Survey Data from Automated Shuttle Pilot in North Carolina Showed Participant Safety Perceptions Improved by 20 Percentage Points After Riding.
Study Analyzed Rider Satisfaction and the Intent to Re-Ride an Automated Shuttle in Cary, North Carolina.
Cary, North Carolina
Exploring factors influencing user Re-ride intentions in shared autonomous shuttle vehicles
Summary Information
Under its Connected Autonomous Shuttle Supporting Innovation (CASSI) program, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) implemented a 13-week pilot of automated shuttle service in Bond Park in Cary, NC. The 1.6-mile route with four stops operated on weekdays from March through June 2023. Over the pilot, the shuttle provided 494 trips and carried 1,718 passengers.
METHODOLOGY
NCDOT promoted an online survey via URLs and QR codes at stops and onboard the shuttle during operation. The survey had a total of 204 usable responses and asked riders about their travel patterns, purposes of the trips made, experience with the shuttle attendant, and basic demographics. Analyzing the responses, the study considered the effects of 1) operational experience, 2) safety perception and attitudes, 3) motivations and preferences, and 4) demographics on the dependent variable “intention to re-ride.”
FINDINGS
- Safety perceptions improved after participants experienced the service, with 14.2 percent of respondents strongly agreeing that automated vehicles were safe before riding and 34.8 percent strongly agreeing afterward.
- When asked if they supported seeing more automated shuttles in neighborhoods, 82.3 percent either agreed or strongly agreed.
- About 77.9 percent of respondents said they intended to use the shuttle again in the future.
Analysis of the responses showed that of categories of variables (operational experience, safety perception and attitudes, motivations and preferences, and demographics), operational experience, specifically timeliness and efficiency, was the strongest predictor of re-ride intentions.
