What impressions do users have after a ride in an automated shuttle? An interview study

In the future, automated shuttles may provide on-demand transport and serve as feeders to public transport systems. However, automated shuttles will only become widely used if they are accepted by the public. This paper presents results of an interview study with 30 users of an automated shuttle on the EUREF (Europäisches Energieforum) campus in Berlin-Schöneberg to obtain in-depth understanding of the acceptance of automated shuttles as feeders to public transport systems. From the interviews, the authors identified 340 quotes, which were classified into six categories: (1) expectations about the capabilities of the automated shuttle (10% of quotes), (2) evaluation of the shuttle performance (10%), (3) service quality (34%), (4) risk and benefit perception (15%), (5) travel purpose (25%), and (6) trust (6%). The quotes indicated that respondents had idealized expectations about the technological capabilities of the automated shuttle, which may have been fostered by the media. Respondents were positive about the idea of using automated shuttles as feeders to public transport systems but did not believe that the shuttle will allow them to engage in cognitively demanding activities such as working. Furthermore, 20% of respondents indicated to prefer supervision of shuttles via an external control room or steward on board over unsupervised automation. In conclusion, even though the current automated shuttle did not live up to the respondents’ expectations, respondents still perceived automated shuttles as a viable option for feeders to public transport systems.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2019.04.009
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847818304327
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13698478
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Nordhoff, Sina
  • de Winter, Joost
  • Payre, William
  • 0000-0002-6178-9047
  • van Arem, Bart
  • 0000-0001-8316-7794
  • Happee, Riender
• Publication Date: 2019-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 252-269
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
  • Volume: 63
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 1369-8478
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13698478

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Autonomous vehicles; Benefits; Demand responsive transportation; Evaluation; Feeder buses; Interviewing; Passengers; Psychological trust; Quality of service; Risk; Shuttle buses; Trip purpose
• Uncontrolled Terms: Expectation (Psychology)
• Geographic Terms: Berlin (Germany)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01705011
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 21 2019 11:06AM