car transportation options because the transportation system-related beliefs and behaviors of youth are likely to influence their willingness to access transportation services, such as transit, as adults (Cain, 2006). Encouraging youth to understand and engage with non-car transportation options may also increase their interest in transportation systems, which could translate into future transportation-system support through voting, citizen engagement, and interest in a transportation-related career (Cain, 2006). Thus, it is important for transportation communities to actively communicate with youth who are or could be future transit riders or who have access to other non-car options (i.e., bike/walk paths).…”

“…Neither category finds representation in peer-reviewed articles about public transit and youth within the context of the Pacific Northwest. Some descriptive studies about youth attitudes and perceptions of public transit use do exist at the national level (Brown et al, 2016;Clifton, 2003;Davis et al, 2012) and within non-Portland localized data sets (Cain, 2006;Grimsrud et al, 2014;Thomas, 2007). No local study has been conducted to understand the attitudes and perceptions of youth (urban or suburban) in and/or around Portland nor the region.…”

“…Few studies, however, have focused on connecting the transportation-related attitudes and behaviors of youth into developing messages that effectively promote non-car mobility among this population. One exception to this dearth of research on youth transportation messaging development is a study that conducted extensive formative research on the types of transit messaging that might work with teenagers (Cain, 2006;Cain, Hamer and Sibley-Perone, 2005). The Cain studies recommended three potential communication strategies that could be successful with teenagers: (1) highlight how transit allows teens to be more independent and less reliant on their parents for transportation; (2) highlight the safety benefits of using transit compared to the responsibility of driving; and 3highlight the high cost of car travel and the better uses of their money to save for things teens care about (e.g., clothes).…”