Millennials Love Transit Most, Boomers Still Stuck on Cars

[Dog Walker]

Let's hope the redesign of JTA's bus routes and schedules will make transit more usable for those of us who would like to use the system, but are put off by the slow travel times and the long wait times between buses.

[ChriswUfGator]

Our bus system isn't usable as real transit, who can afford to leave 1-2 hours early and take equally as long to get back from every meeting, work, etc.? This system is transport of last resort for those who can't afford otherwise.

[Ocklawaha]

As a boomer, this has little to anything to do with 'older generations being afraid,' or 'wealth buys automotive independence,' or any of the other factors mentioned.

We came up in an era when the public perception was 'railroads are dying', passenger trains were filthy remnants of whatever they once were, some even featured vending machines in lieu of food service. Buses were just getting restrooms on intercity runs, airplanes had props and rumbled and roared inside. City buses had just declared total victory over streetcars and most other rail transit (thanks to back room swindles) and we were left with 50-cent a gallon gasoline and endless plans for more and more FREEways. Most of us had little choice. What transit there was was second rate, City Coach Lines in Jacksonville didn't even have air-conditioned buses. Daytona Beach did't have buses until 1975.

In a story that appeared in the November 17, 1970, Champaign-Urbana Courier, P.E. Cherry, then manager, described the state of affairs as, "declining ridership, 22 year old buses and deficit spending." A request was made to the Illinois Commerce Commission by the City Lines to cease operation.

In 1971 (through today) Amtrak was formed, and it is and has been more of a funeral then a revival.

...And JTA?

Come to think of it, I'll drive until they have a product worth riding.

[ronchamblin]

Absolutely Ock.  Most of us will wait until a system is worth riding before we leave our autos at home.  And even then, many will occasionally use the auto when a specific destination is anticipated on a particular day. 

I am wondering if it is in fact true that we need, and could use effectively, a well designed mass transit system.  If it is true, then one might wonder why there is none. 

Apparently, the fact that there is "no" progress toward a viable and effective mass transit system -- one that would reduce auto traffic by perhaps 50 percent -- is due to the existence of conditions or economies that make the system unrealistic; that is, "not possible" at this time of the overall scenario.

[peestandingup]

It wasn't just transit that the Boomers helped destroy, as I'm sure you guys are aware. And just because a few here who are in that gen have their heads on straight doesn't mean the vast majority of your gen does (or did).

The total love affair with automobiles was under your watch, so was the complete abandoning of any & all urban areas, ushering in big box super centers (screw you, mom & pop), letting highways rip apart established urban fabric that actually had character & a history, etc. All of these things had tremendous negative consequences that we're just now starting to recover from. Boomers left & couldn't have cared less if you blew up these areas. Now they're bitching about all the money it takes to clean up the mess & trying to make up for the lost decades. Well, that'll happen won't it. Leave a cancerous mole on your body & then tell me how much more it costs to take care of it later on down the road.

You didn't have a choice? You actually did, but no one exercised it & was likely razzle dazzled by a lot of bullshit talk from all sides of the isle. A car doesn't define you (like they told you), a house in the burbs isn't a status symbol, wal-mart isn't your neighborhood buddy, huge lawns are stupid & wasteful, etc.

Like I said, most Boomers (not you guys) still hold onto these notions with an iron grip because acknowledging it would mean admitting they were wrong. And god forbid that happen. Hell, you can't go on a forum or city news site even today & read an article about transit, or bike lanes, or any other urban projects without hearing them still squawking about how we should just let it go, too much money, its a lost cause, etc.

[Bativac]

As a 35 year old with younger siblings (and with a younger wife with still younger siblings), I think this has a lot to do with the 30 and under set delaying "growing up" as long as they can. My wife's siblings, ranging from 20 to 27, still live with their parents. Heck, of my peer group, I and one other friend are the only ones to have bought a home. But I think as these 30-and-unders age, they are going to make some of the same decisions our parents did. Public transit is great until you have kids (which I don't, but my other homeowner friend does). Urban living isn't as appealing as a big lawn and lots of big rooms for kids to play in.

That and frankly, in the vast majority of the country, jobs don't pay what they used to - and decent jobs are difficult to get without going into debt over student loans. Who wants a car payment, car insurance, and vehicle maintenance on top of student loan payments?

