Shaping the future of autonomous shuttles: a behavioural and policy-oriented Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA)

• Rapid Evidence Assessment of 21 Autonomous Shuttle studies across 12 countries (2014–2024). • COM-B model used to classify barriers and facilitators to public acceptance of autonomous shuttles. • Key barriers include safety trust, cybersecurity concerns, low awareness, and cost perceptions. • Facilitators include positive user experience, environmental benefits, and social influence. • Provides actionable policy and behavioural recommendations to support autonomous shuttle adoption. Autonomous shuttles could revolutionise urban mobility, but public acceptance remains an important obstacle. This Rapid Evidence Assessment synthesises 21 studies that identify the main barriers and enablers for using autonomous shuttles according to the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour) model. It reviews articles published between 2014 and 2024. The studies were identified across 12 countries on 4 continents. This review identifies various challenges, notably low trust levels in autonomous shuttles’ safety and reliability. There are serious concerns about this technology’s capability to handle complex environment interactions, while cybersecurity threats, like system hacking, add to the reduction of user confidence. Moreover, a general lack of public awareness and understanding of autonomous shuttles’ capabilities, limitations, and technical difficulties (e.g., slow speeds and frequent stops) create important barriers in terms of acceptance. Furthermore, many people are not willing to pay premium prices compared with conventional transport. Enablers include prior positive experiences with autonomous shuttles, with greater levels of trust and willingness to adopt. Other enablers include environmental and operational benefits such as emissions reduction, better travel time, and comfort. Social influence, especially from peers and communities, was the most important factor influencing people’s perceptions. Younger users are motivated by novelty and curiosity. The study recommends public awareness-raising and behaviour-change programmes, experiential trials and training, and financial incentives to grow user acceptance. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers and developers on how to promote public acceptance and accelerate the integration of autonomous shuttles into urban transport systems.