No abstract

With the goal of understanding autonomous vehicle (AV) adoption and use behavior, numerous behavioral studies and surveys have included variables intended to capture individuals’ perceptions of and attitudes toward AVs. However, the selection of questions to measure these psychometric variables appears to be ad hoc and, in many cases, arbitrary. In contrast, this study defines psychometric latent variables (LVs) that are related to the adoption and use of AVs and develops a set of questions to reliably measure them. By considering three psychological concepts (norms, perceptions, and attitudes) and nine qualitative utility constructs that influence individuals’ travel behavior, this study defines a comprehensive list of LVs and identifier questions to support their construction. A factor analysis of a nationwide n = 347 sample was used to obtain a minimum set of relevant LVs and questions to measure them. Ultimately, the factor analysis resulted in a final set of nine LVs specified by 44 questions (four or five questions for each LV). The final set of questions may be used by researchers or survey organizations interested in studying future trends of demand and adoption for AVs or other emerging transportation modes. The approach used in this study may also be employed in other contexts to define psychometric variables of interest and the questions needed to reliably measure them.

UberHOP is a commute-focused interpretation of the Uber suite of transportation services, with the goal of reducing personal vehicle commute trips. The service first launched in Seattle, Washington, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in December 2015 and expanded to Manila, Philippines, in early 2016. UberHOP is similar to vanpooling with fixed pickup and drop-off locations in the primary commute direction during peak hours, but it leverages Uber’s ridesourcing platform to replace fixed departure schedules with riders matched in real time. This paper reports on an intercept survey (83% response rate) to understand who rode, how they traveled to the pickup location, why they rode, and what modes UberHOP was replacing for all 11 UberHOP routes in Seattle during the morning and evening commute periods. In addition, detailed trip and total rider count data were collected during the survey administration process. The results show that many UberHOP riders made UberHOP their primary form of commute mode. Unlike standard ridesourcing services, UberHOP riders predominantly replaced public transportation modes rather than personal vehicles. UberHOP services were canceled in Seattle in August 2016. However, with larger rider densities per trip, the UberHOP model can be profitable, and it is reasonable to expect that Uber or others will resurrect a similar service in the future.

An Employer Shared Transit Stop (ESTS) pilot was introduced in April, 2017 by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and King County Metro (KCM). Eleven bus stops within the City of Seattle were identified for stop-sharing with private shuttles that serve employees of and are operated by Microsoft and Seattle Children's Hospital, respectively. This study utilizes real-time transit performance data that was generated by KCM, then collected and aggregated by the company Swiftly to assess the impacts of the ESTS program on bus transit reliability. Data analyses based on visualization tools on the Swiftly Insights platform of route-level schedule adherence as well as fixed panel regressions at the mean and at the 0.90 and 0.95 quantile of stop-level schedule adherence are considered. On average, bus transit reliability has not been affected by the ESTS pilot program. Statistically significant results indicating a potential delay in bus arrival times as a result of ESTS stop-sharing were found at only one of the nine stops considered in the study. An increase in participating companies and stops is recommended.