United States Department of Transportation
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Assessing Safety and Mobility Benefits of Autonomous Ride Sharing Services
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2024-02-14
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[PDF-4.89 MB]
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Edition:Final Report April 2022 – August 2023
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Abstract:We examined the user perspective about autonomous ride sharing services among older adults (50+ years of age) in three different geographic areas in Florida (Lake Nona, Port St. Lucie, and The Villages). We utilized the Autonomous Ride Sharing Services Survey and participants’ lived experiences before and after exposure to the autonomous shuttle. Overall, 240 participants (130 males; 109 females; 1 other) completed the study across the three sites. Overall, the quantitative findings yielded a statistically significant increase in positive perceptions by the older adults after exposure to the autonomous shuttle. Specifically, among all sites, participants demonstrated statistically significant and positive increases in perceptions pertaining to Intention to Use, Trust, and Safety; Potential Benefits; and Accessibility, with the greatest effect for Intention to Use, Trust, and Safety. We conducted six pre-focus (n=20) and four post-focus groups, across the three sites (n= 31). The six themes that emerged from the data were integration with the quantitative results. Although the quantitative data across all three sites demonstrated a statistically significant increase in perceptions for each of the three outcome variables (Intention to use, Trust, and Safety, Potential Benefits, and Acceptance), the qualitative data illuminated the depth and breadth of participants’ experiences pertaining to benefits as well as limitations or challenges that they had experienced before and after riding the autonomous shuttle. This information is foundational in suggesting informational strategies for older adult education in preparing them to use the autonomous shuttle as a source of community mobility. The limitations—including the Lessons Learned and Challenges related to the operation of the autonomous shuttle—and the strengths—including an approach of team science and working with various collaborators—were discussed. Inconclusion, the results reveal that participant perceptions are more favorable after exposure to the autonomous shuttle, but their lived experiences indicated not only the benefits but also challenges and limitations related to the autonomous shuttle. The findings, Lessons Learned, and Challenges related to the shuttle contribute richly to the field of autonomous ride sharing services as a source of community mobility among older adults and yield foundational information for industry, researchers in the field, and policy makers.
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