University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

Vehicle travel has reduced substantially across all demographics in the 2000’s, but millennials or young adults born from 1985-2000 stand out as the group that has reduced vehicle travel the most. This reduction of travel among millennials is known as the millennial effect. This policy and literature review discusses insights from recent policy reports and literature regarding the millennial effect and identifies the prominent themes and gaps in our knowledge. The first section reviews existing research on the millennial effect on vehicle miles traveled (VMT). The second section discusses the influence of the built environment on the travel and activities of the millennial generation. The third section highlights scenarios describing the millennials effect’s potential magnitude and identifies topics for consideration in future scenario planning efforts. The final section discusses the uncertainty that exists regarding the future behavior of millennials and their influence on VMT and greenhouse gas emissions.