Impact of Autonomous Vehicle Technology on Long Distance Travel Behavior

Although rapid progress in-vehicle automated technology has sped up the possibility of using fully automated technology for public use, little research has been done on the possible influences of autonomous vehicles (AVs) technology on long-distance travel. This technology has the potential to have a significant effect on intercity trips. This study analyzed a travel survey to anticipate the impact of this technology on long-distance trips. We have divided trips into two different categories including trips for pleasure and trips for business. Different hypotheses based on the authors' knowledge and assisted by existing literature have been defined for each type of trip. By using the Pearson method these hypotheses have been tested and the positive or negative responses from respondents have been evaluated. The findings show that using AVs for pleasure trips can increase the number of travelers and stimulate people to choose longer distances for their trips. In addition, people enjoy more and will be interested to travel more frequently. For business trips, AV technology can reduce travel costs and job-related stress. Unlike pleasure trips for which people are not interested in traveling at night, business travelers prefer to travel at night.