Exploring the correlations between spatiotemporal daily activity-travel patterns and stated interest and perception of risk with self-driving cars

Abstract. The key to Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) successful penetration of markets lies in identifying specific needs that AVs satisfy for daily activity-travel participation of individuals. In this paper we explore whether and to what extent people’s exhibited spatiotemporal activity-travel patterns correlate with their stated perceptions about self-driving cars. We investigate the travel diaries of 3,411 survey respondents who live in the Puget Sound region of the U.S. in 2017 using sequence analysis. In parallel, we apply hierarchical clustering to identify people’s attitudes based on their stated interest and perception of risks about AVs. A multinomial regression model is built to examine the correlations between AV attitude clusters and daily activity-travel patterns. Statistically significant correlations are then identified. The model results suggest that people exhibiting different activity-travel behavior patterns also express distinct attitudes towards the uses of AVs. The model shows that people who travel to work during the day are more likely to be positive to AVs. In particular, the group traveling to work later than the regular 8-to-5 schedule shows stronger interest and less concerns to AVs, which can be partially explained by the diverse activities they do throughout the day, the variety of travel modes they use and presumably more schedule flexibility they need than the public transportation system offers.