Over the last decade, there has been increasing discussions about self-driving cars and how most auto-makers are racing to launch these products. However, this discourse is not limited to transportation only, but how such vehicles will affect other industries and specific aspects of our daily lives as future users such as the concept of work while being driven and productivity, entertainment, travel speed, and deliveries. Although these technologies are beneficial, access to these potentials depends on the behaviour of their users. There is a lack of a conceptual model that elucidate the acceptance of people to Self-driving cars. Service on-demand and shared mobility are the most critical factors that will ensure the successful adoption of these cars. This paper presents an analysis of public opinions in Nottingham, UK, through a questionnaire about the future of Autonomous vehicles' ownership and the extent to which they accept the idea of vehicle sharing. Besides, this paper tests two hypotheses. Firstly, (a) people who usually use Public transportation like (taxi, bus, tram, train, carpooling) are likely to share an Autonomous Vehicle in the future. Secondly, (b) people who use Private cars are expected to own an Autonomous Vehicle in the future. To achieve this aim, a combination of statistical methods such as logistic regression has been utilised. Unexpectedly, the study findings suggested that AVs ownership will increase contrary to what is expected, that Autonomous vehicles will reduce ownership. Besides, participants have shown low interest in sharing AVs. Therefore, it is likely that ownership of AVs will increase for several reasons as expressed by the participants such as safety, privacy, personal space, suitability to children and availability. Actions must be taken to promote shared mobility to avoid AVs possession growth. The ownership diminution, in turn, will reduce traffic congestion, energy and transport efficiency, better air quality. That is why analysing the factors that influence the mindset and attitude of people will enable us to understand how to shift from private cars to transport-on-demand, which is a priority rather than promoting the technology.
Autonomous Shared Mobility-On-Demand: Melbourne Pilot Simulation Study