Assessing User Acceptance of Automated Vehicles as a Precondition for Their Contribution to a More Sustainable Mobility

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been proposed as vectors for more sustainable mobility, the adjective “sustainable” being understood as the union of usefulness for society (i.e., efficiency), environmental friendliness, and economic viability. The realization of social usefulness implies a primary condition, which is AVs’ adoption on the part of the population. This paper is aimed at identifying factors contributing to society’s willingness to shift to two different AV implementations: as private vehicles or as the basis for public transportation systems. To this end, data collected from a survey were analyzed using exploratory data analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and ordinal regression. Safety-related variables as well as the a priori appeal of AVs turned out to be the most influential for the adoption of both solutions. Therefore, informative campaigns focusing on the safety benefits of AVs could boost the modal shift. Further research starting from these hypotheses and accounting for the limitations of the sample used could help to resolve remaining doubts.