The effect of design and behaviour of automated micro-vehicles for urban delivery on other road users’ perceptions

New mobility concepts are needed as cities become ever more congested and polluted by traffic. One factor for the growing traffic volume is the increasing delivery traffic leading to a need for sustainable concepts for urban logistics and last-mile delivery. Innovative vehicle concepts, like automated micro-vehicles, present one promising approach. However, not much is yet known about drivers and barriers for the acceptance of these vehicles from the perspective of other road users – i.e. those people sharing traffic space with automated micro-vehicles. In two consecutive animation-based experiments (n = 107, n = 543), we analysed the effect of varying behaviour and design of automated micro-vehicles on other road users’ risk perception, trust, and acceptance. Speed, braking behaviour, automation mode, number of vehicles in convoy, distance between vehicles as well as colour design significantly affect risk perceptions, trust, and partly acceptance. The results inform the development and regulation of automated micro-vehicles.