The Use of Automated Shuttles in Real-World Urban Scenario – How does the Valence of Events Affect the Acceptance and Future Intention to Use?

Abstract

The introduction of autonomous shuttles into urban context is imminent. To guarantee an efficient introduction, users need to have a positive intention to use such shuttles. Previous studies showed that specific events, e.g., technical faults or additional passengers, can strongly influence the experience of travelers and the acceptance of autonomous shuttles accordingly. Therefore, this Wizard-of-Oz study (N = 32) investigated the acceptance of autonomous shuttles and the future intention to use such shuttles (vs. regular bus vs. walking) in a real traffic scenario in Braunschweig, Germany. The valence of two events (technical fault, second passenger) varied between two groups, i.e., one interacted with an annoying passenger receiving no information about the malfunction; one interacted with a neutral passenger and received information. Overall, the acceptance of automated shuttles was relatively high in both cases. Nevertheless, the acceptance did not significantly differ depending on the valence of the events. Focusing on the future intention to use, the results revealed that the automated shuttle was most frequently chosen (vs. by foot vs. regular bus), especially in scenarios which included luggage or bad weather. An outlook on possible derivations for the introduction of automated shuttles in real-world scenarios is given.