Interviews, Surveys and a Post-Deployment Workshop were Administered to Evaluate Stakeholder Acceptance and User Satisfaction of the CV Technology by Active Participants in the THEA CV Pilot.
Tampa, Florida, United States
Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program Independent Evaluation: Stakeholder Acceptance and User Satisfaction Evaluation— Tampa (THEA)
Summary Information
Connected vehicle (CV) technologies utilize advanced mobile communications to share information between transportation system users and the infrastructure and offer a great potential for safety improvements and mobility enhancements. The Tampa CV Pilot Deployment (CVPD) aimed to improve the safety and mobility of automobile drivers, transit riders, and pedestrians in downtown Tampa through crash prevention and enhanced traffic flow. The pilot equipped privately owned vehicles, buses, streetcars, and pedestrians with onboard CV technology. An independent evaluation was performed to assess stakeholder acceptance and user satisfaction for the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Agency (THEA) CVPD. Specifically, the stakeholder acceptance evaluation sought to solicit observations, experiences, potential challenges, adopted solutions, and lessons learned from deployment managers and team members, operating agencies, fleet operators, policy makers and supporting agencies, and users of the THEA CVPD, including drivers of passenger vehicles, bus operators, and streetcar operators. Benefits presented here were based on the data from surveys administered with the users of the THEA CVPD.
METHODOLOGY
The stakeholder acceptance evaluation used qualitative interviews, an online survey, and a virtual workshop. The user satisfaction evaluation was conducted via online surveys administered at three points in time. The initial pre-deployment survey was distributed between March and October 2018 with a total of 1,058 of active participants intended to gather detailed information on their attitudes, driving experience, and travel behavior. Two post deployments surveys were conducted, one shortly after deployment in December 2019 with 389 participants (“after-immediate” survey) and one towards the end of deployment distributed in the summer of 2020 with 384 participants (“after-final” survey). The post deployment surveys intended to gather more comprehensive feedback on the participants’ experience with the CV apps, their satisfaction with participating in the pilot, and other related information.
FINDINGS
- Overall user satisfaction and perception: The survey findings showed that many participants perceived more benefit by the time they took the “after-final” survey for “Fewer traffic crashes and increased roadway safety”, “Lower car insurance rates”, as seen in Table 1. Fifty-five percent of respondents thought there would be “less traffic congestion” and a “less stressful driving experience” for the initial survey. A slightly lower percent of respondents was observed in the “after-final” survey, 49 and 44 percent respectively. Additionally, respondents in the post-deployment surveys also indicated being satisfied or very satisfied with the overall driving experience and travel time driving in downtown Tampa to a greater degree than did those in the initial survey.
Table 1: Benefits of THEA Connected Vehicle Technologies
Benefits |
Initial Survey (N=1,058) |
After-Immediate (N=389) |
After-Final (N=384) |
Fewer traffic crashes and increased roadway safety |
67% |
52% |
80% |
Less traffic congestion |
55% |
32% |
49% |
Less stressful driving experience |
55% |
31% |
44% |
Lower car insurance rates |
34% |
33% |
46% |
- End-of-Ramp Deceleration Warning Application (ERDW): Roughly 79 percent of the participants that experienced the ERDW found it helpful in adjusting for the appropriate speed for curves.
- Wrong Way Entry (WWE): Only ten to thirteen percent of the participants reported positive experiences with the WWE applications. A high number of participants who experienced the WWE application reported receiving unnecessary warnings (88-89 percent) and found the unnecessary warnings to be distracting (93-96 percent).
- Forward Collision Warning (FCW): About 39-49 percent of the respondents thought that the FCW warning helped them avoid a collision, but most of them also received unnecessary warnings and found them to be distracting.
- Pedestrian Collision Warning (PCW) and Emergency Electronic Brake Light Warning (EEBL): About half of the respondents thought the warnings were helpful in avoiding collisions.
- Intersection Movement Assist (IMA): Most of the survey respondents indicated that they did not think the IMA alerts helped avoid collisions at intersections.
*It is important to note that the sample size of individuals receiving a FCW, PCW, EEBL and IMA was relatively small (13-41 respondents).