On the impact of vehicle automation on the value of travel time while performing work and leisure activities in a car: Theoretical insights and results from a stated preference survey

Many experts believe the transport system is about to change dramatically. This change is due to so-called fully-automated vehicles (AVs). However, at present, there are numerous important knowledge gaps that need to be solved for the successful integration of AVs in our transport systems, in particular regarding the impacts of AVs on travel demand. For instance, full automation will enable passengers to perform other, non-driving, related tasks while traveling to their destination. This may substantially change the way in which passengers experience traveling by car, and, in turn, may lead to considerable changes in the so-called Value of Travel Time (VOTT). Many experts anticipate the VOTT to decrease substantially due to AVs. However, the extent to which VOTT will change is currently far from clear. This study aims to develop new insights on the potential impacts of fully automated vehicles on the VOTT for commute trips. To do so, we first look at the existing microeconomics theory on the perceived VOTT and analyze the expected changes accrued from the effect of working and having leisure in an AV. We conclude that the VOTT of a work vehicle should be lower than what is experienced today in a conventional vehicle but the leisure one could stay the same. Then we conduct a stated choice experiment, specifically designed and administered for measuring the VOTT, and analyze these data using discrete choice models (DCMs). In total, we collected data from about 500 respondents. In the experiment, respondents were presented choice tasks consisting of three alternatives: an AV with office interior, an AV with leisure interior, and a conventional car. The same experiment was also given to another sample of respondents but this time describing a chauffeur-driven vehicle. Overall we find the average VOTT for an AV with an office interior (5.50€/h) to be lower than the VOTT for the conventional car (7.47€/h), however the AV with leisure interior is not found to decrease the value of time (8.17€/h) which confirms the theoretical results. The VOTT for the chauffeur experiment is systematically lower than for the AV experiment which we attribute to some distrust that people have regarding the AVs.