Abstract
In his book entitled Three Revolutions: Steering Shared, Automated and Electric Vehicles to a Better Future, UC Davis Professor Dan Sperling describes two scenarios that could result from new automated vehicles (AVs). In the “nightmare scenario,” consumers privately own AVs and vehicle miles travelled (VMT) per capita increase (along with traffic and emissions) due to greater ease and accessibility of car travel. In the “dream scenario,” consumers relinquish private car ownership in favor of pooling rides in shared autonomous vehicle (SAV) fleets, resulting in a reduction of VMT per capita, traffic, and emissions. Achieving the dream scenario depends on consumers’ willingness to share rides with others. Public policy that incentivizes manu-facturers to produce “pooling-supportive” vehicle design may be critical to encouraging a market shift towards shared mobility. However, little is known regarding the conditions under which riders will tolerate (or even benefit) from ride-pooling. To address this gap in knowledge, UC Davis conducted a study exploring the potential risks and benefits of sharing a ride with a stranger in an SAV, and articulating potential solutions based on vehicle and ride-hailing service design.