Dear all, With apologies for cross-postings, a special issue on low-carbon transport and mobility was published yesterday in Transportation Research Part D. Guest edited with my colleague Jonn Axsen, we solicited interdisciplinary articles on what we see as the “big three” innovations or possible revolutions in mobility on the horizon: electric vehicles, shared mobility and ridesharing, and automated or autonomous mobility.
The Table of Contents for the Special Issue is below, I am most happy to share individual articles, or the entire volume, by request via personal email. No need to reply to all. A special thank you to all of our contributors as well as the army of peer reviewers who helped improve the content of our analysis. Please do consider forwarding and sharing widely. With best wishes from Brighton, Benjamin Sovacool Guest Editor, Transportation Research Part D https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/transportation-research-part-d-transport-and-environment/vol/71/suppl/C Introduction Jonn Axsen, Benjamin K. Sovacool, The roles of users in electric, shared and automated mobility transitions, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 1-21, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.02.012. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918312483) Abstract: This paper synthesizes insights from 19 peer-reviewed articles published in this Special Issue on the roles of users in electric, shared and automated mobility. While many researchers and stakeholders remain inspired by the potential low costs and societal benefits of these innovations, less is known about the real-world potential for uptake and usage. To better understand the likelihood and impacts of widespread uptake, we explore the perceptions of actual and potential users, including drivers, passengers, owners, and members, as well as other stakeholders such as pedestrians, planners, and policymakers. The Special Issue examines a range of cases, including plug-in electric vehicles, car-share and bike-share programs, ride-hailing and automated vehicles. For each innovation, we organize insights on user perceptions of benefits and drawbacks into four categories. Much of the research to date focuses on the first category, private-functional perceptions, mainly total cost of ownership (e.g., $/km), time use and comfort. Our synthesis however spans to the three other categories for each innovation: private-symbolic perceptions include the potential for social signaling and communicating identity; societal-functional perceptions include GHG emissions, public safety and noise; and societal-symbolic perceptions include inspiring pro-societal behavior in others, and the potential to combat or reinforce the status quo system of “automobility”. Further, our synthesis demonstrates how different theories and methods can be more or less equipped to “see” different perception categories. We also summarize findings regarding the characteristics of early users, as well as practical insights for strategies and policies seeking societally-beneficial outcomes from mass deployment of these innovations. Keywords: Automated vehicles; Shared mobility; Electric vehicles; Car-share; Ride-hailing; Consumer behavior Electric mobility Edmond Daramy-Williams, Jillian Anable, Susan Grant-Muller, A systematic review of the evidence on plug-in electric vehicle user experience, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 22-36, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.01.008. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918305261) Abstract: Plug-in electric vehicles (PEV), comprising both battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs), are innovations central to the low-carbon mobility transition. Despite this, there has not been a review of users’ experiences of them. We address this through this systematic review. Of 6492 references located from diverse sources, we synthesised and thematically organised findings from 75. We found a wide range of themes relating to user experiences, characterised broadly under: driving and travel behaviours; interactions with the vehicle; and subjective aspects of the user experience. Most of the evidence pertained to BEVs. Specific findings were as follows. The limited electric range of the BEV was not debilitating and users valued the limited electric-only range in PHEVs. In terms of journey-making, BEVs can fit into users’ lives. Regarding interactions with specific vehicle attributes, regenerative braking and low noise were very popularly received, although the in-vehicle instrumentation not universally so. Users freely offered wide-ranging improvements for future vehicles. There were important symbolic and social aspects of user experience. Themes relating to the former included environmentalism, futurism, and status/identity; to the latter, social influence and gender-distinct experiences. Overall, we qualifiedly conclude that PEVs can play an effective role in the transition: they can meet users’ travel needs satisfactorily, thereby being 'acceptable' to them, and are used at least as intensively as conventionally-fuelled vehicles, implying effective substitution away from more energy-intensive vehicle mileage. Keywords: Plug-in electric vehicle; Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle; Battery electric vehicle; Users; Experience; Systematic review Martin Anfinsen, Vivian Anette Lagesen, Marianne Ryghaug, Green and gendered? Cultural perspectives on the road towards electric vehicles in Norway, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 37-46, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.003. