At Canvas8, we've been thinking about how the cost of living crisis is affecting behaviour across all sectors and industries. With consumer budgets being squeezed in almost every aspect of daily life, people are rethinking how they move through the world. In the UK, the annual cost of running a car is now £500 more expensive due to rising prices at the pumps and higher insurance premiums, which is causing significant changes to people’s driving habits. And in the US, 80% of Americans said they would drive less as prices rose with many motorists considering carpooling and making fewer journeys as a way to combat increasing costs.

In the November 2022 Getting Around US-based vox pop, one of the main takeaways was that Americans have been forced to make lifestyle changes such as meeting friends less and avoiding road trips to reduce the amount they spend on gas. And in the UK-based vox pop, Britons are adjusting their driving habits by consciously reducing their car usage and rethinking how they get from A to B.

This marks a significant change in people’s daily habits, with knock-on effects for working, shopping, and socialising. We discovered that ride-sharing is back as brands like Revel allow Americans to engage in not only cost-effective but eco-conscious ways to get around, and over in China, Guazi is providing consumer-to-consumer services for buying and selling used cars as a way to make mobility more affordable. As driving shifts from being a daily occurrence to a needs-must rarity, our Sector Behaviour Affordable Mobility delves into how transport may look as financial turmoil continues to bite.