More than 91 per cent of ACT residents aged 16 to 24 had a driver's licence of some kind last year, up from 81 per cent in 2001.

Monash University transport lecturer Alexa Delbosc said the figures went against the recent trends seen across Victoria and in Sydney.

"I am a little bit surprised with the ACT because it is a more urbanised area, but possibly not urbanised in the way that would enable you to live without a car," Dr Delbosc said.

The US-raised Melbourne resident said her analysis found the number of Victorians aged 18 to 24 with a full or provisional licence had fallen from 77 per cent to 66 per cent since 2001.

A NSW government survey found the number of 20 to 24 year-olds in Sydney with full drivers' licences dropped from 79 per cent in 1991 to 51 per cent in 2008.

"I would be curious then if the combination of not having good public transport, as well as the relatively higher [ACT] incomes to pay for gas and rego, are working against the trends compared with Melbourne and Sydney," she said.

Youth Coalition ACT director Emma Robertson said young Canberrans consistently argued for a better, more frequent public transport service.

"Having the option to ride and have your bike on the transport is what they want as well," she said.

Ms Robertson said transport issues had become more critical in recent decades as local shops were lost, with the poor worst impacted.

"That 10 per cent without licences is likely to be people that experience some kind of disadvantage," she said.