Disclaimer: I’m not from the US.
As a student in a relatively large-ish city, I’ve been doing fine with public transportation. I’m not particularly interested in driving because of (no particular order):
- environmental impact (in part mitigated by EVs)
- ‘severe’ ADHD; I would never be relaxed driving
- safety; I don’t trust other drivers to follow the rules properly
Should I still get a driver’s license sooner than later?
Yes.
But I grew up in a city where existence was effectively impossible without a car, so when I say fuck cars it comes with a very sober realization that the system will punish you for trying not to drive.
You can minimize cars in your lifestyle but until we can get systemic change that lasts, we will always have to work in the system we have.