Consumer Demand For Automated Private Travel: Extrapolations From Vanpool User Experiences

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons for an individual' s decision to ride rather than drive, and to draw any appropriate extensions to a future marketplace where automated vehicles may be an available mode choice. In the study, a focus group of existing vanpoolers is presented with the choice of driving alone or commuting with others after they had joined the vanpool. From the vanpoolers' stated choices, it is inferred whether a value may exist to future users of automated vehicles when they choose to travel in the automated mode, as opposed to driving themselves.