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303092) Abstract: With Norway currently representing one of the few successful electric car markets in the world, our study provides early insights into the emerging electric vehicle culture. In this article, we argue that this culture challenges and modifies previous gendered constructions of cars as well as actual driving practices. When interviewing electric vehicle (EV) owners about the process of buying and owning an EV, we found stereotypical claims of feminine environmentalism and masculine fascination with technology. However, we also observed counter-narratives that destabilise such accounts, reframing the car in more hybrid terms. As a hybrid construction, the EV seems to appeal equally to both women and men, framing their enthusiasm within differently gendered narratives. We also found that owning and using EVs influenced driver identities and actual driving practices. Factors attracting EV users in Norway are many, extending beyond environmental concerns and financial savings. These insights bring crucial nuance to EV user representations and illustrate the significance of cultural inquiries in mobility transitions. Laur Kanger, Frank W. Geels, Benjamin Sovacool, Johan Schot, Technological diffusion as a process of societal embedding: Lessons from historical automobile transitions for future electric mobility, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 47-66, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.11.012. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303134) Abstract: Technological diffusion can be understood as a broader process of co-construction of technology and its environment. This article conceptualizes this co-construction as a process of societal embedding, in which new technologies find their place in wider societal domains, which include immediate user contexts, cultural meanings, policies, and infrastructures. This perspective helps address three under-developed dimensions in adoption models: (1) diffusion includes more actors than users/adopters, (2) user characteristics and environments are not known in advance, but are articulated during the technological diffusion process, and (3) societal embedding is full of choices and struggles that affect the directionality and thus shape of socio-technical systems. Societal embedding therefore calls importance to the “demand side” of sustainability transitions. Because electric vehicles have, so far, only achieved limited diffusion globally, we cannot use it to test and illustrate our framework. We therefore use a historical comparative research design, which utilizes the societal embedding framework with two case studies of automobile diffusion in the United States and the Netherlands between the 1880s and 1970s. We subsequently apply the resulting lessons and insights to the future development of electric vehicles, with examples from multiple countries. An important finding is that the successful diffusion of electric vehicles demands a more robust co-construction policy focus that includes tinkering with all aspects of the societal embedding process, and one involving a constellation of agents beyond policymakers and purchasers. Keywords: United States; Netherlands; Diffusion; Societal embedding; Automobiles; Directionality; Socio-technical systems Stephen Skippon, Jim Chappell, Fleets’ motivations for plug-in vehicle adoption and usage: U.K. case studies, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 67-84, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.009. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136192091830316X) Abstract: Adoption of Plug-in Vehicles (PiVs) by fleets could have a substantial impact on national energy systems. We carried out four in-depth case studies with U.K. fleets that had not yet adopted PiVs to investigate what influences their vehicle selection decisions, and what their potential charging profiles would be if they adopted PiVs. The case studies involved us carrying out interviews with staff in a variety of roles at different levels within each organisation. We found that operational suitability and costs of ownership were the most important vehicle selection considerations. Provision of charging facilities at employees’ homes was seen as a major barrier to PiV adoption by van fleets, as were government contract regulations applying to contractors working for public sector clients. In car fleets where users chose their own vehicles, those choices were made at the personal level, but constrained by criteria imposed by the organisation. The range of vehicle options for users reflected corporate goals such as providing employee benefits, and also corporate views of personal-level symbolic motivations for car choice. PiVs were not considered to reflect such motivations so were not offered as options. Home-based fleet PiVs are likely to be charged mainly in the evenings and overnight, since in the daytime they are in use on company business. In conclusion home-based fleet PiVs may contribute to the early evening electricity demand peak; but there appear to be additional barriers to PiV adoption by fleets that may limit their overall impact on the U.K. energy system. Keywords: Electric vehicle; Plug-in vehicle; BEV; PHEV; Fleet; Adoption; Charging A.M. Valdez, S. Potter, M. Cook, The imagined electric vehicle user: Insights from pioneering and prospective buyers in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 85-95, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.01.010. