By Mark Mills | The Wall Street Journal
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are posted for discussion purposes only.)
Many environmentalists hope, and oil producers worry, that we’re entering a post-car era spearheaded by tech-savvy, bike-path-loving, urban-dwelling, Uber-using millennials — leaving behind generations of automobile owners whose thirst for gasoline seemed limitless.
“Millennials have been reluctant to buy items such as cars,” a Goldman Sachs analysis concludes, turning to “what’s being called a ‘sharing economy.’ ” David Metz, former chief scientist at England’s Department of Transport, claims that the growth of Uber and its competitors guarantees a decline in automobile and fuel use. Thomas Frey, the DaVinci Institute senior futurist, said, “wealthy economies have already hit peak car.”
