On the Attitudes Toward Automation in Determining the Intention to Use Automated Buses in Scotland

Abstract

Vehicle automation technology is expected to bring significant benefits to transit systems. For public transportation to continue being a viable mobility alternative to private modes, automated technologies are anticipated to be actively utilized in the future. Investigating public perceptions and their determinants at an early stage is important to inform policies that will support the acceptance and future adoption of automated buses. The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that affect intention to use automated buses, using an extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model. To that end, survey data were collected from bus users in Scotland. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify the latent attitudinal constructs potentially influencing intentions to use automated buses. Considering the ordinal nature of the dependent variable, ordered models were estimated using the SPSS software. Age, gender, and experience with automated vehicle technologies were found to be crucial factors in the absence of attitudinal constructs. Young males with experience of using or seeing automated vehicle technologies were more likely to use automated buses at the early stage. The fear in relation to their navigation on roads, the perceived usefulness, enjoyment of using the system, trust, perceived safety, and security influenced how early one might adopt automated buses. Unlike the expectations, perceived ease of use did not emerge as significant. The sociodemographic variables lost their predictive power when used along with attitudinal latent variables. The findings of this study highlight the importance for policy interventions to increase public awareness about automated buses.