CAVs and Australians: Attitudes, perceptions, preferences

Our Promoting community readiness and uptake of CAVs project has been completed, and we have made available the final report on the project.

The lead partner on this iMOVE project was the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, with research from University of South Australia.

Research questions

Questions the research looked to answer were:

• What are current Australian attitudes towards connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and related technologies, and what levers are available for governments to increase community acceptance and support public confidence in these technologies?
• What does the existing evidence say about the adoption and diffusion of CAVs in different geographical, societal and policy contexts?
• How do Australian consumers perceive CAVs, which factors are likely to impact CAV uptake by Australian consumers, and how do these factors vary across different sub-population groups?
• What policy instruments, including behavioural change methods and communication strategies, could governments use to facilitate adoption and diffusion of CAVs to maximise their potential benefits?

Direct and indirect impacts of CAVs on the economy society and environment

Methodology

The researchers on the project conducted a survey in January 2022, using a demographically and geographically representative sample of 2,993 Australians. A copy of the survey questions appears from page 125 of the final report (downloadable below), along with answer data and demographic breakdown.

Supplementing the survey were interviews with prominent Australian transport organisations, including car Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and technology developers, transport and logistics operators, government departments, and representatives from academia, consultancies, and advocacy groups.

Finally, an exhaustive review of past studies that have examined consumer sentiment was conducted.

Report findings

Amongst the main findings from the survey were:

• 72% agree that CAVs will increase mobility for people with driving impairments or restrictions
• 52% agree that they will reduce the risk of accidents. CAVs might lead to additional benefits, in terms of impacts on productivity, energy efficiency, emissions, but from the public perspective, these are less obvious and there is less agreement about their impacts
• Consumers are unlikely to use CAVs themselves unless there is a clear personal benefit
• We estimate that 45% would prefer to use cars with low levels of automation (Level 3 or lower) or no automation at all
• 33% are indifferent to different automation levels, and only 23% would prefer high levels of automation (Level 4 or 5).
• 70% of Australians are concerned about the potential ability of CAVs to interact with other road users, the technology’s susceptibility to cyber-attacks by hackers, the risk of technology failure or equipment malfunction, and their own lack of control over the vehicle
• Across the sample there was a strong aversion to sharing a vehicle with other passengers. On average, we estimate that most Australians are willing to pay roughly $0.6 – $1.2 more per trip km to not have to share a vehicle.

Conclusions

Given both the uncertainty that still surrounds CAVs (in terms of the technology itself, the supporting infrastructure, and the regulatory framework) and consumer unfamiliarity, governments may need to play a role in helping to build public trust in these new technologies.

This study examined Australians’ attitudes, perceptions and preferences towards CAV technologies, and identified ways in which governments could support greater public acceptance. They include:

• Educating and informing the public about the process of technology development and deployment. This could include leveraging key community leaders and early adopters from diverse population groups as a pathway to adoption by wider community members, as well as using public information campaigns to share news about ongoing and planned future trials and deployments.
• In regard to on-road testing and deployment, government regulations for CAVs must prioritise road safety.
• Governments could encourage, facilitate and/or fund more trials, building community support and acceptance through increased visibility and exposure.
• Governments might need to help manage negative impacts of CAV technologies that could influence public opinion and acceptance. Examples include regulating the use of CAVs on public roads, perhaps by selectively taxing the empty running of CAVs, discouraging single-occupancy car use, implementing stricter parking restrictions for privately owned CAVs, and using road pricing to discourage travel by private road vehicle modes (including CAVs).
• Investment in active transport and mass public transport to offer viable alternatives to private CAV ownership and use, and thereby help offset some of the potential negative impacts of CAV technologies on active transport and public transport accessibility.
• Coordination of land use planning and transport infrastructure provision, such as the allocation of land for office and business spaces near mass public transport, to further discourage private CAV use.
• CAV technologies could displace a high number of existing jobs in the transport and logistics sectors. Governments could take the lead on managing the transition, with targeted training and reskilling programs, providing job search services, and invest in the creation of new jobs.

Download the final report

Download your copy of the final report, Promoting community readiness and uptake of connected and automated vehicles, by clicking the button below.