Factors affecting the decision to use autonomous shuttle services: Evidence from a scooter-dominant urban context

The evolutionary applications of autonomous vehicles (AVs) to serve as part of public transport systems deserve more attention from the urban transport perspective. This study thus views AV as a novel smart mobility technology and proposes an extended model of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with additional variables to investigate the effects of factors influencing people to use autonomous shuttle services. We utilize a sample of 700 passengers who took a test-ride of autonomous shuttle services in a scooter-dominant urban mobility context for model estimations. Results show that both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness positively correlate to attitude, in turn leading to use intention. Trust is positively related to attitude, but not to use intention, while perceived enjoyment is positively related to both attitude and use intention. Results of multi-group analyses indicate the moderating roles of age and gender in the estimated models. Overall, respondents are satisfied with the shuttle service in terms of the five attributes of speed, stability and comfort, safety, convenience, and information clarity. However, the speed of shuttle service is the one attribute to which respondents are most concerned. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.