Unravelling Interrelationships and Moderators Influencing the Acceptance of Shared Autonomous Vehicles: an End Users' Perspective

The integration of ride-sharing services with Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAVs) has the potential to revolutionize future transportation systems. However, the interplay between the internal and external psychological factors, along with the moderating variables influencing the acceptance of SAVs, remains poorly understood. This study addresses this gap by analysing direct effects and interrelationships among latent constructs from the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), as well as the moderating effects of socio-demographic and travel behaviour variables, using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). A stated preference questionnaire was designed to collect responses from 723 participants in Tehran. Key findings include: (1) Among the direct effects, performance expectancy, social influence, effort expectancy, habits, hedonic motivation, and price value were significant predictors of intention to use SAVs (listed in descending order of influence); (2) All interrelationships among constructs were positively significant, except for the non-significant effect of social influence on effort expectancy, with social influence demonstrating the strongest effect on facilitating conditions; and (3) Car ownership, driving experience, and accident history emerged as the most influential and frequently observed moderators within the UTAUT2 framework. These results offer policymakers practical insights into public perceptions of SAVs, enabling the identification of underlying preferences and the design of targeted strategies to improve SAV adoption.