Understanding perceptions of college students on the operation of automated shuttle for persons with disabilities on campus walkways

Abstract

Persons with disabilities have difficulties traveling from one point to the other due to the limited options of travel modes for the first and last mile. Western Michigan University tested using an autonomous shuttle on the main campus's sidewalks for persons with disabilities. This study's objectives are to understand the empathy college students without disabilities had on the need for suitable transportation services for students with disabilities and the perceived risks of the services' operation on sidewalks. The Bayesian ordered logit model and text mining analyzed 396 survey responses. The Bayesian ordered logistic regression results revealed that age, gender, and ethnicity are important factors that contribute to different opinions concerning perceived risks and sympathy brought by an autonomous shuttle operating on pedestrians' sidewalks. The text mining results revealed several patterns. While respondents who were against the operation focused on potential safety hazards and the crowdedness of the sidewalks, supporters focused on the expected improved mobility for people with disabilities. The findings from this study are expected to assist policymakers and vehicle manufacturers with pedestrian expectations and considerations related to risk and safety when sharing their walkways with the autonomous shuttle.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Autonomous shuttle / University campus / Disabled students / Sidewalk operations