I'm not going to blame an entire generation for "screwing everything up" because every generation makes the decisions they make based on the circumstances of the time, and every successive generation blames the previous one for their problems... and thinks they have the foresight to keep from making their own terrible mistakes.

[I-10east]

I'm not going to blame an entire generation for "screwing everything up" because every generation makes the decisions they make based on the circumstances of the time, and every successive generation blames the previous one for their problems... and thinks they have the foresight to keep from making their own terrible mistakes.

Well said.

[Tacachale]

It's easy to blame people of the past when you have the benefit of hindsight. But if you're going to do it, at least get the generations right. Cars, suburbanization, and the Interstate Highway System were all well in place by the time baby boomers were adults; they're the generation that was born between 1945 and the mid-60s.

[thelakelander]

The baby boomer generation is responsible for the 1970s/80s/90s transit investments. This would include heavy rail systems in DC, Atlanta, Miami, and LA. LRT systems in San Diego, St Louis, Salt Lake City, and even the Skyway in Jax.

[tufsu1]

The baby boomer generation is responsible for the 1970s/80s/90s transit investments. This would include heavy rail systems in DC, Atlanta, Miami, and LA. LRT systems in San Diego, St Louis, Salt Lake City, and even the Skyway in Jax.

They also are responsible for some of the urban rebirth seen over the last 20 years.  Many downtowns are flooded by millenials, younger Gen-Xers, and active retirees.

[urbanlibertarian]

I am a boomer and a DT resident.  I expect to own a car well into retirement although it may be very small and electric.  Mass transit will have to improve dramatically to be as convenient as driving yourself where you want and need to go.  I would expect car sharing to catch on here in Jax way before mass transit improves much.

[finehoe]

It wasn't just transit that the Boomers helped destroy, as I'm sure you guys are aware. And just because a few here who are in that gen have their heads on straight doesn't mean the vast majority of your gen does (or did).

The total love affair with automobiles was under your watch, so was the complete abandoning of any & all urban areas, ushering in big box super centers (screw you, mom & pop), letting highways rip apart established urban fabric that actually had character & a history, etc. All of these things had tremendous negative consequences that we're just now starting to recover from. Boomers left & couldn't have cared less if you blew up these areas. Now they're bitching about all the money it takes to clean up the mess & trying to make up for the lost decades. Well, that'll happen won't it. Leave a cancerous mole on your body & then tell me how much more it costs to take care of it later on down the road.

You didn't have a choice? You actually did, but no one exercised it & was likely razzle dazzled by a lot of bullshit talk from all sides of the isle. A car doesn't define you (like they told you), a house in the burbs isn't a status symbol, wal-mart isn't your neighborhood buddy, huge lawns are stupid & wasteful, etc.

Like I said, most Boomers (not you guys) still hold onto these notions with an iron grip because acknowledging it would mean admitting they were wrong. And god forbid that happen. Hell, you can't go on a forum or city news site even today & read an article about transit, or bike lanes, or any other urban projects without hearing them still squawking about how we should just let it go, too much money, its a lost cause, etc.

This is total bullshit.  It was the "greatest generation" who embraced the automobile and fled the cities for suburbia after WWII.  The first boomers didn't turn 18 until 1964, and by then the decline of transit and the inner cities was already well on its way.

[Dog Walker]

This is total bullshit.  It was the "greatest generation" who embraced the automobile and fled the cities for suburbia after WWII.  The first boomers didn't turn 18 until 1964, and by then the decline of transit and the inner cities was already well on its way.

FHA loans, which financed most of the suburban sprawl, was actually started in the late 1930's.

Let's give Nat Ford's redesign of the JTA system a chance to work.  He's a transit guy and the makeover of the JTA routes is a massive change.

[I-10east]

All of this finger pointing (millennial vs baby boomers) is really dumb IMO. It's easy to look down from an ivory tower and finger point. Most people use transit because they have to and given the choice, they would prefer their own personal automobile; I don't think that I'm going out on a limb by saying that...

[I-10east]

^^^I'm still sticking to everything that I said. Baby boomers = highways, and millennials = transit, those are 'facts'? Okay... You calling someone a 'troll' oh the irony... No use in debating with hypocritical condescending and unreasonable people like yourself. I'm looking forward to your next troll reply...