Achieving Inclusive Transportation: Fully Automated Vehicles with Social Support

We provide quantitative evidence of whether a representative sample of the newly introduced fully automatic vehicles (FAVs) are inclusive. We answer this question by examining FAV demand with a focus on natural disaster victims—people who have become physically or mentally challenged due to severe disaster damage, including those with post-traumatic stress disorder. We investigate whether the fear of natural disasters, social support, environmental concerns, the fear of potential accidents, and merits regarding FAVs are motivators of, or hindrances to, purchasing intentions of FAVs. To do so, we acquire a unique dataset covering disaster victims with traumatic disaster damages (12,286 observations in total) and people without such experiences (57,105 observations in total). Then, we construct a multigroup structural estimation model to estimate FAV demand. We conduct estimations of latent and socioeconomic variables which demonstrate people's attitudes. Our findings show that the social support of family, friends, and local authorities is a crucial factor in motivating disaster victims to appreciate and purchase FAVs. The positive impact of social support on appreciating/purchasing FAVs can offset the negative impacts of a fear of natural disasters and accidents, thus enabling more people to enjoy FAVs.