Drivers of Change in a World of Mobility Disruption: An Overview of Long Distance Travel, Shared Mobility, and Automated Vehicles

Electrification, automation, and shared mobility, known as the 3 Revolutions (3R) will fundamentally change transportation globally. The 3 Revolutions are coming, and they will change existing travel behavior such as long-distance trips and create new questions such as who will drive for shared mobility and who will buy automated vehicles. Long distance travel, drivers for on-demand ride services, and the adoption of automated vehicles have been of recent interest to researchers, stakeholders, and policy makers but have just begun to be studied. Long-distance travel research is limited due to the lack of robust data and the complexity of defining a long-distance trip. The patterns of infrequent long-distance trips are poorly understood especially compared to the better studied (and understood) local daily travel patterns. This study contributes to filling that gap by investigating the factors that affect the frequency of long-distance trips of Californian millennials and members of the preceding Generation X. The data used was collected with an online survey administered in fall 2015 to study the mobility of these age groups. The survey collected information on several travel-related variables, including the number of long-distance trips (defined as trips longer than 100 miles, one way) made by various modes during the previous 12 months. Six negative binomial regression models of long-distance travel separated by purpose (business or leisure) and mode (overall travel versus air) are estimated. The study explores the relationship of long-distance trip formation with several sociodemographic, land use and attitudinal variables. Consistent with expectations, individual income positively affects the number of long-distance trips made by each individual. Among the attitudinal variables, the individuals who are adventurers, have higher “variety seeking” attitudes and are more interested in adopting new technologies are found to make a larger number of long-distance trips. On the other hand, those who prefer to shop in brick-and-mortar stores rather than online are found to have lower levels of long-distance travel. Lyft and Uber are two on-demand ride-service providers in the current landscape of shared mobility. In this chapter, focus is shifted from on-demand ride-sharing passengers to the drivers – a topic to which little attention has been paid but may have a significant impact on car ownership and the derived environmental and social benefits of shared mobility. For this study, data provided by Kelley Blue Book from its nationwide survey of U.S. residents ages 18 to 64 that collected information on shared mobility awareness and usage, vehicle ownership, aspirations for future vehicle ownership, and attitudes on shared mobility and vehicle ownership is used. An ordinal logit model is estimated to understand the willingness to drive for an on-demand ride-service. The individuals who report higher vehicle miles of travel (VMT) and have more children are more willing to become drivers. Furthermore, the introduction of attitudinal factors leads to finding that those who have positive attitudes towards ride-sharing are more interested in driving. Those who enjoy driving are also more likely to be interested in driving for an on-demand ride-service. Research on vehicle automation is one of the most current topics in transportation. Some of the questions plaguing the research community include design, cost, and adoption. Many of these questions will remain unanswered until automated vehicles are available to the consumer. In this study, a sample of California new electric vehicle buyers to understand if and how current adopters of new vehicle technologies will adopt automated vehicles is used. Many respondents are interested in purchasing an automated vehicle but indicate that they only have average knowledge of the technology. Using an ordinal logit model, the interest in purchasing a fully-automated vehicle is studied and find that younger men who purchase higher cost vehicles are more interested in purchasing a fully-automated vehicle. Above all else, those who perceive automated vehicles as being safer than non-automated vehicles have an interest in purchasing an automated vehicle.

• Record URL:
  https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6r64v86z
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This dissertation includes three papers: Exploring the Self-Reported Long-Distance Travel Frequency of Millennials and Generation X in California, authors Rosaria M. Berliner, Lisa Aultman-Hall, and Giovanni Circella; What Drives your Drivers: An In-depth Look at LYFT and UBER Drivers, authors Rosaria M. Berliner and Gil Tal; and Uncovering Early Adopter’s Perceptions and Purchase Intentions of Automated Vehicles: Insights from Early Adopters of Electric Vehicles in California, authors Rosaria M. Berliner, Scott Hardman, and Gil Tal.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of California, Davis

  Institute of Transportation Studies
  Davis, CA  United States  95616
• Authors:
  • Berliner, Rosaria
• Publication Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 107p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile ownership; Autonomous vehicles; Drivers; Ridesourcing; Travel behavior; Trip length
• Geographic Terms: California
• Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01838738
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 16 2022 10:19AM