Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Decisions Under Uncertainty: The Roles of Parking Fees, Sharing Revenues, and Attitudes

Unlike human-driven vehicles, owners of private autonomous vehicles (AVs) must decide how to deploy their vehicles (e.g., parking, cruising, or sharing) when not in use. These decisions are often made under uncertainty arising from dynamic traffic conditions and latent concerns, including trust in technology and privacy risks. However, the influence of such latent factors on AV owners’ parking state decisions remains insufficiently understood. This study examines the parking choices of private AV owners under uncertain parking fees and shared revenues, with a particular emphasis on latent attitudes. Using stated preference data collected in Japan, we estimate a cumulative prospect theory-based hybrid choice model to capture preference heterogeneity. The results indicate that regular parking is preferred when parking fees are lower than expected costs, while sharing becomes more attractive when anticipated revenues are higher than anticipated amounts. Greater trust in vehicle safety increases the likelihood of sharing, whereas stronger privacy concerns reduce it. Positive attitudes toward technology, embracing its reputation, significantly promote cruising behavior. Moreover, higher income, higher education, and prior sharing experience are associated with more favorable attitudes toward adopting new parking modes. The findings offer useful policy-relevant insights into the management of privately owned AVs and their implications for traffic and parking management.