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303183) Abstract: This research explores how socio-technical imaginaries about electric vehicles and their users developed in the context of the Plugged-in Places programme in Milton Keynes, UK. Collectively imagined forms of social life and social order are reflected in the design and fulfilment of scientific and technological projects as imagined futures shape the technological search space and influence social responses to innovation (Jasanoff and Kim, 2009, 2013). This research focuses on the imaginaries of pioneering and prospective adopters of EVs in business organizations in Milton Keynes. The imaginaries of organizational buyers and fleet managers subtly shaped their exploration of early-market vehicles as they articulated the demands, barriers and motivations of users within their firm. This research draws on a thematic analysis of interviews with business and governmental actors, policy documents and trade literature discussing the early-market adoption of EVs by business organizations. The results identify the processes through which business adopters make sense of the new technology as well as the policies and organizations that supported their learning process. In addition to technical concerns, key aspects concerned patterns of use and demand, fitness for operations, and new business and operational models suited to the characteristics of EVs. Thus, it is concluded that the imaginaries of business adopters and of the organizations supporting them increasingly envision adopters not just as rational optimizers but also as complex problem solvers working out new ways to embed EVs in innovative, competitive configurations that work for them. Shared mobility Uta Burghard, Elisabeth Dütschke, Who wants shared mobility? Lessons from early adopters and mainstream drivers on electric carsharing in Germany, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 96-109, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.11.011. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303262) Abstract: Shared mobility can contribute to tackling many of the pressing problems from transport and initiate a system change. But who is attracted by shared mobility and who not? How is this related to the attractiveness of electric driving? What are the perceptions underlying those preferences? We try to answer these questions based on two survey studies from Germany with a focus on carsharing. First, we present findings from an online survey (n = 1548) in one of Germany’s showcase regions for electric vehicles (EVs) to analyse the acceptance of carsharing in society. The data analysis shows that perceived compatibility with daily life is the most important factor related to the attitudes towards carsharing and that social norms also play an important role. Second, we analyse early adopters of electric carsharing, i.e. a combination of both innovations in more detail. We draw on a survey (n = 947) from field trials in Germany. We find that – extending the results of study 1 – the users are a socio-demographically specific group. A segmentation revealed that carsharing with EVs is particularly attractive for younger people who (i) live as a couple but without cars or (ii) are starting a family and use carsharing as a supplement to their own cars. The findings from the second study are in line with the first one and also emphasise that the affinity for carsharing and EVs is closely connected. We conclude the paper by discussing the implications of our findings for the transition to low-carbon mobility. N. Coulombel, V. Boutueil, L. Liu, V. Viguié, B. Yin, Substantial rebound effects in urban ridesharing: Simulating travel decisions in Paris, France, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 110-126, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.006. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303201) Abstract: This paper investigates how and to what extent changes in user behavior may mitigate the environmental benefits of urban ridesharing, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “rebound effect”. Ridesharing reduces both the individual cost of car travel (through cost splitting) and road travel times (by decreasing congestion). This may trigger a number of behavioral changes among transportation users, including: making less detours to avoid congestion (route choice effect), switching from public transit and active modes to the car (modal shift effect), travelling longer distances (distance effect), and relocating further from the urban center (relocation effect). Taking Paris region as a case study, this research applies an integrated transportation/land-use model to evaluate several ridesharing scenarios and quantify the four rebound effects. The overall rebound effect is found to be substantial, cancelling out from 68 to 77% of CO2 emission reductions and from 52 to 73% of aggregated social benefits (including congestion, air quality, CO2 emissions, noise) expected from ridesharing. This is primarily the result of the modal shift effect, supplemented as ridesharing develops by the distance effect. Although the simplified representation of ridesharing in the baseline model calls for caution regarding these estimates, a sensitivity analysis corroborates the main findings and the prevalence of substantial rebound effects. The paper also investigates to what extent three complementary policies - improving public transit, reducing road capacity or increasing the cost of car travel – might limit the overall rebound effect and thereby maximize the benefits of urban ridesharing. Keywords: Ridesharing; Users; Rebound effect; Climate change Frances Sprei, Shiva Habibi, Cristofer Englund, Stefan Pettersson, Alex Voronov, Johan Wedlin, Free-floating car-sharing electrification and mode displacement: Travel time and usage patterns from 12 cities in Europe and the United States, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 127-140, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.018. