Investigating generational disparities in attitudes toward automated vehicles and other mobility options

Abstract

This paper presents a study in investigating the generational gaps between Millennials and Generation X in terms of their mobility attitudes. A comprehensive analytical framework was proposed in this study and applied to data obtained from an SP survey in the U.S. Four modeling steps were involved, to measure the attitudes, identify generational gaps, recognize potential contributors to the attitudes, and decompose the contributions into Endowment, Coefficient, and Interaction effects. The Endowment effects measure how much of the generational differences can be attributed to socioeconomic and demographic variables, while the Coefficient effects reflect the gap that is due to actual behavioral changes or attitudinal shifts between the generations. The findings of this study confirmed the existence of generational gaps in mobility attitudes and revealed that a dominant portion of the gaps stemmed from the different perspectives between the generational cohorts. This indicates that these attitudinal disparities are likely to persist and remain at significant magnitudes, reflecting the unique views and values of the Millennials. Particularly, the preferences for transit and alternative modes and less reliance on private vehicles among Millennials were more of a reflection of their preferences in lifestyle choices and not so much constrained by their socioeconomic status as the previous generation. This study provides empirical evidence of the generational gaps between Millennials and the previous generation in terms of their mobility preferences. The findings provide valuable inputs for policy development in promoting sustainable transportation and community design.