Enhancing User Acceptance of Shared Automated Vehicles – An exploratory Study on Mobility Behavior and Attitude towards Automated Mobility Concepts
Authors: Schlichtherle Fabian , Remlinger Wolfram 
Published: June 2023

Shared automated vehicles (SAVs) own the potential to contribute significantly to a reduction in urban traffic by reducing the share of motorized private transport in the modal split. Due to high traffic loads in cities, rapid introduction of SAVs is highly desirable. In order to enable the introduction of new, automated mobility concepts successfully, understanding mobility behavior as well as user needs is crucial. As part of the research project SAVeNoW, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, this work aims to identify relevant patterns in mobility behavior as well as attitudes towards automated mobility concepts. Therefore, we conducted an online survey in the city of Ingolstadt.The promising effects of shared automated mobility concepts only hold true, if they are able to attract users from the motorized private transport sector. Otherwise, there is a high risk of pure cannibalization of public transportation by SAVs. It is therefore of utmost importance to precisely understand user needs and requirements long before the implementation of shared mobility services. This paper offers insights from an online-based survey on the aforementioned issues. Previous studies already investigated users' perspectives on shared automated mobility. The presented sample however stands out due to having been obtained in the city of Ingolstadt, which has an unusual high private car density. Results from this sample are crucial to understanding the desires of a car centric community regarding automated mobility concepts.An online survey was chosen as method to obtain relevant mobility data. The online link to the survey was distributed via e-mail and reached students and employees from the Technical University Ingolstadt of Applied Sciences as well as a group of senior citizens who gave their consent to participate in scientific studies. Furthermore, posters and flyers promoting the survey’s QR code were placed in the city’s public parking garages as well as in the public transport busses in order to generate a diverse sample of participants. The online-questionnaire took roughly 20 minutes to complete and included four sections: demographic data, mobility demographic data, mobility behavior and attitude towards autonomous driving and future mobility concepts.N = 85 participants completed the questionnaire. The assumption of strong car ownership was confirmed. Notable reasons for car ownership were higher flexibility as well as shorter trip duration. This falls in line with previous research. Stated reasons against the use of public transport like high prices and low availability could be overcome with SAVs. Generally, participants are strongly willing to use automated shuttle busses. Readiness to share rides with others is most firmly influenced by familiarity with fellow riders, followed by sharing the same employer or neighborhood i.e. destination. Besides ticket price, general availability and route network, interior related features like privacy, cleanliness and availability of seats as well as WiFi and itinerary information can be considered as important factors towards the decision to use such mobility concepts. Results indicate that SAVs are a welcome mobility alternative, but may need to be reconsidered in their current design.