How technology commitment affects willingness to use AVs: Results from realistic mode choice experiment for a self-driving shuttle service

Abstract

Automation of vehicles will substantially change traffic and especially public transport as we know it. Ongoing implementations of test runs with self-driving vehicles offer the opportunity to assess future demand on this matter. Associated with the introduction of a self-driving bus service fully integrated into the local transport schedule on the Rhine Falls in Switzerland, we carried out a close to reality survey experiment. Making use of this example, we conducted a stated mode choice experiment drawn from a random sample in 2018. This stated choice survey aims to answer the question of willingness to pay and willingness to use self-driving bus services by making use of a realistic setting that provides high external validity. Respondents can choose among rental bike, walking and a self-driving bus service with varying costs, travel time, occupation and weather situations. By the inclusion of attitudinal questions regarding technology commitment into an integrated latent variable and choice model, we test how technology related attitudes of respondents explain their anticipated behaviour and whether individuals trade off technological scepticism with potential benefits. Results indicate that technology acceptance is a robust indicator for predicting self-driving bus usage, but that there is no interaction between technology commitment and time nor price.