Road User Attitudes Toward Automated Shuttle Operation: Pre and Post-Deployment Surveys

Abstract

Various driverless shuttles have been tested via pilot studies worldwide, as they have the potential to fill gaps in public transportation services. However, we presently lack a complete understanding of how people who share the road with such vehicles perceive the new technology, as most studies to date have surveyed the general public (without direct exposure) or riders of automated shuttles. To inform future deployments of such vehicles on public roadways, researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute operated a low- speed automated shuttle and surveyed both shuttle riders and also non-riders before and after their 3 months of exposure to the shuttle operation. The results suggest that even though experience with, and exposure to, the technology gathered trust and acceptance among road users, shuttle riders had more positive attitudes toward shuttle operations than did non-riders. In addition, many people strongly support rules and restrictions governing shuttle operations on public roadways. Future researchers and policymakers could leverage the survey findings for more successful deployments of automated shuttles on public roadways.