Simulating Life with Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicles through a Naturalistic Experiment with Personal Drivers

Forty-three households in the Sacramento region representing diverse demographics, modal preferences, mobility barriers, and weekly vehicle miles traveled (VMT) were provided personal chauffeurs for one or two weeks to simulate travel behavior with a personally-owned, fully autonomous vehicle (AV). During the chauffeur week(s), the total number of trips increased on average by 25 percent, 85 percent of which were “zero-occupancy” (ZOV) trips (when the chauffeur is the only occupant). Average VMT for all households increased by 60 percent, over half of which came from ZOV trips. VMT increased most in households with mobility barriers and those with less auto-dependency but least in higher VMT households and families with children. Transit, ridehailing, biking, and walking trips dropped by 70 percent, 55 percent, 38 percent, and 10 percent, respectively. The results highlight how AVs can enhance mobility, but also adversely affect the transportation system.

• Record URL:
  http://doi.org/10.7922/G2WH2N96
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/65477
• Corporate Authors:

  University of California, Berkeley

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Institute of Transportation Studies, 109 McLaughlin Hall
  Berkeley, CA  United States  94720-1720

  University of California, Davis

  Institute of Transportation Studies
  Davis, CA  United States  95616

  University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Harb, Mustapha
  • 0000-0002-5469-1770
  • Malik, Jai
  • 0000-0002-7137-7302
  • Circella, Giovanni
  • 0000-0003-1832-396X
  • Walker, Joan L
  • 0000-0002-4407-0823
• Publication Date: 2022-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 36p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Autonomous vehicles; Households; Travel behavior; Travel surveys; Trip generation; Vehicle miles of travel
• Geographic Terms: Sacramento (California)
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01868190
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: UC-ITS-2018-09, UCD-ITS-RR-22-20
• Contract Numbers: UC-ITS-2018-09
• Files: NTL, TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 22 2022 9:59AM