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303158) Abstract: Free-floating car-sharing (FFCS) allows users to book a vehicle through their phone, use it and return it anywhere within a designated area in the city. FFCS has the potential to contribute to a transition to low-carbon mobility if the vehicles are electric, and if the usage does not displace active travel or public transport use. The aim of this paper is to study what travel time and usage patterns of the vehicles among the early adopters of the service reveal about these two issues. We base our analysis on a dataset containing rentals from 2014 to 2017, for 12 cities in Europe and the United States. For seven of these cities, we have collected travel times for equivalent trips with walking, biking, public transport and private car. FFCS services are mainly used for shorter trips with a median rental time of 27 min and actual driving time closer to 15 min. When comparing FFCS with other transport modes, we find that rental times are generally shorter than the equivalent walking time but longer than cycling. For public transport, the picture is mixed: for some trips there is no major time gain from taking FFCS, for others it could be up to 30 min. For electric FFCS vehicles rental time is shorter and the number of rentals per car and day are slightly fewer compared to conventional vehicles. Still, evidence from cities with an only electric fleet show that these services can be electrified and reach high levels of utilization. Keywords: Shared mobility; Free-floating car-sharing; Electric vehicles; Usage patterns; Travel time; Alternative trips Rainer Lempert, Jiaying Zhao, Hadi Dowlatabadi, Convenience, savings, or lifestyle? Distinct motivations and travel patterns of one-way and two-way carsharing members in Vancouver, Canada, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 141-152, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.010. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918306242) Abstract: Carshare membership in North America has grown approximately 25% per year over the past decade. Some have attributed this to pro-environmental values and low-impact lifestyles of millennials, the primary users of carsharing. Many municipal governments have adopted this belief and support carsharing through various accommodations and subsidies. Results from a survey in Vancouver, Canada (which has the highest level of carsharing in North America) showed that one-way and two-way carsharing members have different motivations for carsharing and travel patterns. One-way members, primarily millennials, self-report that they carshare for convenience, using shared vehicles twice as frequently and private vehicles three times as frequently as two-way members. Two-way members choose carsharing for financial savings and a more efficient lifestyle. They tend to walk and bike more often than one-way members and the overall Vancouver population. These trip mode and frequency differences are consistent across age, gender, income, and geography. Perhaps as a consequence of the above, we also found that while one-way members are on average younger and wealthier, two-way members self-report as having more affordable lifestyles. These findings point to two-way carsharing members adhering to more efficient, sustainable lifestyles. Municipalities may consider these differences in motivations and trip patterns between one-way and two-way members of relevance in their carsharing policies. Ann-Kathrin Hess, Iljana Schubert, Functional perceptions, barriers, and demographics concerning e-cargo bike sharing in Switzerland, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 153-168, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.013. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303365) Abstract: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions low-carbon transportation innovations are needed. One recent innovation is e-cargo bike sharing, which links established elements: a cargo bike, an electric motor, and sharing infrastructure. Existing research on mode sharing suggests that sharing schemes face difficulties to move beyond a specific group of early adopters. To gain insights into the characteristics of and perceived barriers for those who adopt e-cargo bike sharing and those who do not, we investigated four groups: active members, inactive members, potential members, and uninterested non-members. We analyzed survey data (n = 301) from members and non-members of an e-cargo bike sharing scheme in the city of Basel, Switzerland, to explore differences in current transportation patterns and sociodemographic characteristics among the four groups. Using a mixed-methods approach, we employed a multilevel regression model to analyze quantitative data. We also applied a qualitative coding system to investigate open-ended survey questions. We found that the present scheme is more likely to attract men, cyclists, and young people; however, other groups were interested. Factors that inhibit wider adoption include safety concerns and the configuration of the sharing procedure. More effort that considers the links among infrastructure, road safety, and cycling competences is required to support the adoption of e-cargo bike sharing as a low-carbon transportation innovation. Keywords: Bike sharing; Cargo bike; Electric bike; Low-carbon transportation innovation; Usage barriers; User groups Juelin Yin, Lixian Qian, Junjie Shen, From value co-creation to value co-destruction? The case of dockless bike sharing in China, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 169-185, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.004. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918305595) Abstract: Sharing-economy platforms have gained momentum in urban areas worldwide by offering the potential for efficient resource utilisation and novel value creation. A recent addition to the mobility sector of the sharing economy is the dockless bike-sharing system (DBSS), which emerged in late 2015 with the aim of complementing urban mobility and contributing to urban sustainability. However, recently, debate and controversy have emerged about the potential negative consequences of DBSS. Building on the value-creation literature, and drawing on practice theory and the resource-integration perspective, we investigate how users participate in value co-creation and co-destruction activities related to DBSS. Through a thematic analysis of 8813 social media (i.e. Sina Weibo) tweets from April 2016 to December 2017, we find that riding