Acceptance of automated Shuttles – Application and Extension of UTAUT-2 in real-life Traffic

Abstract

Automated shuttles can make public transport more attractive and sustainable. Successful implementation requires a high level of acceptance among users. This study investigates the impact of the predictors performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, and perceived risk on the behavioral intention to use automated shuttles. The Unified Theory of Acceptance (UTAUT)-2 model on which this work is based has already been successfully applied to study the acceptance of autonomous public transport. Acceptance of a wizard-of-oz automated shuttle in real-life traffic was measured for 35 participants thrice: before and after a first ride and after a second ride on which two incidents occur. The results show that behavioral intention to use automated shuttles is high even before the first ride and remains high. Performance expectancy is the only significant predictor of behavioral intention for all times of measurement. The explanatory power of the model almost doubles from preride to post-ride. The results indicate a crucial role of performance expectancy for the acceptance of automated shuttles at the current stage of implementation and provide guidance for a successful development and implementation of autonomous public transport.