Shared autonomous vehicle with pooled service, a modal shift approach

Abstract

9 Dependence on private cars has led to numerous problems, where AVs could be a potential 10 solution. Pooled service, however, could be a much bigger step towards sustainable transportation. 11 This paper presents a modal shift analysis emphasizing socio-economic, travel characteristics and 12 their interaction for a sample of private car users in Tehran. A stated preference survey was 13 designed in 2021 exclusively for the research purposes, and 491 valid questionnaires were 14 gathered. One of the main contributions is considering the impact of the number of persons in 15 shared autonomous vehicle with pooled service (SAVWPS). Estimation results of discrete choice 16 model reveal that, high-income respondents, owning a personal car and being a man decrease the 17 likelihood of modal shift to SAVWPS. A negative impact is also observed for travel time, travel 18 cost, waiting time and number of persons in SAVWPS. A significant systematic heterogeneity is 19 observed in the interaction effect of travel time and dissatisfied respondents with internet taxis due 20 to the pandemic. Considering this taste variation, a lower travel time in SAVs could increase the 21 modal shift likelihood among these travelers. The findings could help transportation decision-22 makers identify the factors affecting modal shift to SAVWPS to achieve a more sustainable 23 transportation system.