Determinants behind the acceptance of autonomous vehicles in mandatory and optional trips

Due to the potential of Automated Vehicles (AVs) to radically change the transportation system, it is essential to investigate the factors affecting users’ intention to use. Although previous studies have mostly focused on internal schema of beliefs in latent variables, this paper aims to examine the impact of internal and external factors by integrating variables of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) along with environmental concern and perceived risk. Moreover, the effect of latent variables is also compared for different trip purposes (mandatory and optional) that received less attention in previous studies. Using stated preference survey, 641 valid responses from Tehran citizens have been collected. Estimation results of Structural Equation Modelling show a significant difference between the determinants of AVs acceptance across mandatory and optional trips. Estimated coefficients indicate that social influence and performance expectancy are the strongest explanatory factors in intention to use AVs on optional and mandatory trips, respectively. However, no significant difference is observed for the impact of environmental concern on intention to use AVs across both trip types.