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Smart city article details
| Title | Navigating The Future: A Longitudinal Exploration Of Public Acceptance Of Autonomous Taxis From Initial Trials To Stepwise Habituation |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 38872 |
| Authors | Zhou M.; Yu S.; Zhou C.; Kong N.; Campy K.S. |
| Year | 2025 |
| Published | Computers in Human Behavior, 169 |
| DOI | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2025.108678 |
| Abstract | The integration of autonomous taxis (ATs) into urban mobility systems faces persistent public acceptance barriers despite rapid technological progress, particularly in emerging economies spearheading smart city transitions. This study addresses this gap through a two-phase longitudinal analysis involving 868 participants across six Chinese megacities designated as national pilot zones for the deployment of AT. Grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), we incorporate dimensions of human-robot interaction (HRI) and technology anxiety (TA) to address the under-specification of socio-technical barriers in shared autonomous mobility. Structural equation modeling revealed that performance expectancy (β = 0.24), social influence (β = 0.28), and HRI (β = 0.33) were the strongest drivers of behavioral intention, while TA significantly inhibited adoption (β = −0.21). Crucially, HRI mitigated TA effects over time, demonstrating its anxiety-reduction role, a novel theoretical contribution to UTAUT in autonomous mobility contexts. Demographic moderation analysis highlighted that urban male aged 18–30 with bachelor's degrees exhibited stronger HRI effects than rural females over 50, underscoring socioeconomic disparities in acceptance trajectories. This study advances UTAUT by demonstrating how HRI mitigates anxiety in shared autonomous systems, a novel contribution to mobility acceptance research. These insights equip policymakers and manufacturers with phase-specific strategies to accelerate AT integration into urban ecosystems. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd |
| Author Keywords | Autonomous taxis; China; Human-robot interaction; Longitudinal study; Public acceptance; Technology anxiety |
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