Unpacking the public acceptance of autonomous electric buses: Insights from a medium-sized Brazilian city

Electric autonomous vehicles, including Autonomous Electric Buses (AEBs), offer significant societal benefits such as fewer accidents, reduced pollution, and enhanced driving efficiency, presenting a promising alternative to public transportation. While research on this subject exists in developed countries like Europe, China, and Germany, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of the acceptance of AEBs in emerging economies. Our study investigated the adoption factors of AEBs in a medium-sized Brazilian city by surveying 554 respondents. In our structural model, we adopted a hybrid approach that integrates elements from the modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The study's findings indicate that a positive attitude, perceived usefulness, initial trust, and subjective norm significantly influence Brazilian consumers' intention to use AEBs. The theoretical implications of this study involve the creation of a model that intricately merges elements from multiple existing frameworks (TAM, TPB, and UTAUT). This proposed model synthesizes key factors influencing the acceptance of AEBs in emerging economies, providing a foundation for developing effective public policies for urban logistics automation. • This study focuses on public acceptance of autonomous electric buses in Brazil. • Factors of initial trust, subjective norm, and perceived risks are considered. • The influence of Attitude towards usage on Behavioral intention was the strongest. • Three factors are the antecedents of the initial trust construct. • Trust has the role of partially mediating the relationship between two constructs.