Attitudes towards privately-owned and shared autonomous vehicles

Research on attitudes towards autonomous vehicles (AVs) shows variation across gender, age, and socio-economic factors. While previous research has emphasized specific features and qualities of AVs, little is known about how attitudinal factors shape AV acceptance across a range of AV “modes” from privately-owned AVs to AV taxis shared with strangers. With an online panel of 834 US-based participants, the authors examine attitudes towards AVs and sharing. An exploratory factor analysis establishes four attitudinal dimensions: technology acceptance, risk-taking, traffic regulation, and driving enjoyment. The authors estimate multinomial logistic regression models to examine the impact of these four factors on attitudes toward AVs, willingness to purchase AVs, willingness to use AVs as a taxi service, and willingness to share AV taxis with strangers. The authors find a complex relationship between psychological factors and AV attitudes. “Early adopters” of technology and those who support stricter traffic regulations are more likely to have a positive attitude about AVs, whereas those who avoid risky behavior were more likely to have a negative attitude instead of a neutral attitude. Similar patterns were found across models of purchasing, using, and sharing AVs. The results imply that people who support traffic regulations may perceive AVs as a safer transport mode than human-driven cars, while those who avoid risk-taking behavior may perceive AVs to be more dangerous. However, the authors find that a large fraction of the population is not yet ready to use an AV with no driver, and overall reluctance to share a ride in an AV taxi.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.05.014
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847820304368
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13698478
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Wang, Sicheng
  • Jiang, Zhiqiu
  • Noland, Robert B
  • Mondschein, Andrew S
• Publication Date: 2020-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 297-306
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
  • Volume: 72
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 1369-8478
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13698478

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceptance; Attitudes; Autonomous vehicles; Factor analysis; Multinomial logits; Private passenger vehicles; Risk assessment; Taxicabs; Technology; Vehicle sharing
• Subject Areas: Highways; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01745989
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 23 2020 9:22AM