Value of travel time savings for leisure trip in autonomous vehicles: Case study from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This study estimates the value of travel time savings (VTTSs) in autonomous vehicles (AVs) for leisure trip, using data collected from a stated-choice survey in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Japan. The survey was implemented through an internet monitoring program from February to March 2020, collecting 1,224 responses to stated-choice questions from 204 respondents. The survey was designed to request that the respondents choose AV or non-AV under six hypothetical conditions of travel time and cost when they are assumed to be using a car rental service to travel alone for a leisure purpose trip. Simple binary logit models are employed with two types of specifications in the utility function. First, the estimation results of the models without heterogeneity in the utility function showed that the VTTS in AVs is lower than that in non-AVs by approximately 7.3 % on average; however, the reduction of VTTS is not statistically significant. Second, the estimation results of the models incorporating observable heterogeneity into the marginal utility with respect to travel time also revealed that the individual’s preference of in-vehicle multitasking, age, and gender do not significantly affect the reduction of VTTS in AVs. Finally, changes in preference of AV-unique multitasking may affect VTTS, which should be monitored for future updating the VTTS guidelines.