# Exploring the Role of Attitudinal Factors in Electric Vehicle Timeshare Rentals Adoption
###### Abstract  
Electric vehicle timeshare rentals (EVTRs) have been recognized as promising solutions to growingly severe problems of traffic congestion, air pollution, and insufficient parking spaces. This study aims to explore the factors that affect the adoption of EVTRs. To achieve the research objective, the household survey is conducted to obtain the travelers' attitudes towards their travel. Ten latent attitudinal factors are extracted based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The multi-index and multi-cause (MIMIC) method simultaneously estimates the correlations between the attitudinal factors. Two logit models with attitudinal factors or not are constructed to estimate the quantitative relationship between various factors and EVTR adoption. The results show that the accuracy of the mixed logit model with latent attitude variables is better than the binary logit model without attitude latent variables. This indicates that attitude latent factors could be well matched with the traveler's travel behavior and could better reflect travelers' travel demand. Perceived comfort, perceived efficient, subjective evaluation, use preference, and use willingness significantly impact EVTR use frequency. The inconvenience in travelers, rental stations, shared vehicles, and use modes have significant negative impacts. Finally, social pressure has no significant impact. Findings provide valuable insights regarding the efficient planning of the EVTR system and allow decision-makers to develop scientific and practical measures of EVTRs. electric carsharing; electric vehicle timeshare rentals; adoption behavior; attitudinal factors; multi-index and multi-cause; mixed logit model +
Footnote †: journal: Applied  
of EVTR adopters, researchers focus on categorizing which socioeconomic attributes of travelers are more willing to use shared cars, for example, typically younger in age, having a higher social status, more financial lucidity, advanced education, and being more socially forward [14; 15; 16]. (2) For the motives for EVTR, the main motives travelers have to choose EVTRs are cost-saving and increased convenience, because they are time-saving and freedom-expanding compared with public transport [14; 17; 18]. With the challenge of sustainability, environmentalism has been one important reason to join EVTRs [19; 20]. Additionally, choosing EVTRs to travel can be motivated by changes in personal circumstances, such as changing residence, work, etc. [21; 22]. (3) For the factors influencing EVTR adoption, the sociodemographic attributes are the focus of early, extensive, and mature studies on this aspect [23], and most studies show these factors have a significant effect on travelers' adoption of EVTR [24]. Further, a few studies analyze the influence of psychological factors on the adoption of EVTR [25]. Environmental concern and perceptions of financial saving possibilities positively influence EVTR adoption [13; 26; 27]. These studies on travelers' characteristics, motives, and sociodemographic attributes of factors influencing EVTRs have been comprehensive. However, attitudal determinants of EVTR adoption, use, and impacts, which are also recognized as subjective variables in the travel behavior literature, are not understood very well [26]. For example, existing studies focus on the effects of environmental sustainability, willingness, and social pressures [27; 28; 29] but ignore other basic psychological desires, e.g., comfortability, safety, sensitivity to time, flexibility, and so on. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the effects of attitude and psychological factors on EVTR adoption from an overall perspective. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no research on the relationship between travelers' attitudinal latent variables and EVTR choice behavior. Travelers' attitudes are often unobservable and cannot be directly measured.