experience is the most important practice in the core using process for both value co-creation and co-destruction, and that post-riding practices can result in significant value co-destruction. In the value-formation process of DBSS, the critical firm resources are product–service resources and relational resources, and the critical customer resources are emotional resources, relational resources and energy resources. We also argue the enabling role of peripheral practices in the transition between value co-creation and co-destruction. We contribute to the literature by proposing a value co-creation and co-destruction framework for DBSS derived from key social practices and resources. Keywords: Value co-creation; Value co-destruction; Dockless bike sharing; Resources; Social practices Tanu Priya Uteng, Tom Erik Julsrud, Cyriac George, The role of life events and context in type of car share uptake: Comparing users of peer-to-peer and cooperative programs in Oslo, Norway, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 186-206, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.01.009. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918305698) Abstract: This paper builds on a survey of existing users of two car sharing schemes in Oslo, namely Nabobil (peer-to-peer scheme P2P) and Bilkollektivet (cooperative scheme Coop), to understand how the following factors lead to active (or passive) car sharing – i. key life-events; ii. adoption/retention challenges; iii. acceptability; and iv. infrastructural needs. The conceptual framework of this study is informed by mobility biographies and social practice theory. A web-based questionnaire was distributed by the two service providers to their members, and approximately 1,724 users of P2P and 1,117 users of Coop participated in the survey. The survey collected information on travel behaviour, preferences, life-stages, mobility biography of the household, and life-events possibly leading to car sharing. Results highlight that using P2P scheme emerged as statistically significant for students moving to Oslo and for employees starting in new jobs. For the Coop members, the birth of first or later children were statistically significant events in households’ decision to start with car sharing. Along with differences in meanings, skills, materiality and practices of carsharing, users of the two schemes varied with respect to spatial details as well – proximity to transit-stops, access to high-frequency public transport services, walking/cycling infrastructure and, parking facilities. Further, for carsharing to become popular, ample institutional trust, capable of off-setting any lack of trust that users may have, needs to be built. Liridona Sopjani, Jenny Janhager Stier, Sofia Ritzén, Mia Hesselgren, Peter Georén, Involving users and user roles in the transition to sustainable mobility systems: The case of light electric vehicle sharing in Sweden, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 207-221, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.011. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303006) Abstract: Low-carbon mobility alternatives, such as shared services integrating light electric vehicles, support transitions to sustainable transport systems. However, new products and services are not enough, as changes must also incorporate the practices of travelling, infrastructure, and mobility cultures in which users of mobility solutions are core stakeholders. This paper argues that user involvement is necessary in sustainable innovation processes but that the expected diversity of user roles and their involvement can also lead to contrasting outcomes for sustainable innovation transitions. Guided by theory in user involvement, this study investigated users and nonusers of light electric vehicles in a sharing mobility service system set up as living lab in two large workplaces in Sweden. Fifty-one interviews with employees at the workplaces were conducted during the implementation process and analysed combined with a questionnaire and data from system tracking through sensor technology. The paper finds that both users and non-users are co-creators in building momentum for sustainable mobility alternatives and provides a spectrum of user roles with defined characteristics. Four roles are distinguished within this spectrum: vigilant users, passive collaborators, active decision makers and ambassadors. We suggest that a convergent activation strategy is deployed for involving a full spectrum of users in order to capture their insights in ways that positively affect transition. Such a strategy addresses users and non-users as part of decision-making concerning alternatives and cultivates a culture of user collaboration, while also enabling a plurality of contributions in order to challenge existing regimes and established practices among individuals. Keywords: User roles; User involvement; Sustainable innovation; Shared mobility services; Ambassadors Automated mobility Baiba Pudāne, Michał Rataj, Eric J.E. Molin, Niek Mouter, Sander van Cranenburgh, Caspar G. Chorus, How will automated vehicles shape users’ daily activities? Insights from focus groups with commuters in the Netherlands, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 222-235, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.11.014. