Technological advances are bringing connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) to the ever- evolving transportation system. Anticipating the public acceptance and adoption of these technologies is important. A recent internet-based survey was conducted polling 347 Austinites to understand their opinions on smart-car technologies and strategies. Ordered-probit and other model results indicate that respondents perceive fewer crashes to be the primary benefit of autonomous vehicles (AVs), with equipment failure being their top concern. Their average willingness to pay (WTP) for adding full (Level 4) automation ($7,253) appears to be much higher than that for adding partial (Level 3) automation ($3,300) to their current vehicles. This study estimates the impact of demographics, built-environment variables, and travel characteristics on Austinites’ WTP for adding such automations and connectivity to their current and coming vehicles. It also estimates adoption rates of shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) under different pricing scenarios ($1, $2, and $3 per mile), choice dependence on friends’ and neighbors’ adoption rates, and home-location decisions after AVs and SAVs become a common mode of transport. Higher-income, technology-savvy males, living in urban areas, and those who have experienced more crashes have a greater interest in and higher WTP for the new technologies, with less dependence on others’ adoption rates. Such behavioral models are useful to simulate long-term adoption of CAV technologies under different vehicle pricing and demographic scenarios. These results can be used to develop smarter transportation systems for more efficient and sustainable travel.

Assessing Public Opinions of and Interest in New Vehicle Technologies: An Austin Perspective

Although automated vehicles (AVs) could offer a potentially effective solution to improving road safety, the benefit associated with AVs can be realized only when the public intend to use them. While some efforts have been made to understand why people would use AVs, few of them have investigated the role of social and personal factors in AV acceptance. The present study aimed to fill in this research gap. An AV acceptance model was proposed by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with social and personal factors, i.e., initial trust, social influence, and the Big Five personality and sensation seeking traits. The validity of the proposed model was confirmed with a questionnaire survey administrated to 647 drivers in China. Results revealed that at the very beginning of AV commercialization, perception factors (i.e., perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness) from the original TAM showed significant influence on users’ intention to use AVs. But more importantly, it was social influence and initial trust that contributed most to explain whether users would accept AVs or not. Some personality traits also played certain roles in AV usage intention. In particular, sensation seekers and those with a higher openness to experience were more likely to trust AVs and had a higher intention to adopt them. In contrast, neurotic people showed a lower level of trust and were less likely to accept AVs. Practically, these findings suggest that promotion of AVs to influential individuals that could help form good social opinions would have significant downstream effects on AV acceptance at the early state of its marketization.

Automated vehicle acceptance in China: social influence and initial trust are key determinants

The inevitable need to develop new delivery practices in last-mile logistics arises from the enormously growing business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce and the associated challenges for logistics service providers. Autonomous delivery vehicles (ADVs) are believed to have the potential to revolutionise last-mile delivery in a way that is more sustainable and customer focused. However, if not widely accepted, the introduction of ADVs as a delivery option can be a substantial waste of resources. At present, the research on consumers’ receptivity of innovations in last-mile delivery, such as ADVs, is limited. This study is the first that investigates the users’ acceptance of ADVs in Germany by utilising an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) and adapted it to the context of ADVs in last-mile delivery. Quantitative data was collected through an online survey approach (n = 501) and structural equation modelling was undertaken. The results indicate that price sensitivity is the strongest predictor of behavioural intention (i.e., user acceptance), followed by performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, perceived risk, social influence and facilitating conditions, whereas no effect could be found for effort expectancy. These findings have important theoretical and practical contributions in the areas of technology acceptance and last-mile delivery.

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Acceptance of autonomous delivery vehicles for last-mile delivery in Germany – Extending UTAUT2 with risk perceptions

Excessive dependence on autonomous vehicles (AVs) may exacerbate traffic congestion and increase exhaust emissions in the future. The diffusion of AVs may be significantly affected by the public’s acceptance. A few factors that may affect people’s acceptance of AVs have been researched in the existing studies, one-third of which cited behavioral theories, while the rest did not. A total of seven factors with behavior theories are screened out that significantly affect the acceptance intention, including perceived ease of use, attitude, social norm, trust, perceived usefulness, perceived risk, and compatibility. Six factors without behavior theories are summed up that affect AV acceptance, namely safety, performance-to-price value, mobility, value of travel time, symbolic value, and environmentally friendly. We found that people in Europe and Asia have substantial differences in attitudes toward AVs and that safety is one of the most concerned factors of AVs by scholars and respondents. Public acceptance of the different types of AVs and consumers’ dynamic preferences for AVs are highlighted in the review too. The quality of literature is systematically assessed based on previously established instruments and tailored for the current review. The results of the assessment show potential opportunities for future research, such as the citation of behavior theories and access to longitudinal data. Additionally, the experimental methods and the utilization of mathematical and theoretical methods could be optimized.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/1719/pdf

The Determinants behind the Acceptance of Autonomous Vehicles: A Systematic Review

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are a key transportation technology of the future and will be integral to smart cities. An increased understanding of user adoption is necessary to promote AV usage. This ...

Factors influencing autonomous vehicle adoption: an application of the technology acceptance model and innovation diffusion theory

Research on willingness to pay (WTP) can provide practical insights for assessing the value of self-driving vehicle (SDV) technology in the vehicle market. Are people willing to pay extra for the technology? What demographic and psychological factors can influence people’s WTP for this technology? These questions are not yet well investigated. We conducted surveys in two cities in China (total N = 1355) and examined WTP and its potential demographic determinants (familiarity, age, gender, education, and income) and psychological determinants (perceived benefit and risk of SDVs, anticipated perceived dread riding in SDVs, and trust in SDVs). About 26.3% of participants were unwilling to pay extra, 39.3% were willing to pay less than $2900, and the remaining 34.3% were willing to pay more than $2900. Younger and highly educated participants with higher-income were willing to pay more. Participants who had heard about SDVs before the survey reported higher WTP and higher trust and perceived higher benefits, lower risks, and lower dread. Trust and perceived benefit were positive predictors of WTP and perceived risk and perceived dread were negative predictors of WTP. Our results may offer practical implications for increasing the public’s acceptance and WTP of SDVs.

Fei Ren

Papers

Willingness to pay for self-driving vehicles: Influences of demographic and psychological factors