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is slightly higher in our study with 77.6%. In par-
ticular, prior experience with autonomous transport
systems positively affects user acceptance. Only a
few users have had bad experiences with autono-
mous public transport. Our results are consistent
with previous studies that have shown that prior
experience with technology increases the acceptance
of that technology (Burton-Jones and Hubona, 2006;
Taylor and Todd, 1995). This result was evident not
only in the general willingness to use autonomous
public transport regularly, but also in the comparison
of the various fully automated means of transport.
While there is no difference in the overall inten-
tion to use automated public transport between
males and females, the results show distinct differ-
ences in the willingness to use different automated
transportation means. Males are more willing to use
every single one of the automated transportation
means than females. These results confirm findings
of prior acceptance research that has shown females
have higher levels of concerns with self-driving
vehicles than have males (Schoettle and Sivak,
2014). Thus females are less open-minded to the use
of automated transportation means than men, regard-
less of the type of transport.
The fact that the participants seem to prefer rail-
bound means of transport and even buses against
autonomous cars and autonomous carsharing is not
surprising. Since the choice of transportation modes
is usually marked by routines (Aarts et al., 1997), it
can be assumed that existing preferences in the
choice of transportation modes also affect the choice
of future means of transport. The cause of this result
could lie in the car motives locus of control and
sensation seeking. Studies on the adoption of Ad-
vanced Driver Assistance Systems show that locus
of control and sensation seeking are character traits
that influence driving behaviour when using Ad-
vanced Driver Assistance Systems (Rudin-Brown
and Ian Noy, 2002; Stanton and Marsden, 1996).
Locus of control is defined as the extent to which a
person can control the occurrence of an event (Rot-
ter, 1966). Sensation seeking is defined as a charac-
ter trait that is looking for new experiences and
stress stimuli (Zuckerman, 2014). Both properties
are extremely important in the evaluation of fully
automated vehicles, since users give up control over
the vehicle and cannot evoke driving excitement by
themselves. Driving with an autonomous vehicle
can, however, be also an exciting experience for
some people. Todays’ users have no control over
non-autonomous public transport and thus presuma-
bly no locus of control even at current levels. Sensa-
tion seeking is not a motive why users choose public
transport. For the user, there is no big change when
public transport will be automated. Users are pas-
sengers before and after the automation of the public
transport, in both cases the user have no contact to
the driver. This is different in the case of cars, which
users previously controlled themselves, an activity
now done by the car itself. Through the automation
of cars, the user’s role changes from a driver to a
passenger. In this respect, drivers appreciate the
possibility to have the locus of control and sensation
seeking. Both aspects are lost in fully autonomous
vehicles. From the point of view of users, the auto-
mation of cars leads to a substantially greater change
than the automation of public transport. This could
be a reason for the poor rating of autonomous cars
and autonomous carsharing. For an accurate assess-
ment, it would be important to investigate the motifs
locus of control and sensation seeking within the
context of a further study. As the participants were
asked which means of transport they were most
likely to use, and not to which they would convert
completely, the evaluation of the participants might
also be understood to mean that drivers would retain
their previous car and would only use the autono-
mous public transport as a supplement.
In contrast, public transport users rate the auton-
omous public transport not significantly higher. This
result could indicate that public transport users are
also latent car drivers and appreciate locus of control
and sensation seeking on passenger cars and cannot
imagine doing so without a car.
Considering all results, it is important to note
that the study is not representative in terms of age
and the current use of transport; therefore the results
are not directly transferable to the whole population.
In addition, it should be noted that the survey was
carried out in Germany and that the German public
transport system certainly differs from the public
transport of other countries in various aspects. Such
differences may also affect the participants` assess-
ment of future concepts. Nevertheless, the study
provides interesting and important insights into the
groups of young and well-educated individuals, who
will be an important target group in some years,
following the progressive automation of public
transport. In addition, the group of young people
who are still in training is a group whose traffic
behavior has not yet been consolidated and can
therefore be influenced. The study thus makes an
important contribution to the exploration of the user
acceptance of autonomous public transport systems.
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