My wife and I have friends who can't get their children to learn to drive despite cars being available to them with gas and maintenance paid by their parents.
Now that it's become clear that services like lyft/uber are unsustainable at their current prices, the days of cheap taxis are numbered. Soon, unless you live in an urban center (or university), the only choices will be: drive yourself or walk.
I wish bikes were among the viable alternatives. But with their theft wildly out of control, pedal pushing just can't become a mainstream alternative to cars.
walk is actually fine as well
Nederlands has a lot of cycle infrastructure and is mostly flat so it's very convenient to ride. But lots of people still drive for all the usual practicality reasons.
But I literally could not have done my first job without being able to drive to job sites. And I couldn't really have worked at the next company in an office park either. To say nothing of countless recreational activities and vacations I've done that required me to drive.
I've spoken to friends with teenagers and they've told me their kids aren't excited about getting a driver's license but understand it's a probably a practical necessity.
To me your statement logically is worded something like: "I require a car because I require a car"
But, yes, there are also many company locations out in suburban office parks that are generally not accessible if you don't have a car.
Even if I had a company car, I'd still have to be able to drive. Lots of jobs require being able to drive.
A great many teenagers will be in situations (especially after college) where they want or even need to drive a car. So it makes sense to "encourage" them to get a driver's license before there's an urgent need.
When they wanted to drive, then they'll learn to drive with great passion.
The actual problem is two-fold: parents who enable this dependency by offering rides and don't charge rent; and the daughter who evidently has no personal need whatsoever for a driver's licence. If she doesn't want a job, why would she care that she can't drive to one?
If they're planning on becoming a lifetime Manhattanite who rarely leaves the city sure. (Substitute international locations.) Sure.
But I think parents insisting that not being able to drive is a poor life choice for a bunch of reasons--that they're not going to support through driving their kid around--seems pretty reasonable.
Strictly in terms of employment (and even job interviews in my experience) the ability to rent a car, even if not owning a car, is pretty common.
"The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed."