A third of young people say driving is not too expensive and they will not bother to learn to drive or buy a car.

A study of 17- to 25-year-olds found a third (35%) had decided against driving or owning a car because of the expense involved. Many cited the cost of driving lessons as a disincentive and they also believe it is cheaper to use public transport than own a car themselves.

The study by Gocompare.com found driving lessons and sitting the exams can cost the average young driver £1,381. It also revealed young driver who do own a car spend an average of £1,831 per year keeping it on the road.

Lee Griffin of Gocompare said: ‘Learning to drive and owning your own car used to be something of a rite of passage for young adults but now it seems that many are just finding it too expensive.

`Car insurance is one of the biggest expenses for an inexperienced driver but there are ways to try to reduce the cost, which is needed to bring more young people into driving.’