Investigating willingness to share autonomous shuttles with strangers: The mediating effects of trust and optimism

Abstract

If autonomous vehicles are to have beneficial impacts on society, people must be willing to use them in their everyday lives. Many studies have engaged in questions regarding the technology of automation and how drivers will interact with it. However, little research has focused on the social situation arising from small shared autonomous shuttles (SASs) used in public transportation. This study aims to investigate a conceptual framework suggested by previous research and the MAVA-model. We tested a conceptual model where the background variables’ impact is mediated through trust in SASs and technology optimism. Our two dependent variables were the intention to use SASs with strangers without a steward onboard and the importance of social distance. The current article uses data collected using two identical online surveys conducted in 2020 (n=922) and 2021 (n=608). The data were collected before and after a pilot using SAS was employed in a suburban area outside Oslo. Examining the same population before and after the pilot gives us crucial insight into the development of attitudes toward automated vehicles when exposed to them in regular traffic.We find that trust in SASs and technological optimism positively predict willingness to use SAS. However, the passage of time had a negative effect on trust and tech-optimism, which in turn lowered the intentions to use. The background variables have little effect on the mediators. Contrary to previous research, we find that familiarity with the pilots predicted lower technological optimism and thus lower intentions to use. Older participants and women reported less trust in SASs and less tech-optimism compared to others. In the next step, these mediators lowered the intention to use SASs. These two groups also feel that it is more important to be able to keep social distance while riding SASs. The participants who use active transport modes think it is less important with social distance. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may also impact the results. The proposed model was less suited for predicting desire for social distance than for intentions to use. Our results suggest that future pilots should take care not to leave a negative impression by employing immature technology in neighborhoods, as this may be detrimental to the perception of SASs. Furthermore, transportation providers should take care to meet the social needs of exposed groups in the novel social context created by SASs.