Understanding Passenger Acceptance of Autonomous Buses: Role of Experience

As autonomous driving technologies continue to advance, autonomous buses (ABs) have moved beyond laboratory testing into real-world operation, and many passengers have already gained riding experience. Existing studies have examined the acceptance of autonomous vehicles or ABs, but they have not analyzed acceptance behavior from the perspective of whether individuals have prior experience. Building on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study incorporates three dimensions of perceived risk and proposes an extended TPB model to examine acceptance differences between individuals who have taken an autonomous bus and those who have not. The findings indicate that, compared with individuals who have taken an autonomous bus, those without riding experience exhibit a stronger positive effect of subjective norms on behavioral intention, as well as stronger negative effects of operational and environmental risks on attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. For individuals with riding experience, attitude and perceived behavioral control exert stronger positive effects on behavioral intention. Furthermore, this study analyzes acceptance differences between individuals with and without riding experience across various sociodemographic groups. The results show that among middle- and low-income respondents who have not taken an autonomous bus, general risk of behavior beliefs demonstrate a significant positive effect on perceived behavioral control. Younger individuals show substantially lower safety concerns and higher acceptance, while individuals with partners exhibit stronger attitude-driven behavioral intentions. Overall, the findings provide empirical insights to support governments and industry stakeholders in developing policies relevant to the operation and promotion of autonomous bus services.