Some Younger People Are Buying Cars So They Can Drive For Ride-Sharing Services

For many drivers, the best part of having your own car is that you don’t have to deal with anyone else — you can blast your music, sing at the top of your lungs, or eat a tuna sandwich, and there’s no one to judge you. But some younger drivers now may have a new reason to buy a car: To become a driver for Uber or Lyft.

A recent report from market research company Mintel that says 15% of millennial car buyers plan to use those vehicles to drive for a ride-sharing service, in comparison to about 9% of the total population.

“A lot of millennials have the mind-set that they’ve got to have a side hustle, something like Uber to supplement their income,” Buddy Lo, an automotive analyst for Mintel, told The Washington Post. “And now that the recovery is taking hold, they’re starting to buy new cars.”

Millennials are also more into buying new cars these days than they may have been in the past: After years of delaying such big life moments in response to the difficult job market that met them upon graduating college, they’re now catching up, as Lo notes, “There was a lot of pent-up demand from the recession.”

But there are many who are interested in supplementing their income in general, the Post points out, noting that about 40% of millennials have second jobs. The flexibility of ride-sharing is a “boon” to that set, Lo says, as a great way for people to make money off a depreciating asset: their car.”