Small and rural towns’ perception of autonomous vehicles: insights from a survey in Texas

Muhammad Usman, Wei Li, Jiahe Bian, Andong Chen, Xinyue Ye, Xiao Li, Bahar Dadashova, Chanam Lee, Kiju Lee, Sivakumar Rathinam, Marcia Ory

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

People’s perceptions of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are critical to understanding the role of AVs in future transportation systems. Most previous work on AVs perceptions is based on large cities or metropolitan areas. This study provides a unique perspective regarding perceptions of impacts of AVs in small and rural communities through an online survey in Central Texas (n = 1153). Our questionnaires gathered basic socio-demographic characteristics and AV impacts variables identified from the literature. We used summary statistics and ordered logistic regression models to reveal the perceived impacts of AVs. Residents of small and rural communities, particularly older adults (65 + years), were more enthusiastic about the development of AVs than the national average. Our findings reveal that being an employed, married male with a higher income increases the likelihood of accepting the impacts of AVs, suggesting further research to explore a feasible approach to utilizing AVs in small, rural communities.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)200-225
Number of pages26
JournalTransportation Planning and Technology
Volume47
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Autonomous vehicle
  • Perception
  • Rural community
  • Small town

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Transportation

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