Determinants behind the acceptance of autonomous vehicles in mandatory and optional trips

Abstract

Due to the potential of automated vehicles (AVs) to change the transportation system radically, it is essential to investigate the factors affecting users’ intention to use them. Although previous studies have mostly focused on the latent variables of the internal schema of beliefs, this paper aims to examine the impact of internal and external factors by integrating the variables of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology along with environmental concerns and perceived risk. Moreover, the effects of latent variables are also compared for different trip purposes (mandatory and optional), which have received less attention in previous studies. Using a stated-preference survey, 641 valid responses from citizens of Tehran, Iran have been collected. The estimation results of structural equation modelling show a significant difference between the determinants of AV acceptance across mandatory and optional trips. The estimated coefficients indicate that social influence and performance expectancy are the strongest explanatory factors in the intention to use AVs in optional and mandatory trips, respectively. However, no significant difference is observed for the impact of environmental concerns on the intention to use AVs across both trip types.