Measures of Baseline Intent to Use Automated Vehicles: A Case Study of Texas Cities

The changes that may be caused by vehicle and system automation are potentially transformational, but there is a lack of data-supported predictability of the impacts at this time. Early consistent measurement of intent to use self-driving vehicles will help explore the public’s reactions, improve the knowledge base, and facilitate an understanding of the potential benefits that could be achieved. Recognizing the complications of an uncertain environment, this study contributes to building an evidence-based picture of acceptance and adoption of self-driving vehicles through an online survey implemented in several Texas cities. Because self-driving vehicles are not yet on the market, a car technology acceptance model (CTAM) was applied to understand adoption and use. Specifically, the paper presents findings from 2016 surveys in Dallas, Houston, and Waco, which is an extension of a prior 2015 survey study in Austin. Adding different geographic content and including regions with different travel and demographic environments provided an opportunity to assess trends and to obtain more robust results and different insights on the consumer acceptance and travel behavior impacts of self-driving vehicles. The results show an increase from 2015 to 2016. Demographic variables such as age, income, and education level were not significant influencers, but the psychosocial variables of the CTAM model were significant in predicting intent to use. In moving forward, it will be important to extend self-driving surveys to a national population to develop further insights and measure the findings with a diverse population.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADB10 Standing Committee on Traveler Behavior and Values.
• Authors:
  • Sener, Ipek Nese
  • Zmud, Johanna
  • Williams, Thomas
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 19p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceptance; Automobile travel; Case studies; Cities; Intelligent vehicles; Surveys
• Geographic Terms: Austin (Texas); Dallas (Texas); Houston (Texas); Texas; Waco (Texas)
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Society; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01658075
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-04946
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 26 2018 9:47AM