Exploring the role of attitude in the acceptance of self-driving shuttles

Self-driving vehicles, as a revolution in mobility, are emerging and developing rapidly. However, public attitudes toward this new unproven technology are still uncertain. Given the significant influence of attitude toward a new technology on the intention to use it, the question arises as to why some people are in favor of this technology whereas others are not. Additionally, questions about the key attitudes influencing self-driving technology acceptance, where these attitudes come from, and how they interact with each other have not yet been addressed. This study aims to explore these research questions based on data collected from people who live or work in the West Village (WV) area of the University of California, Davis (UCD) campus after a self-driving electric shuttle was piloted in this area. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to explore interactions between attitude elements. The results show that affect, the core of the concept of attitude, strongly explains the ...