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303109) Abstract: Automated Vehicles (AVs) are expected to allow their users to engage in a broad range of non-driving activities while travelling, such as working, sleeping, playing games. The impact of this possibility on the satisfaction with travel and on travel demand has been extensively discussed in the literature. However, it has been hardly recognised that the availability of on-board activities influences the (time-geographic) constraints of daily activities and may alter the selection, location, and sequencing of other activities in the day. This hampers correct representation of travel behaviour in activity-based models aiming to predict the effects of AVs on mobility and environment (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions). To help fill this gap, we gathered and analysed qualitative data from focus groups, in which 27 commuters discussed their expectations concerning on-board activities and daily schedules in the AV-era. Among the core insights are the following three. First, it is useful to separate in modelling the satisfaction with travel and the potential for on-board activities during travel: they have different determinants and different consequences for activity schedules and individual travel demand. Second, on-board activities may be classified in 4 quadrants according to their novelty and priority level: this classification is helpful in understanding the potential re-arrangements of daily activities. Third, performing new activities during travel may lead to complex re-arrangements of daily activity patterns; the re-arrangements may ease or also increase time pressure. These, and other reported insights may facilitate more realistic representation of activity-travel behaviour in future travel behaviour models. Pascale-L. Blyth, Of Cyberliberation and Forbidden Fornication: Hidden Transcripts of Autonomous Mobility in Finland, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 236-247, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.002. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136192091830302X) Abstract: While autonomous mobility technology is developing, comparatively less is known about how a sociotechnical system of autonomous mobility may impact our urban living conditions. Using Finland as a case study, this research aims to identify the possible implications of changing power relations created by autonomous mobility technology. This study uses a theoretical and conceptual approach grounded in the planning research tradition of Aristotelian practical judgement (phronesis). Drawing from political theory of technology, it investigates the social relations that may be afforded by autonomous mobility technology. Adapting a concept drawn from geography of power, it examines how power is expressed in terms of transcripts of dominant technological agency and hidden social context. 31 interviews of extended users in the transition (intermediaries) revealed three dominant transcripts of technological agency associated with the philosophy of cyberlibertarianism (liberation of the driver, safety of the driver and customer accessibility), and four hidden transcripts of social context (restrictions on sharing street space, loss of social safety, vulnerability of passengers, and loss of privacy). The phronetic research tradition that was used in the study revealed several things. The impact of autonomous mobility technology goes beyond the purely systemic, affecting the very fabric of our connection with place and society. Failure to consider autonomous mobility technology as a sociotechnical system that will restructure society unperceptively (technological somnambulism) may bring profound societal changes. Keywords: Self-driving vehicle; Transportation; Technology transitions; Urban planning; Power; Users Scott Hardman, Rosaria Berliner, Gil Tal, Who will be the early adopters of automated vehicles? Insights from a survey of electric vehicle owners in the United States, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 248-264, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.001. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303043) Abstract: Most major automakers are developing vehicles with some level of automated driving capability. These vehicles range from those with adaptive cruise control to full driverless vehicles. These vehicles are collectively referred to as automated vehicles. The adoption of automated vehicles by consumers is not well understood. It is likely that the first buyers will be typical early adopters i.e. consumers who have different lifestyles, attitudes, and socio-demographic profiles compared to the general population. Using a questionnaire survey of 2715 consumers in 36 states in the USA, we investigate the attitudes of early adopters of one automotive technology: plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). This sample was selected so that the perceptions and purchase intentions of early adopters could be investigated. This is opposed to assessing the attitudes of the public who are unlikely to be knowledgeable about automated vehicles and unable to accurately assess the vehicles and estimate their own purchase intentions. This study finds that PEV early adopters have positive perceptions of automated vehicles. However, being a PEV adopter does not necessarily lead to interest in purchasing an automated vehicle. PEV adopters are clustered into 5 different groups with differing levels of interest in automated vehicles (from “Pioneers” to “Laggards”). The results suggest that automated vehicles are likely to be purchased by a small group of pioneering consumers. These “Pioneers” are likely to be high income consumers, with good knowledge and positive perceptions of the automated vehicles (on safety, comfort, and purchase price), and positive attitudes towards technology in general. Multiple innovations Thomas Stoiber, Iljana Schubert, Raphael Hoerler, Paul Burger, Will consumers prefer shared and pooled-use autonomous vehicles? A stated choice experiment with Swiss households, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 265-282, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.019. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303304) Abstract: Autonomous vehicles, understood as vehicles that do not require manual steering, will cause disruptive changes in the transportation sector. Many studies on autonomous vehicles address the sustainability potential of this technology, and they assume that vehicles will no longer be privately owned and will be used with pooling options (multiple riders on a trip). However, there is currently little evidence to indicate whether this assumption is supported by user preference. To address this gap, an online choice experiment including 709 participants was conducted. It assumed the full-market penetration of autonomous vehicles and explored future mode choices, considering both short-term and long-term mobility decisions. The experiment tested the influence of 15 short-term and 13 long-term decision instruments to encourage the adoption of shared and pooled use of autonomous vehicles, like autonomous taxis and autonomous public transport. Our findings partly support the assumption in the existing literature that vehicles are likely to be used in a pooled mode. In the control condition, 61% of Swiss respondents preferred pooled autonomous vehicles over private autonomous cars. Moreover, stated preferences indicated that combined instruments influencing comfort, cost, and time are likely to increase the proportion of pooled uses of autonomous vehicles. Keywords: Autonomous vehicles; Sharing; Pooling; Sustainable transportation; Instruments; Transportation mode choice C. Anna Spurlock, James Sears, Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Victor Walker, Ling Jin, Margaret Taylor, Andrew Duvall, Anand Gopal, Annika Todd, Describing the users: Understanding adoption of and interest in shared, electrified, and automated transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 283-301, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.01.014. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303122) Abstract: Emerging technologies and services stand poised to transform the transportation system, with large implications for energy use and mobility. The degree and speed of these impacts depend largely on who adopts these innovations and how quickly. Leveraging data from a novel survey of San Francisco Bay Area residents, we analyze adoption patterns for shared mobility, electrified vehicle technologies, and vehicle automation. We find that ride-hailing and adaptive cruise control have penetrated the market more extensively than have electrified vehicles or car-sharing services. Over half of respondents have adopted or expressed interest in adopting all levels of vehicle automation. Overall, there is substantial potential for market growth for the technologies and services we analyzed. Using county fixed effects regressions, we investigate which individual and location-level factors correlate to adoption and interest. We find that, although higher-income people are disproportionately represented among current adopters of most new technologies and services, low- to middle-income people are just as likely to have adopted pooled ride-hailing. Younger generations have high interest in automated and electrified vehicles relative to their current adoption of these technologies, suggesting that young people could contribute substantially to future market growth—as they are doing for ride-hailing. We find no evidence that longer commutes present a barrier to plug-in electric vehicle adoption. Finally, women are less likely than men to adopt and/or be interested in adopting most new transportation technologies, with the exception of ride-hailing; designing or marketing technologies with women’s preferences in mind could contribute to future market expansion. Keywords: Transportation decisions; Technology adoption; Ride-hailing; Automated vehicles; Car-sharing; Electric vehicles Colin Whittle, Lorraine Whitmarsh, Paul Hagger, Phillip Morgan, Graham Parkhurst, User decision-making in transitions to electrified, autonomous, shared or reduced mobility, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 71, 2019, Pages 302-319, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.014. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918303249) Abstract: Mobility affords a range of benefits, but there are environmental, social and economic problems associated with current transport systems. Innovations to address these issues include novel technologies (e.g., electric and autonomous vehicles; EVs, AVs), and new business models and social practices (e.g., shared mobility). Yet, far more attention by policy-makers and researchers has been paid to the technical aspects of a low-carbon mobility transition than to social or psychological aspects, or the role of the user. In this paper, we integrate insights from the multi-level perspective on transitions and socio-psychological literature and draw on transport expert interview (N = 11) data, to examine (a) what influences current attitudes and behaviours in respect of EVs and AVs, and shared mobility, and (b) how this may change in the years to come. We argue that technological change may be most compatible with the transport regime (dominated by personal car-based mobility) but potentially affords a narrower range of sustainability benefits, while mobility substitution (e.g., reducing the need to travel through tele-working or -shopping) may be most challenging for both policy-makers and publics, while potentially addressing a wider range of sustainability problems associated with the transport regime. Shared mobility options sit somewhere in between and challenge certain aspects of the regime (e.g., status associated with car ownership) while offering certain environmental, social and economic benefits. For all three areas of innovation, policy interventions need to address the needs, preferences, experiences and identities of users if they are to be effective and sustainable. Keywords: Low-carbon mobility; Transition; Multi-level perspective; Psychology; Decision-making -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gep-ed" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/93107CD5AE4BB14F965835AE970D42BC011833575A%40EX-SHA-MBX2.ad.susx.ac.uk. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
