Unintended Effects of Autonomous Driving: A Study on Mobility Preferences in the Future

Christina Pakusch, Gunnar Stevens, Alexander Boden and Paul Bossauer
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Christina Pakusch: Department of Management Sciences, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany
Gunnar Stevens: Department of Management Sciences, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany
Alexander Boden: Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (FIT), 53754 Sankt Augustin, Germany
Paul Bossauer: Department of Management Sciences, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: Innovations in the mobility industry such as automated and connected cars could significantly reduce congestion and emissions by allowing the traffic to flow more freely and reducing the number of vehicles according to some researchers. However, the effectiveness of these sustainable product and service innovations is often limited by unexpected changes in consumption: some researchers thus hypothesize that the higher comfort and improved quality of time in driverless cars could lead to an increase in demand for driving with autonomous vehicles. So far, there is a lack of empirical evidence supporting either one or other of these hypotheses. To analyze the influence of autonomous driving on mobility behavior and to uncover user preferences, which serve as indicators for future travel mode choices, we conducted an online survey with a paired comparison of current and future travel modes with 302 participants in Germany. The results do not confirm the hypothesis that ownership will become an outdated model in the future. Instead they suggest that private cars, whether conventional or fully automated, will remain the preferred travel mode. At the same time, carsharing will benefit from full automation more than private cars. However, the findings indicate that the growth of carsharing will mainly be at the expense of public transport, showing that more emphasis should be placed in making public transport more attractive if sustainable mobility is to be developed.

Keywords: autonomous driving; shared autonomous vehicles; travel mode choice; user preferences; preference migration; rebound effects; indirect rebound effects; consumption shifting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

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