Exploring the Elements and Determinants of the Value of Time for Manual Driving and Autonomous Driving using a Qualitative Approach

Autonomous driving is expected to change individual travel behavior significantly. The main reason postulated is an increase in comfort and feasibility of on-board activities which will potentially change the way people perceive time spent in a vehicle and consequently their mode preferences. Understanding how value of time (VoT) might change and what will determine such change can be crucial when assessing the impact of vehicle automation. Recent studies address potential changes that automation might have on VoT based on analyses of time use and perception in current modes of transport or focusing only on the utility of driving autonomously. However, there is a lack of research addressing both—the utility of car driving compared with the utility of riding autonomously—from the user perspective. To address this research question, focus group discussions with car drivers were conducted. The data was analyzed using a thematic qualitative text analysis. The results suggest that the utility of car driving today, including aspects of driving pleasure, various (passive) activities performed in the car, and also driving as an activity itself, will counterbalance to a certain extent the effect of the benefits of autonomous driving, such as improved travel experience and feasibility of activities. Moreover, context-related and individual characteristics shape these effects. This paper summarizes the main study results, including potential short- and long-term travel behavior changes resulting from the availability of autonomous driving. Lastly, implications from the qualitative research for quantitative studies on value of travel time savings for autonomous vehicles are discussed.