Policy pathways for autonomous shuttle adoption: Insights from UK focus groups

Autonomous shuttles (AS) are positioned as environmentally sustainable first/last-mile mobility solutions, but deployments in the UK have so far been limited to short-term pilots. Although the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 has set out a regulatory framework for the future, continuing public trust, safety, accessibility, and governance issues constrain their longer-term take-up. This study explores such issues through four focus group discussions (n = 25) with local people living in the West Midlands, UK. Focus groups were held with users during a real-world trial at the National Exhibition Centre. A hybrid framework–thematic analysis was employed to explore both anticipated and emergent accounts. Key barriers included safety and reliability, low awareness and visibility, current lack of range and performance, issues with accessibility, and data privacy concerns. Enablers included AS being seen as good for the environment, a fun and novel experience, and the influence of peers. Acceptance of AS was also reported to be conditional on an operator being on board to reassure passengers. This study is among the first to link UK public perceptions during an operational AS trial with the emerging regulatory environment under the Automated Vehicles Act 2024. The real-world trial setting and inclusion of underrepresented users, including disabled participants, offer insights that extend beyond hypothetical acceptance studies. This is one of the earliest UK focus-group studies explicitly connecting lived trial experience to emerging AS policy pathways, and shows public accounts are less about the technical readiness of AS and more about their governance, integration, and service design. These insights are exploratory and reflect depth rather than statistical generalisation due to the qualitative design and sample size. • Among the first UK focus group studies based on a live autonomous shuttle deployment under the Automated Vehicles Act (2024). • Demonstrates how real ride experience and statutory governance reshape established acceptance themes. • Identifies context-specific barriers (safety behaviour, accessibility, visibility, data governance) and facilitators (environmental framing, social cues, operator reassurance). • Translates public expectations into actionable policy pathways, linking user perceptions to regulatory and service design levers for UK deployment.