| dc.description.abstract | As modern societies face increasing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions due to car usage, autonomous vehicles present promising solutions and new challenges. This thesis investigates the role of trust in the adoption of autonomous public transport systems, particularly small, shuttle-like, on-demand buses seen as a first iteration of self-driving public transport. Introducing novel technology demands a willingness to adopt from the public. As people are affected by what others believe and think, can social norms impact the degree of trust in shared autonomous public transport? The current study investigates to what degree trust impacts the intention to use shared autonomous shuttles and whether static and dynamic norms can be applied to impact the degree of trust in shared autonomous shuttles. An online experimental survey was conducted, where participants (n = 1032) were divided into three intervention groups - control, static norm, and dynamic norm. Each group was influenced by distinct normative statements aimed at shaping their degree of subjective trust in shared autonomous shuttles. Additionally, propensity to trust is examined as an important individual trait. The moderating effect of propensity on social normative influence is further explored. The results from ANOVA and regression analyses indicate that people are influenced by others' degree of trust in a novel service, when making such attributions themselves. Yet only the intervention groups and the control group showed significant differences, while no notable disparities were found between static and dynamic normative statement framing. Safety evaluation of the shuttles was found to substantially affect subjective trust in shared autonomous shuttles. Hence, this study indicates that successful implementation of shared autonomous public transport, especially trust in such a service, can be dependent on normative influences. The study may also help inform future research on the psychological aspects of autonomous public transport adoption and implementation. | eng |