Investigation in Future Autonomous Transport

We investigate two large transitions in automotive sector happening now. Transitions to electrical and autonomous vehicles (AV) are changing the way of mobility, introducing green, more safe and efficient transport. Those road transport transformations are happening on global scale, but countries and regions around the world have their own pathway, priorities, and the timelines. Most countries give priority to electrification, to achieve sustainability and environment protection, but partial and full automations are also in place everywhere. Transitions involve key stakeholders, which are governments, travel authorities, manufacturers, and customers. In order to get clear picture, about the current state of the transition to autonomous vehicles, we have conducted longitudinal surveys, from 2021 to 2023, in two countries, Saudi Arabia and Australia. This article presents general conclusions and more detailed report on the latest Australian survey. Like any other new product, autonomous vehicles have their own technology acceptance framework of introduction to the market. Apart from technology readiness, safety, and reliability, framework include legal, moral, and ethical considerations. This comes from the fact that we are introducing smart, intelligent mechanical device or robots on our roads. Our investigations covered all those issues, asking for the public opinion and acceptance of these new intelligent mechanical machines.